WRITTEN QUESTION E-1683/97 by Franz Linser (NI) to the Commission (20 May 1997)

Subject: EU aid for the Andes states

According to an article in the 'Financial Times' of 9 April 1997, following a meeting with the Foreign Ministers of the five Andes States (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia) in Noordwijk the European Union has granted the Andean Group trade concessions for agricultural and fisheries products, the aim being to reduce drugs production to a minimum and to push instead for the cultivation of more agricultural products.

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1. Has the production of drugs been reduced to a minimum in the five countries in question?

2. How will the efficiency of the aid measures be monitored?

3. How much financial aid has been made available to these countries in the last five years?

4. What method has the Commission used to evaluate the financial resources, and what improvements (from the Commission's point of view) have been achieved hitherto?

5. What countries does the Commission intend to support in a similar way?

Answer given by Mr Marin on behalf of the Commission (30 June 1997)

1. and 2. According to data from international sources, over the longer term, drug seizure figures seem to be on the rise throughout the Andean region. However, cultivation data show a more mixed picture. Thus, coca production seems to be on the rise in Colombia, while it has stabilised in Bolivia, and shows a marked decline in the case of Peru.

The meeting of foreign ministers of the Community and Andean countries of April 1997 at Nordwijk stressed the importance of the dialogue among both regions as regards drug-fighting. The meeting also recognised this to be a subject of great significance in the overall relations they maintain. However, the Nordwijk meeting did not agree to any improvement in the conditions of Andean market access to the Community. The article cited by the Honourable Member was based on a misinterpretation of a Council secretariat press release on the conclusion of the Nordwijk meeting. The decisions regarding the extension, up to 30 June 1999, of the so-called special Andean preferences for agricultural and fisheries products were already adopted by the Council in June.

As required by the relevant Community regulations, the Commission presents an annual report to the generalized preferences committee on the effects of the special preferences. The parameters for analysing the situation include not only the extent of cultivation and eradication, but also the evolution of seizures, as well as the extent of money-laundering and precursors' trade, and the legislative and implementation efforts undertaken by beneficiary countries. On the basis of the latest available data and information, the Commission has reported that the effects could be considered satisfactory.

3. The Community finances, notably through its budget line B7-6210 for North-South cooperation in the field of drugs, a number of projects for both the Andean countries and the Andean region. In the last five years, the total amounts (MECU) committed under this budget line (including both bilateral and regional projects) is as follows:

MECU

>TABLE>

Notwithstanding the above, other projects financed by the Community in the Andean region under different budget lines can have a significant impact on drug production, consumption and trafficking. In certain instances, some of these projects, particularly when they involve a large financial package, can have a stronger impact than those focusing exclusively on drugs. This is the case, for instance, of the 1996 project for financing a 30 MECU alternative development programme in the Chapare region of Bolivia.

4. The evaluation of drug-fighting development projects is undertaken according to the standard methodology for development projects, that is through periodic visits by independent experts and civil servants.

5. The Commission is not considering, at least for the time being, any extension of the special drugs-generalized scheme of preferences to countries or regions other than those currently benefiting.