2002/168/EC: Decision No 2/2001 of the ACP-EC Council of Ministers of 20 December 2001 on settling all ACP HIPC LDCs' "special loans" remaining after full application of HIPC debt alleviation mechanisms
Date: 2001-12-20
Institutions: ACP Council of Ministers
Subjects: ACP countries, European Development Fund, debt reduction, developing countries, rescheduling of public debt

27.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 56/19

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COUNCIL

DECISION No 2/2001 OF THE ACP-EC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

of 20 December 2001

on settling all ACP HIPC LDCs'

‘special

loans’ remaining after full application of HIPC debt

alleviation mechanisms

(2002/168/EC)

The ACP-EC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS,

Having regard to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed in
Cotonou on 23 June 2000 as put into early application by
Decision No 1/2000 of the ACP-EC Council of Ministers,

Having regard to the Fourth ACP-EC Convention, as amended
by the Agreement signed in Mauritius on 4 November 1995,
and in particular Article 282(5) thereof,

Whereas:

The ACP countries have consistently and repeatedly
pressed for more ambitious initiatives to reduce their
external debt, and, specifically, for 100 % cancellation of
public debt.

At the G7 summit in Cologne in June 1999 Ministers
approved an Enhanced Initiative to provide faster,
deeper and broader debt relief. As a result of
the
proposed improvements, the Community decided on a
significant EC contribution to the Highly Indebted Poor
Countries (‘HIPC’) Initiative, both as a creditor (EUR 320
million and the remaining amount of the previously
earmarked EUR 40 million, both amounts from the
European Development Fund (‘EDF’), and as a donor (up
to EUR 680 million from the EDF and EUR 54 million
from the Community budget).

Although significant debt alleviation is granted within
the framework of the HIPC Initiative, so as to make debt
burden sustainable, additional
for highly
indebted ACP Least Developed Countries (‘LDCs’) would
boost development and poverty alleviation.

resources

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

The current Community participation in the Enhanced
HIPC Initiative takes into account exposure both on
special
loans and risk capital, but requires that HIPC
countries use the funds provided by the Community
under
to repay debt on any
outstanding special loans before they start repaying on
risk capital.

initiative

first

the

Risk capital
loans, although they are concerned by
standard HIPC debt alleviation mechanisms, are not
concerned by this additional LDC initiative (see Esti-
mates Table in Appendix).

In many ACP LDCs, such standard HIPC debt alleviation
mechanism is sufficient to settle all special loans, but it
should not be the case for some countries.

The settlement of all ACP LDCs HIPCs' special
loans,
which would remain after full application of the normal
HIPC mechanism,
roughly EUR 55-60
should cost
million, which would come on top of the total estimated
cost of the already decided Community contribution as a
creditor
(out of which EUR 320 + 40 million have
already been set aside for the first countries to qualify).
Should the total cost of the additional settlement exceed
the EUR 60 million, the appropriate steps should be
taken to provide for appropriate funding from EDF
resources.

Such decision would allow all ACP LDC countries
having reached their decision point to benefit imme-
diately from a total settlement of the debt service related
to special
loans, provided they are not concerned by
Articles 96 and 97 of the ACP-EC Partnership Agree-
ment.

loans, which are concessional

Special
long-term loans
defined in and granted under the First to the Third
ACP-EEC Conventions to ACP Countries, are not used
any more since the Fourth ACP-EC Convention.

(10)

The financing of such further initiative should use the
mechanisms governing the Community participation in
the HIPC Initiative as a creditor,

L 56/20

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

27.2.2002

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Each least developed ACP country reaching its decision point
under HIPC will benefit from a Community interim debt relief
covering at least the whole debt service on special loans. After
completion point, the Community will settle all special loans to
least developed ACP countries qualified within the HIPC Initia-
tive which will remain after full
implementation of existing
enhanced HIPC mechanisms. Nevertheless, the Community will
remain creditor of those risk capital claims which will remain
after full application of standard debt alleviation mechanisms
under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative.

Article 2

The additional relief specified in Article 1 will be released in
one tranche of EUR 60 million from resources of the 8th or
previous EDFs or, after its entry into force, from the 9th EDF to
the European Investment Bank (‘EIB’) Trust Fund dedicated to
finance the Community contribution to the HIPC Initiative as a
creditor. It will be exclusively devoted to ACP LDC additional
special loans' settlements, and thus treated specifically within
the EIB Trust Fund.

Article 3

Implementation of this specific strengthened debt relief will
thus be integrated within the mechanism governing the
existing Community contribution to the HIPC Initiative as a
creditor, such as defined in the Financing Agreement between

the Commission of the European Communities and the ACP
States. For ACP HIPC LDCs, standard HIPC procedures will
apply with a common reduction factor allowing at least a total
settlement of all special loans: if the HIPC common reduction
factor is sufficient for that purpose, nothing will be changed; if
it is not, the Commission will unilaterally provide additional
relief to achieve the said total settlement.

Article 4

Should the EUR 60 million not be fully utilised, the remaining
funds shall be used to finance ‘standard’ HIPC EC debt allevia-
tion within the framework of the ACP-EC Decision regarding
the Community contribution as a creditor, through the EIB
Trust Fund dedicated to finance it.

Article 5

The Commission is requested to take the measures necessary to
give effect to this Decision, which shall enter into force on the
day it is adopted.

Done at Brussels, 20 December 2001.

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

F. van DAELE

ANNEX

TABLEAU ESTIMATIF

Coût indicatif d'une annulation des prêts spéciaux restant après application de l'initiative PPTE pour les ACP PMA

(sur la base des données de février 2000, avec un taux d'actualisation de 4,5 %)

Valeur nette actualisée de l'ensemble
de créances CE

dont valeur nette actualisée de tous les
prêts spéciaux

Coût total estimé de la participation
communautaire comme créancier à
l'initiative HIPC2

Coût initiative spécifique
«PS / PMA» (1)

Valeur nette actualisée des créances
qui resteront après application de
HIPC2 et de l'initiative «PS / PMA»

Angola

Bénin

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cameroun

République centrafricaine

Tchad

Congo

République démocratique du Congo

Côte d'Ivoire

Éthiopie

Ghana

Guinée

Guinée-Bissau

Guinée équatoriale

Guyana

Kenya

Madagascar

Malawi

Mali

Mauritanie

Mozambique

Niger

Rwanda

São Tomé

Sénégal

(A)

1,68

10,26

26,17

32,30

69,37

10,57

5,82

31,03

90,59

125,78

48,20

88,34

107,84

5,37

3,35

29,32

196,30

30,10

60,52

39,17

52,83

30,36

21,14

23,41

0,94

65,01

(B)

0,00

1,59

6,93

23,51

44,51

2,60

3,60

21,38

63,17

38,51

18,25

18,42

35,12

0,00

0,00

23,07

51,45

16,97

17,42

14,74

15,69

3,24

13,05

13,89

0,00

37,30

(C)

0,00

1,34

11,41

25,29

13,87

4,89

1,26

16,76

54,08

26,54

18,46

0,00

36,45

4,56

0,00

15,71

0,00

7,71

27,78

14,92

24,56

21,92

8,50

17,25

0,89

5,07

(D = B – C si C < B)

(B – C – D)

0,25

2,34

9,09

7,36

9,26

4,55

[p.m. (2) 32,23]

1,68

8,67

14,76

7,01

55,49

5,67

2,22

14,27

27,42

99,24

29,74

88,34

71,39

0,81

3,35

6,24

196,30

13,13

32,74

24,25

28,26

8,44

8,09

6,16

0,05

59,94

.

.

2
7
2
2
0
0
2

E
N

O

f
f
i
c
i
a
l

J
o
u
r
n
a
l

o
f

t
h
e

E
u
r
o
p
e
a
n
C
o
m
m
u
n
i
t
i
e
s

L

5
6
/
2
1

Valeur nette actualisée de l'ensemble
de créances CE

dont valeur nette actualisée de tous les
prêts spéciaux

Coût total estimé de la participation
communautaire comme créancier à
l'initiative HIPC2

Coût initiative spécifique
«PS / PMA» (1)

Valeur nette actualisée des créances
qui resteront après application de
HIPC2 et de l'initiative «PS / PMA»

(D = B – C si C < B)

(B – C – D)

Sierra Leone

Tanzanie

Togo

Ouganda

Zambie

Liberia

Somalie

Soudan

(A)

22,08

49,82

20,80

29,96

93,64

3,85

8,02

28,24

(B)

9,75

22,94

14,48

0,00

80,30

3,31

0,00

7,88

(C)

14,95

29,24

3,35

16,00

68,08

3,85

7,70

28,24

11,14

12,22

Total

1 462,15

623,06

530,64

56,20

(1) Ce coût a partiellement été couvert, pour les premiers pays qui se qualifieront dans le cadre de l'initiative, à travers la décision du Conseil conjoint ACP-CE du 8 décembre 1999 (doc ACP-CE 2167/99).
(2) Le Sénégal n'est pas encore formellement un «pays moins avancé», mais devrait très prochainement intégrer officiellement ce groupe. Le coût lié à ce pays est donc indiqué pour mémoire.

7,13

20,57

6,32

13,96

13,34

0,00

0,32

0,00

875,30

L

5
6
/
2
2

E
N

O

f
f
i
c
i
a
l

J
o
u
r
n
a
l

o
f

t
h
e

E
u
r
o
p
e
a
n
C
o
m
m
u
n
i
t
i
e
s

.

.

2
7
2
2
0
0
2