Decision No 1/2000 of the ACP-EC Council of Ministers of 27 July 2000 regarding transitional measures valid from 2 August 2000 until the entry into force of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement
Date: 2000-07-27
Institutions: ACP Council of Ministers
Subjects: ACP-EU Convention, cooperation agreement (EU), trade agreement (EU), transitional period (EU)

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II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COUNCIL

DECISION No 1/2000 OF THE ACP-EC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

of 27 July 2000

regarding transitional measures valid from 2 August 2000 until the entry into force of the ACP-EC
Partnership Agreement

(2000/483/EC)

THE ACP-EC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS,

Having regard to the fourth ACP-EC Convention, signed in
Lomé on 15 December 1989 and revised in Port Louis on 4
November 1995, hereinafter referred to as 'the Convention',
and in particular Article 366(3) thereof,

(6)

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

referred to as

Negotiations for a new ACP-EC Partnership Agreement,
hereinafter
‘the Agreement’, were
concluded in Brussels on 2 and 3 February 2000. The
Agreement will not enter into force until the ratification
processes in accordance with Article 93 thereof have
been completed.

The ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors took a decision
on 28 February 2000 (1) whereby transitional measures
applicable until 1 August 2000 were adopted.

In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article
366(3) of the Convention, the Council of Ministers has
to adopt
transitional measures to cover the period
between 2 August 2000 and the entry into force of the
Agreement.

(4) With the exception of provisions concerning the release
and implementation of
financial resources from the
ninth European Development Fund (EDF), the Parties
deem it appropriate to provide for an early application
of the Agreement as from 2 August 2000.

(5)

Provisions which relate to the release and implementa-
tion of financial resources from the ninth EDF cannot
take effect before the Financial Protocol attached to the
into force. Financial cooperation
Agreement enters

during the interim period will therefore be financed with
resources remaining from previous EDFs.

In contrast, programming of resources available from
the ninth EDF may begin before the entry into force of
the Financial Protocol attached to the Agreement. Such
programming may imply an indicative allocation but
not a commitment of funds available under the ninth
EDF,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Provisional application of the Agreement

1.
As from 2 August 2000, the provisions of the Agreement
shall be put into early application with the following excep-
tions:

(a) Annex I;

(b) Annex II, Chapter 1;

(c) Annex IV: Chapter 3, Articles 17, 18 and 19, and Chapters

4 to 6.

2.
The applicable provisions of the Agreement shall super-
sede the provisions of the Convention in the equivalent fields.

3.
The provisions to be put into early application under
paragraph 1 shall, as from 2 August 2000, be valid for any
signatory States of the Agreement that were not parties to the
Convention.

The Agreement

4.
Decision.

is contained in the Annex (2)

to this

(1) OJ L 56, 1.3.2000, p. 47.

(2) This Annex will be published as soon as possible.

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Article 2

Continued applicability of the Convention

The following provisions of
applicable for all or parts of the interim period:

the Convention shall remain

(a) Part 3, Title II, Chapter 1 shall, in accordance with Article
207 of the Convention, be extended until 31 December
2000 for transfer decisions for the 1998 and 1999 applica-
tion years and for the reimbursement of
the residual
balances arising under
the second Financial Protocol
(Article 195, point (a));

(b) Part 3, Title II, Chapter 3 shall be extended until 31
December 2000 for operations for which a request for aid
was submitted before 1 August 2000. In accordance with
Article 281 of the Convention, and subject to the provi-
sions of the Agreement, the programming exercise shall
take into account
finalisation of requests
submitted for aid prior to 1 August 2000, but for which
decisions cannot be taken before 31 December 2000 due
to necessary procedures for taking such decisions, and the
indicated financial allocations shall to the extent possible be
respected for the support to the identified development
programmes;

the needs of

(c) Part 3, Title III, Chapter 3, Sections 3 and 4 shall remain
applicable until the funds are exhausted. This shall include
any increase in risk capital managed by the European
Investment Bank decided by the ACP-EC Council of Minis-
ters during the transitional period;

(d) Part 3, Title III

(i) Chapter 5, Section 1, for ACP States which, due to
exceptional circumstances, have not completed the
programming exercise under the Convention;

(ii) Chapter 5, Sections 2 to 6;

(iii) Chapter 6

Resources from the sixth, seventh and eighth EDFs which
2.
were allocated to an ACP region before 1 August 2000 in
accordance with Article 160 of the Convention shall remain
allocated to that region. The balances of these funds shall be
used for programming consistent with the relevant provisions
of the Agreement.

3. Without prejudice to Article 2(d)(i), unallocated resources
from previous EDFs shall be allocated to ACP States and
regions and used for programming consistent with the relevant
provisions of the Agreement. Unallocated resources in this
context are:

(a) resources from the sixth, seventh and eighth EDFs which
have not previously been allocated for a specific ACP State
or region in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2; and

(b) resources of the Stabex and Sysmin instruments which
remain after the period defined in Article 2(a) and Article
2(b) of this Decision, save for a reserve which shall be
established before 30 September 2000 in order to finance
any decision referred to in Article 2(a) and Article 2(b)
which shall be taken before 31 December 2000. The finan-
cial resources allocated to this reserve shall cover the rights
flowing from application of the Stabex instrument. Upon
entry into force of this Decision, funds available on the
Stabex account shall gradually be transferred to the special
EDF account. The remaining funds from the reserve avail-
able on 31 December 2000 on the special Stabex account
shall be transferred to the special EDF account before 31
December 2001. Before 30 September 2000, the ACP-EC
Committee of Ambassadors shall determine the methods
for calculating this reserve and the final amount thereof
and also the method for transferring any unexpended
balance to the special EDF account.

Article 4

Centre for Development of Enterprise

shall remain applicable until the entry into force of the
Agreement;

1.
All resources and activities of the Centre for the Develop-
ment of Industry shall be transferred to the Centre for Develop-
ment of Enterprise.

(e) the provisions relating to the power of the Council of
Ministers to decide on the use of unallocated resources
from the sixth, seventh and eighth EDFs in accordance with
Articles 195(b), 219(2)(d), 245(2), 257 and 282(5).

2.
The Committee of Ambassadors shall appoint, as soon as
possible before 1 December 2000, following a fair and trans-
parent selection procedure, two deputy directors of the Centre
for the Development of Enterprise, for the transitional period
up to 31 August 2002.

Article 3

Resources from the sixth, seventh and eighth EDFs

Article 5

Rules of Procedure

Resources from the sixth, seventh and eighth EDFs which
1.
were allocated to an ACP State before 1 August 2000 in
accordance with Article 245(1), Article 254 and Article 281 of
the Convention, shall remain allocated to that State. The
balances of these funds shall be used for programming consis-
tent with the relevant provisions of the Agreement.

1.
Taking into account the provisional application of the
Agreement and in accordance with Articles 15(5) and 16(3)
thereof, the Council of Ministers and the Committee of Ambas-
sadors shall adopt their rules of procedure within six months
of the entry into force of this Decision.

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Until the adoption of the rules of procedure referred to in paragraph 1, the rules of procedure of the
2.
Council of Ministers as adopted by the Decision of 22 May 1997 (1) and of the Committee of Ambassadors
as adopted by the Decision of 18 March 1997 (2) shall remain applicable.

Article 6

Implementation of this Decision

The ACP States, the Member States and the Community shall be required to take the steps appropriate to
each of them with regard to the implementation of this Decision.

Article 7

Entry into force and validity of this Decision

This Decision shall enter into force on 2 August 2000. It shall apply until the Agreement enters into force
but no longer than 1 June 2002. The Council of Ministers may decide to extend its application.

Done at Brussels, 27 July 2000.

The President of the ACP-EC Committee of
Ambassadors
by delegation, for the ACP-EC Council of
Ministers

Y. AZOR-CHARLES

(1) OJ L 220, 11.8.1997, p. 58.
(2) OJ L 220, 11.8.1997, p. 62.