ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(75)508
Vol.1975/0194

Disclaimer
Conformément aurèglement(CEE,Euratom)n°354/83duConseildu1erfévrier1983
concernantl'ouvertureaupublicdesarchiveshistoriquesdelaCommunauté économique
européenneetdelaCommunautéeuropéennedel'énergieatomique(JOL43du15.2.1983,
p.1),telquemodifiéparlerèglement(CE,Euratom)n°1700/2003du22septembre2003
(JOL243du27.9.2003,p.1),cedossierestouvertaupublic.Lecaséchéant,lesdocuments
classifiésprésentsdanscedossierontétédéclassifiésconformément àl'article5dudit
règlement.
InaccordancewithCouncilRegulation(EEC,Euratom)No354/83of1February1983
concerningtheopeningtothepublicofthehistoricalarchivesoftheEuropeanEconomic
CommunityandtheEuropeanAtomicEnergyCommunity(OJL43,15.2.1983,p.1),as
amendedbyRegulation(EC,Euratom)No1700/2003of22September2003(OJL243,
27.9.2003,p.1),thisfileisopentothepublic.Wherenecessary,classifieddocumentsinthis
filehavebeendeclassified inconformitywithArticle5oftheaforementioned regulation.
InÜbereinstimmung mitderVerordnung(EWG,Euratom)Nr.354/83desRatesvom1.
Februar1983überdieFreigabederhistorischen ArchivederEuropäischen
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft undderEuropäischen Atomgemeinschaft (ABI.L43vom15.2.1983,
S.1),geändertdurchdieVerordnung(EG,Euratom)Nr.1700/2003vom22.September2003
(ABI.L243vom27.9.2003,S.1),istdieseDateiderÖffentlichkeitzugänglich.Soweit
erforderlich,wurdendieVerschlusssachen indieserDateiinÜbereinstimmung mitArtikel5
dergenanntenVerordnungfreigegeben.

COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
j • ■ : ■ , •^ ...
>COM(75 )508final .
^ .r V
Strasbourg .15october 1975
N
'v 1'
V :V/-
v ■v
ACCESSION OFNEW MEMBERS TOTHE LOME CONVENTION .
\■■ ■ .■ r ■:
:(Commission Communication totheCouncil )
' ' '
,t
1 '
■'
COM(75 )508final .

ACCESSION OFNEW MEMBERS TOTHE
LOME CONVENTION
(Commission Communication totheCounoil )
I
1•INTRODUCTION
AttheCounoil meeting of15-16 September 1975 "th®Commission laid stress
ontheurgent problems posed bytheaccession ofthird countries tothe
Lom6 Convention inview ofthe fact that the Convention will not be
entering into force intheimmediate future . This situation isdueto
thetime required forratification bycertain Member States ofthe
Community ;theACPStates will bereaching thenecessary quorum of
ratifications inthe near future . The Commission announced that it
would present acommunication totheCouncil onthis matter assoon as
possible since theproblems inquestion should bedealt with speedily .
Since thesignature oftheLom£ Convention anumber ofAfrican ,Caribbean
andPacific countries whose economic structure andproduction sure
comparable tothose oftheACPStates have become orareabout tobeoome
independent . –– : 1Ll.„ '

TheDemocratic Republic ofSsoTom£ andPrincipe hasalready made a
formal request totheCommission foraccession totheLom6 Convention ;
others have made official orunofficial contacts with theCommunity
andindicated that they areinterested inacceding totheConvention .
These moves reflect apositive attitude towards theCommunity andthe
Lom6 Convention andtestify tothesuccess ofourcooperation policy .
They also testify tothedesire ofthecountries concerned not to
remain outside themovement –which thenegotiation andthen signature
oftheLom£ Convention have significantly encouraged –towards the
grouping ofcountries .
TheCommunity must welcome theattitude adopted "bythese countries and
show theinterest ittakes inthem byadopting without delay appropriate
procedures foranaccelerated examination ofanyapproaches already made
orto "bemade .IftheCommunity were unable tosetinmotion rapidly
theprocedures required foraccession itwould bedisappointing the
hopes pinned onitbythese young States ,forlegal arguments in
response totheconfidence thus shown inuscould bemisinterpreted .
2.ACCELERATION OFTHE ACCESSION PROCEDURE
TheContracting Parties totheLom£ Convention made express provision
for the accession ofnew members .
Asprovided forinArticles 89and90oftheConvention ,theaccession
ofanycountry requires theapproval oftheACP-EEC Council ofMinisters .
This Council ,aninstitution established bytheConvention ,cannot meet
until the Convention has entered into force –inother words until the
internal ratification procedures have been completed bytheMember States
andbytwo-thirds atleast oftheACP .TheCommission nevertheless
considers that itispolitically desirable andlegally possible toreduce
thetim^-lag between theentry into force oftheConvention andthe
accession ofnewContracting Parties .Tothis end ,advantage should be
taken oftheratification period notonly toorganize briefing sessions

-3-
with thecountries which have applied foraocession "butalso toprepare
allthenecessary instruments sothat these future ACPoountries may
"become Contracting Parties totheLom£ Convention assoon aspossible
after its entry into force .
I
Interim trade arrangements similar tothose existing inrelations with
theACPsince 1July 1975 could also beconsidered .
Application ofthese principles presents different problems according
towhether theapplicant country hashadOCTstatus ornot .
2.1 TheOCTandapplication ofArticle 89oftheConvention
Forthese countries theaccession procedure isasimplified one .It
comprises essentially :
approval oftherequest foraccession bytheACP-EEC Council of
1Mini sters :
accession bydepositing aninstrument ofaccession with theSecretariat
oftheCouncil oftheEuropean Communities ,which transmits acertified
copy totheSecretariat oftheACPStates andgives notice thereof to
theSignatory States .
Adecision bytheCouncil oftheEuropean Communities ,taken under
Article 1oftheInternal Financial Agreement ,will increase theamounts
provided inthat Agreement fortheACPasabody ,atthesame time
reducing byacorresponding sumtheamounts ofaidprovided fortheOCT .
Since accession totheConvention does notinvolve other decisions by
theCouncil oftheEuropean Communities orratification bytheMember
States andtheother ACP ,itmaytake place very rapidly once the
Convention itself has entered into force .
AJoint Declaration annexed totheLom£ Convention expresses aposition
favourable toaccession bysuch countries (seeAnnex VItotheACP-EEC Lom£
Convention ).

Fortheperiod tobecovered between from accession toindependence by
theOCTconcerned andtheformal request tojoin toaccession tothe
Convention ,interim measures will have tobetaken inorder toavoid any
break intheCommunity *srelations with those countries ;these measures
will depend inparticular onthedate ofindependence inrelation tothe
date ofentry into force oftheLom€ Convention .TheCommission will
make appropriate proposals ineach case .
2.2 Other applicant countries (application ofArticle 90oftheConvention )
Here theaccession procedure differs from that fortheOCT inthat it
involves –inaddition toapproval oftherequest bytheACP-EEC Council
ofMinisters -theconclusion andratification oftwoagreements :
theaccession agreement between theapplicant State andtheCommunity ;
theagreement between Member States increasing theamount oftheEBF
byamending theInternal Agreement onthefinancing andadministration
ofCommunity aicU >
;
Inview ofthecomplexity oftheprocedure andthelong time itinevitably
takes itisdesirable tostart thepreparatory work assoon aspossible .
TheCommission therefore proposes thefollowing procedure :
(i)When anapplicant country makes itsrequest totheContracting
Parties totheLom6 Convention they should ,onacase-by –case
basis ,give anadhocopinion ontherequest without waiting for
the entry into force oftheConvention .
(ii)Ifanopinion infavour ofopening negotiations isexpressed by
both sides (ACPandCommunity ),theCommunity andtheapplicant
country should negotiate theaccession agreement ,with the
Commission asthenegotiator ontheEuropean side ,under the
same conditions asduring the1973-75 negotiations .
(iii)Thenegotations should beconducted inclose contaot with theACP
States ,which would bekept informed inthecourse ofappropriate
exchanges ofview .Although there isnolegal obligation todo
sounder theConvention ,theACPGroup should beconsulted onthe
accession agreement before itisconcluded .Theaccession agree -
t
ment would then besigned andtheprocedures required forratification
initiated .

-5-
(iv)Inanycase theaccession agreement would notenter into force
until formal approval oftherequest foraccession had "been
given "bytheACP–EECCouncil ofMinisters ,convened forthis
purpose ,once theLom€ Convention itself hadentered into force .
(v)Concurrently with thenegotiations conducted with theapplicant
State theMember States would agree onprovisions amending the
Internal Financial Agreement with aview toaccomplishing the
procedures required forratification ofthose provisions atthe
same time asthose required fortheaccession agreement .
(vi)Lastly ,once theaccession agreement hadbeen signed theCommunity
andtheapplicant country could –without waiting fortheagreement
toberatified -agree toapply independently intheir trade the
arrangements provided forbytheagreement ,ashasbeen done
between theCommunity andtheforty-six ACP sinoe 1July 1975 *
Theopportunities ofaccelerating theprocedure fortheaccession ofnew
independent States totheLom£ Convention aretherefore very real . .The
Commission recommends that the&e opportunities beseized sothat the
countries inquestion donothave toremain excluded from cooperation
between theCommunity andtheACPStates anylonger than isnecessary .
o o
With regard totherequest foraccession bytheDemocratic Republic of
SaoTom£ andPrfncipe ,theCommission will ,after informing theACPStates ,
begin exploratory talks with that country assoon aspossible .When the
exploratory talks arecompleted ,itwill present acommunication tothe
Council inorder toobtain directives opening thewayfornegotiations
with theapplicant country ,inagreement with theACPStates .

FINANCIAL ÂNNEX
1.Thepotentialfinancialimplications ofthiscommunication would "be
apossibleslightreductionofbudgetrevenueasduty–freeentrywould
begrantedtocertainthirdcountrieswhichwouldbecomemembersofthe
Lom£Convention.
However,inviewoftheverysmallvolumeofCommunityimportsfromthe
countriesinquestionandthelimitednumberofsuohcountries,the
impactresultingfromthenon-collection ofcertaincustomsdutiesand
levieswouldbeminimal;theamountwoulddependonthefluctuations
whichthevolumeandvalueoftheimportsinquestionarelikelyto
undergo. ' ■
2.Itisrecalledthatinthesuccessivenegotiationsforthe
YaoundeI,YaoundeIIandLomeConventions theamountofthe
Community'sfinancialaidwasnotfixeduntiltheverylaststage.
Accordingly ,theCommission . declinestostatean
opiniononthepossiblefinancialimplications ofthiscommunication
asconcernstheEuropeanDevelopment FundandtheEuropean
InvestmentBank,anysuchimplications tobecoveredbyan
additionalfinancialcontribution fromtheMemberStates.