5. 4. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 90/11 
9. The Committee wishes to draw the Commission's 
attention to the fact that at the present moment, in a 
number of EEC countries trawlers from third countries 
are operating under the flag of the host nation. Many 
such vessels are of Spanish origin and they are registered 
in the UK and as Spain is seeking membership, this 
problem would solve itself. However, that is not to say 
that the problem of flags of convenience will necessarily 
disappear. 
In addition, Community factory ships operating in a 
given economic zone may produce fish caught not by 
citizens of the country with sovereignty over that 
economic zone but by citizens of non-Community 
countries authorized to fish in the economic zone in 
question. 
Done at Brussels, 23 February 1983. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 198 
thereof, Care should therefore be taken to identify the origin of 
such fish, either in order to apply to them the customs 
duties for products originating from the said third 
countries or to ban or limit their import in cases where 
products of the said countries are subject to quota 
arrangements or may not be imported into the EEC. 
The Committee is thinking in particular of fish caught 
by the ships of Eastern-bloc countries. 
10. It is therefore the view of the Committee that the 
proposed Regulation, which seeks to remove an 
anomaly, could be beneficial to the catching, processing 
and consuming interests of the Community. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois CEYRAC 
Having regard to the Commission's letter of 
19 February 1982 in which it asked the Committee to 
take stock of the Lome Convention with a view to 
determining the guidelines which socio-economic 
interest groups consider to be desirable for closer Opinion on the definition of new guidelines for closer cooperation between the ACP 
countries and the Community 
The text referred to the Committee has not yet been published in the Official Journal of the 
European Communites. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 19 February 1982 the Commission referred the abovementioned proposal to the 
Economic and Social Committee in accordance with Article 198 of the Treaty establishing 
the European Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 205th 
plenary session held in Brussels on 23 and 24 February 1983. 
No C 90/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 5. 4. 83 
cooperation between the ACP countries and the 
Community, 
Having regard to its Rules of Procedure, and in 
particular Article 20 thereof, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 
23 February 1982 instructing the Section for External 
Relations to prepare the work on the matter, 
Having regard to the Commission's memorandum of 
29 September 1982 on the Community's development 
policy, 
Having regard to its previous opinions on the Lome 
Convention and different aspects of development 
cooperation, 
Having regard to the report of the rapporteur, Mr van 
Rens, 
Having regard to the opinion adopted by the Section for 
External Relations at its meeting on 8 February 1983, 
Having regard to the discussions at its meeting on 
23 February 1983 (205th plenary session of 23 and 
24 February 1983), 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
unanimously 
1. The Committee has noted that the situation in the 
LDCs and in ACP countries is deteriorating. The poorest 
countries in particular are in very serious trouble, 
especially financially, and there is little prospect of any 
improvement. Hence the need for a critical appraisal of 
how the Community's battery of development policy 
instruments could be made more effective. 
2. The Committee thinks that the Commission's 
memorandum on the Community's development policy 
forms an interesting basis for this appraisal. This 
memorandum is an encouraging step towards a new 
Community policy on development cooperation which 
will prompt closer alignment of Member State policies 
and contribute towards international efforts to establish 
a new socio-economic order. This opinion is focused on issues associated with 
ACP-EEC cooperation. The Committee may decide later 
to comment on the other aspects of development policy 
discussed in the memorandum, including the question of 
the Community's responsibilities towards other LCDs 
and, more especially, the LLDCs. 
Towards a new ACP-EEC Convention 
3. The Committee considers that the cooperation 
system embodied in the Lome Convention must be 
persevered with, not only because its effects are felt only 
in the long term but also because it is a practical 
manifestation of the North-South dialogue, whereby 
contractual ties based on cooperation between equal 
partners, negotiation, respect for national sovereignty 
and control over national resources have been 
established between a group of industrialized countries 
and a group of developing countries. 
4. This development policy must nevertheless be 
tailored as closely as possible to the changes taking 
place in the world economy and to the changing 
situations in LDCs, and be coordinated with the 
development strategies of the United Nations and its 
institutions and other international bodies. 
5. Hence the Committee thinks that when the Lome 
Convention is renewed, priority should be given to the 
guidelines listed below. 
6. The poorest countries and most underprivileged 
populations must be the main targets for cooperation 
and, above all, aid. 
7. The keystone of the new convention must be an 
integrated policy on food aid and agricultural and rural 
development. Community action to develop the ACP 
countries must give priority to promoting a return to 
self-sufficiency in food and underpin any of the ACPs' 
own development policies designed to achieve this. As 
part of any new food strategies or policies for integrated 
agricultural and rural development, steps must be taken 
to ensure that farm-gate prices are sufficient to enable 
farmers to finance and obtain a return on the 
investments needed to boost production and that real 
incomes are such that people can afford to be 
adequately nourished. The Committee stresses the 
5. 4. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 90/13 
importance of giving a greater role to the Technical 
Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation in the 
implementation of this policy. 
8. The Committee agrees also that there should be an 
integrated policy for the development of energy, fishing 
and mineral processing in order to boost each country's 
economic growth from within. It may make practical 
proposals on this subject in a later opinion. 
9. The steps taken by the Community to help towards 
the industrial development of ACP countries must be 
aimed at: 
— industrial development that permanently generates 
income, employment and socio-economic progress 
for the population, 
— a reduced dependence on imports, for instance, 
energy, food and certain other consumer and capital 
goods, which could reasonably be produced locally. 
10. The main measures to be taken in the field of 
industrial policy are: 
— to create more scope for basic industries 
hand-in-hand with agricultural development and the 
processing of agricultural produce, 
— to ensure an optimum mix of (a) large-scale 
industrial projects — if possible in conjunction with 
non-EEC countries and other international 
organizations — and (b) small to medium-sized 
basic industries which are well adjusted to the social 
environment and the scope for processing 
locally-produced raw materials on the spot, 
— to give special attention to providing support for 
servicing and maintenance work and the necessary 
training for the nationals concerned, so as to ensure 
the continuity of the industrialization process, 
— to coordinate action with other development 
activities in the various sectors, including the 
provision of the infrastructure essential to 
development, 
— to provide financial and technical cooperation 
enabling optimal assimilation and taking account of 
basic requirements, 
— to develop an economic fabric by setting up small 
and medium-sized firms, (including the stimulation 
of informal businesses), cooperatives and craft 
businesses, 
— to continue and improve the work of the Centre for 
Industrial Development in liaison with centres in the 
EEC and the ACP countries. 11. The Committee is in favour of a subsidy for the 
improvement of (inter-regional cooperation at the 
widest possible level (North-South cooperation), the 
enlargement of local markets and for seeking to strike a 
better balance between economic activities at national 
and regional level. 
12. The Committee feels, and has, indeed, stressed in 
previous opinions, that the activities of investors must 
be integrated into the economic and social policy of the 
ACP countries, on the understanding that specific 
agreements lay down the rights and obligations of both 
sides. The framework provided for in the present 
convention must be enlarged along these lines and be 
given a more tangible content. In addition, the 
Community and the ACP countries have a definite 
interest in promoting a system guaranteeing private 
business investments (in accordance with the principles 
set out in previous ESC opinions on this matter). 
13. The changes necessary to economic and social 
progress must respect the social and cultural traditions 
of the ACP countries. 
14. Protection and, if necessary, correction of the 
ecological balance and the quality of life must be a 
fundamental element of the new convention. 
15. With regard to R&D and training, the 
Committee calls for the spending of more Community 
aid on technology adapted to the needs of the LDCs, 
taking into consideration the importance of on-the-spot 
training and the need to involve the local population in 
such training. Encouragement should be given in this 
context to the exchange of information between ACP 
countries. 
16. In the commercial sector, the Committee calls for: 
— Community aid for market surveys, trade 
promotion, the improvement of production and 
other supply-side measures in LDCs (e.g. better 
cooperation between trading partners), 
— the abolition of any obstacle or rule which 
needlessly hampers the access of ACP goods to the 
EEC market, 
— the promotion of trade between ACP countries and 
other LDCs, and of trade with non-EEC countries, 
— more free access to the Community market for ACP 
products to stimulate EEC-ACP trade. 
No C 90/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 5. 4. 83 
17. The Committee also thinks that regular 
consultations should be held on the adjustment of 
production structures in all partner countries. 
18. The Committee approves the objectives of Stabex. 
It thinks, however, that the scheme must be reviewed so 
as to bring about a real stabilization of export earnings. 
Quite apart from the fact that the funds earmarked for 
transfers are no longer sufficient, the Committee thinks 
that the system is in danger of jeopardizing the 
restructuring which the national economies have to 
undergo, that it does not contribute sufficiently towards 
local processing or the development of regional ACP 
trade and, finally, that it does not settle the important 
question of fair prices for raw materials. The 
Committee proposes that the Stabex scheme be 
supplemented by international measures which ensure 
producers stable and remunerative prices and provide 
LDCs with sufficient foreign currency to finance their 
development. At all events, the Community should act 
within UNCTAD VI to win support for solutions along 
these lines, which commit all industrialized countries to 
helping the most deprived countries. 
19. The Committee thinks with regard to integrated 
strategies that the Lome Convention should be in a 
position to lend supports to LDCs with 
macro-economic adjustment problems. Project aid 
should not be dropped, but a switch should be made as 
far as possible to supporting specific policies and 
cooperation in programmes (e.g. the agricultural 
strategies mentioned above) and, at a more general 
level, aid should be granted to resolve problems which 
directly hamper development. 
20. The Committee thinks that the strategy to be 
adopted by the Community towards the mining 
activities of its ACP partners should be part and parcel 
of a Community policy with regard to commodity 
supplies, which must be implemented quickly. At all 
events, this strategy must seek to develop the 
infrastructure required for the shipment and marketing 
of ACP minerals. Minex is a first important step 
towards such a strategy, but there are grounds for 
wondering whether it should not be provided with more 
funds. The role of the European Investment Bank (EEB) 
in stimulating activity in this sector should also be 
strengthened. 
21. As the Committee has stated in previous opinions, 
development policy must always serve a social purpose. The social dimension must therefore be highlighted in 
the next convention. To start with, the basic principles 
governing the social and cultural aspects of 
development and cooperation must be worked into the 
different chapters. There must also be a separate 
chapter and protocols dealing in detail with specific 
questions such as: 
— training and education, 
— participation of the local populations and their 
organizations, 
— cooperation aimed at improving living and working 
conditions and health and safety standards, and at 
preserving cultural identities, 
— situation and rights of ACP migrant workers and 
their families in the EEC, 
— promotion and guarantee of a number of trade 
union and social rights, such as freedom of 
association and the right to collective bargaining in 
the spirit of the basic standards of the ILO. 
22. The efforts being made by non-government 
organizations, which tend to promote economic and 
social development, deserve to receive greater financial 
support from the Community. 
23. The Committee, taking up some of the ideas 
voiced at a meeting between the representatives of EEC 
and ACP socio-economic interest groups, thinks that the 
Community must provide ACP students and workers 
living within its frontiers with a training which is 
tailored to their home countries' requirements. The 
Member States, for their part, should spell out their 
policies towards residents from the ACP countries in 
order to guarantee non-discrimination. 
24. The Committee would like to underline once more 
with emphasis the leading role played by women in the 
economy and the development process. The upmost 
importance must be attached in the next convention and 
in cooperation measures to the status of women and to 
giving them chances to train and fulfil their potential. 
25. Socio-economic interest groups must be given a 
greater say in the framing and implementation of the 
next convention. The attempts made in recent years to 
involve such groups in the implementation of the 
convention have borne fruit; the Committee hopes that 
provision will be made in the next convention for the 
consultation of these groups and that the requisite funds 
will be made available. 
5. 4. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 90/15 
26. Following what it said above (e.g. paragraphs 7 to 
10), the Committee thinks the new convention should 
spell out the role of grass-roots organizations, 
associations and cooperatives in the ACP countries and 
promote such organizations wherever possible, 
especially those embracing small agricultural production 
units. 
27. The Committee calls for a convention more in tune 
with the needs of the time and for a general 
intensification of North-South cooperation. This may 
entail: 
— a framework agreement of longer duration than the 
present convention, supplemented by precise 
provisions regarding the implementing protocols 
which are to be reviewed at regular intervals, 
— greater effectiveness and more scope for 
differentiation between (groups of) countries and 
sectors, 
— possibility of interim adjustment of certain 
implementing measures, inter alia so as to be able to 
respond to the initiatives and needs of particular 
ACP countries or the ACP countries as a group. 
28. The Committee agrees with the proposal in the 
Commission's memorandum that Angola, Mozambique 
and an independent Namibia should be allowed to 
accede to the next convention, if they so wish. 
29. The Committee thinks that the present level of per 
capita aid must be increased considerably and at least 
maintained in real terms in Lome III. 
30. To promote, in particularj an effective policy on 
development cooperation, the Committee approves the 
Commission proposal of devoting 0,1 % of Community 
GNP to development aid. This aid must be in addition 
to Member States' bilateral aid and bring forward the 
date when Member States attain their targets for official 
development aid {0J % net of GNP). 31. The Committee subscribes to the Community 
budgeting of Lome Convention expenditure. 
32. It hopes that the extension of the EIB's scope 
for intervention (thanks to a liberal interpretation of 
Article 18 of its Statute) will permit an increase in the 
flow of capital from the Community to the ACP 
countries, and wishes to underline the major 
contribution Community firms can make to 
development. 
33. The Committee welcomes the cooperation between 
the Community and oil-producing countries with regard 
to LDCs' energy supplies. Joint financing and the 
provision of know-how are the main areas of cooper­
ation. 
34. The Committee calls for the coordination of all 
development activities — no matter where they 
originate, but especially those of the Community and its 
Member States — in order to avoid wastage and 
duplication. In addition, greater attention could be paid 
to developing joint projects that permit, among other 
things, a reduction of administrative and other costs. 
35. The Committee thinks that ACP countries should 
be able to spend aid from Member States anywhere in 
the Community or the developing world, and not be 
required to spend it in the donor country. 
36. Finally, the Committee hopes that the Commission 
will take account of the above proposals in the draft 
negotiating brief which it has to submit to the Council, 
and that it will start by carrying out an assessment of 
the previous conventions. 
At the same time, the Committee trusts that in the 
course of their discussions on this matter the Member 
States will gradually realize the importance, for 
economic recovery and the fight against unemployment, 
of undertaking to do more and spend more in the field 
of development cooperation. 
Done at Brussels, 23 February 1983. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois CEYRAC