Proposal for a Council Decision concluding the consultation procedure opened with the Central African Republic under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement
Date: 2003-10-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Central African Republic, consultation procedure, cooperation policy, coup d'état, democratisation, human rights, rule of law

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 22.10.2003
COM(2003)629 final

Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION

concluding the consultation procedure opened with the Central African Republic
under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement

(presented by the Commission)

1.

2.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

On  22  May  2003  the  European  Union  opened  consultations  with  the  Central
African  Republic  under  Article  96  of  the  Cotonou  Agreement  following  the
military  coup  which  took  place  there  on  15  March  2003  and  the  subsequent
suspension of the Constitution, the removal of the President of the Republic and
the Government, and the dissolution of the national Parliament.

The coup and the events that followed it violate the essential elements of Article
9 of the Cotonou Agreement.

The consultations took place in Brussels on 12 June 2003. The European Union
was pleased to note that the Central African side made certain commitments, in
particular  to  ensure  the  return  to  constitutional  rule,  to  maintain  a  multi-party
political system and to launch a national dialogue; to restructure the defence and
security  forces;  and  to  improve  the  management  of  public  finances  and  fight
against corruption so as properly to meet its sovereign obligations on expenditure,
first and foremost the regular payment of salaries.

However,  the  European  Union  feels  that  some  of  these  undertakings  are
insufficiently  concrete  or  that  their  timetable  is  insufficiently  precise  for  their
fulfilment to be ensured.

The  European  Union  therefore  notes  that  the  transitional  government  has  made
the following commitments:

(1) Within  a  few  days,  the  process  of  preparing  for  a  national  dialogue  that
excludes no-one will be relaunched. The European Union hopes firstly that
this dialogue will be broadly based and founded on an agenda focussing on
the  assimilation  of  democratic  values,  and  will  lay  the  foundations  for  a
new  constitutional  order,  and  secondly  that  it  will  effectively  commence,
with a first plenary session, within three months.

(2) A  National  Transitional  Council  has  been  established  with  96  members.
The European Union wishes its opinions and recommendations to be made
public and duly taken into account.

(3) The  transitional  government  has  made  a  commitment  to  respect  public
freedoms, the exercise of fundamental rights and access by political parties
and  trade  unions  to  the  public  media.  The  European  Union  hopes  that
within three months a law on the status of the opposition will be adopted.

(4) The  transitional  government  has  made  commitments  on  deadlines  for  the
presidential, parliamentary and local elections. The European Union wishes
this  commitment  to  be  translated  within  three  months  into  a  precise
timetable, setting out the steps to be followed and the resources to be put in
place for the effective organisation of these elections.

(5) The  transitional  government  has  made  a  commitment  to  respect  human
rights. The European Union wishes a programme to improve conditions for
respect for human rights and for monitoring the situation in the CAR to be
established.

2

(6) The  transitional  government  has  made  a  commitment  that  salaries  will  be
paid when they are due. The European Union considers this commitment to
be essential for the maintenance of social peace and stability.

(7) The  transitional  government  has  undertaken  to  adopt  a  plan  to  improve
public  finances.  The  European  Union  welcomes  this  commitment  and
wishes the plan to be adopted within three months.

(8) The  transitional  government  has  undertaken  to  apply  the  anti-corruption
law  currently  in  force  and  if  necessary  to  adopt  additional  measures  to
combat corruption effectively, especially in the public sector. The European
Union wishes the law to be applied in reality.

(9) The  transitional  government  has  committed  itself  to  respecting  the
Kimberley  process.  The  European  Union  wishes  the  recommendations
approved  for  the  CAR  under  the  Kimberley  certification  scheme  to  be
applied.

(10) The  transitional  government  has  undertaken  to  set  up  a  programme  to
restructure  the  defence  and  security  forces  as  well  as  a  disarmament,
demobilisation  and  reintegration  programme.  The  European  Union  wishes
the  transitional  government  to  draw  up  precise  and  realistic  programme
documents to this effect within three months.

(11) The European Union asks that, from now on, the authorities of the Central
African  Republic  present  a  regular  report  to  the  European  Union
institutions on progress made in the various areas and on the  fulfilment of
the commitments they have made. These reports will be presented to a local
Monitoring  Committee  consisting  of  representatives  of  the  transitional
government and of the European Union.

The Presidency and Commission conclusions also stated that:

"The European Union will continue the dialogue to ensure that democracy and the rule of
law, which are prior conditions for the normalisation of its cooperative relations with the
Central  African  Republic,  are  re-established  in  that  country  as  soon  as  possible.  These
consultations  will  be  conducted  in  the  hope  of  contributing  to  the  establishment  of
enduring constitutional rule, to provide the Central African Republic with the stability it
needs  to  fight  poverty,  to  contribute  to  the  stability  of  the  region  and  to  integrate  more
fully into the world economy.

On  the  basis  of  the  regular  reports  which  the  Central  African  side  has  undertaken  to
provide on the implementation of the above commitments, the European Union will follow
the developing situation very closely. It will monitor compliance with those commitments,
particularly as regards the electoral timetable and the adoption of measures guaranteeing
the transparency and democratic basis of the elections.

The  scope  and  implementation  of  the  commitments  made  by  the  Central  African
authorities  will  be  critical  in  determining  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  appropriate
measures  that  may,  if  need  be,  and  on  the  basis  of  Article  96(2)(c)  of  the  Cotonou
Agreement  be decided at  the  end of the  three-month  period  for  continuing  dialogue  and
consultations on the ground. The European Union stresses that the full cooperation of the

3

Central  African  authorities  is  essential  if  it  is  to  continue  to  help  that  country  in  its
development efforts."

This regular in-depth dialogue took place in Bangui. It was based on  a  "scoreboard" and
monthly monitoring reports which were presented to the members of the local Monitoring
Committee.  Implementation  of  the  CAR  commitments  was  systematically  evaluated  by
Presidency and Commission representatives on the ground in cooperation with the UNDP
representative and ACP Ambassadors. The ACP Group also sent an information mission
to  the  Central  African  Republic  from  17  to  20  August  2003,  the  conclusions  of  which
were incorporated into the reports of the committee monitoring the consultations.

Monitoring  showed that certain  commitments  gave  rise  to  encouraging  initiatives  by  the
Central African authorities. In particular:

(cid:1)  A national dialogue appears to have been initiated.

(cid:1)  The  NTC  functions  normally,  its  opinions  are  made  public  and  the  main  thrust  of  its

recommendations are taken on board.

(cid:1)  Salaries were paid from March to July 2003, despite certain delays.

(cid:1)  On 11 September 2003 the Council of  Ministers  approved the  action plan to  improve

public finances.

(cid:1)  The recommendations made to the CAR by a Kimberley mission have been applied.

However, the following concerns remain:

(cid:1)  While political activities are continuing normally, the status of the opposition still has

not been presented to the NTC.

(cid:1)  The  electoral  timetable  announced  when  the  consultations  began  has  not  been
translated  into  actions  or  measures,  so  there  is  no  guarantee  that  it  will  be  complied
with.

(cid:1)  The human rights situation deteriorated in the first half of the year, as noted by the UN
Secretary-General  in  his  report  to  the  June  2003  Security  Council.  Although  this
deterioration  during  the  political/military  crisis  seems  to  have  slowed,  causes  of
concern  persist.  The  press,  the  National  Transitional  Council,  the  Office  of  the  High
Commissioner  for  Human  Rights  and  other  sources  report  frequent  cases  of  human
rights violations, in particular by military forces or "liberators".

(cid:1)  Salaries  were  paid  more  or  less  on  time  throughout  most  of  the  period,  constituting
considerable  progress.  However,  it  is  doubtful  whether  this  practice  (which  has  been
made  possible  up  to  now  thanks  partly  to  external  contributions)  can  continue  since
income from tax and customs is extremely meagre.

(cid:1)  In this context of financial stringency, certain efforts have been made to pay off public
debt,  increase  tax  and  customs  income,  audit  public-sector  companies  and  reduce
expenditure. A plan to improve public finances was adopted on 11 September 2003 but
the methods and timetable for its introduction remain to be established.

4

(cid:1)  Ad hoc measures to fight corruption have taken place, including arrests. However they
do not seem to form part of an overall action plan and the anti-corruption law does not
seem to be applied systematically. While arrests of persons responsible for the former
regime continue, corrupt practices seem to persist.

(cid:1)  Measures to strengthen the armed forces (appointments, reinstatements, creation of new
units, deployment to the regions, training, etc.) have been taken with major assistance
from France. However the intentions behind these measures are not clear, as there is no
explicit  programme.  A  revised  disarmament,  demobilisation  and  reintegration  policy
letter are also awaited.

Overall  the  European  Union  considers  that  a  process  of  transition  towards  a  return  to
constitutional  rule  has  begun.  However,  considerable  uncertainties  remain  as  to  the
firmness and clarity of the authorities' policy guidelines and the administration's ability to
implement them.

The  Commission  proposes  to  introduce  the  following  as  appropriate  measures  under
Article 96(2)(c) of the Cotonou Agreement, :

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

A  partial suspension of cooperation. This suspension will  apply  to  the operations
provided for in the 9th EDF National Indicative Programme concerning the Bouar-
Garoua Boulai roads, the upgrading of Bangui's roads and macroeconomic support.

The  progressive  continuation  of  other  areas  of  cooperation  and  existing
programmes  in  order  to  support  the  efforts  of  the  Central  African  authorities  in
response to the actual implementation of the commitments made at the meeting on
12  June  2003  and  the  progress  noted  in  the  transition  towards  democracy.  This
approach could be as follows:

(1) 

(2) 

At the end of the consultations, cooperation will be centred on the social
fields,  in  particular  health,  and  on  direct  support  for  the  population.  Ad
hoc  support  for  measures  taken  by  the  authorities  to  fulfil  their
commitments  could  be  considered,  in  particular  regarding  preparation  of
the elections and technical assistance for the adoption of an action plan to
improve public finance.

Once  the  government  has  drawn  up  a  clear  policy  letter  for  the  DDR
programme  (disarmament,  demobilisation,  reintegration)  and  established
the broad outline of the restructuring of the army and the security forces,
support  for peace-keeping and security operations  in  the  Central  African
Republic could be considered.

The resumption of macroeconomic support alongside a programme with the IMF,
once an electoral plan has been adopted laying down the steps and procedures for
the organisation of the elections and as long as respect for human rights is ensured.
This support will be on the basis that the public finance improvement programme
has been established.

The full and complete resumption of cooperation when democracy and the rule of
law have been re-established  following the  elections,  which should  take place  by
early 2005 at the latest. However, this might require a revision of programming in

5

the light of requirements and constraints. Discussion of this issue will be launched
immediately between the Central African authorities and the Commission.

In the case of non-fulfilment of the commitments made by the Central African authorities,
the  European  Commission  reserves  the  right  to  reduce  the  9th  EDF  allocation  to  the
Central African Republic by 20% a year as of the end of the consultations.

A  strengthened  political  dialogue  must  be  maintained  with  the  Central  African
Government in order to make sure that it continues the course of action already embarked
on with a view to restoring the rule of law and achieving social and economic stability in
the Central African Republic.

In  the  light  of  the  foregoing  and  in  accordance  with  Articles  9  and  96  of  the  Cotonou
Agreement,  the  Commission  proposes  that  the  Council  conclude  consultations  with  the
Central African Republic.

6

Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION

concluding the consultation procedure opened with the Central African Republic
under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000,1

Having  regard  to  Council  Decision  2003/159/EC  of  19  December  2002  concerning  the
conclusion of the Partnership Agreement between the African Caribbean and Pacific Group of
States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part,
signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000,2 and in particular Article 3 thereof,

Having  regard  to  the  Internal  Agreement  on  measures  to  be  taken  and  procedures  to  be
followed  for  the  implementation  of  the  ACP-EU  Partnership  Agreement,  as  provisionally
applied  by  decision  of  the  representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member  States  on
18 September 2000,3 and in particular Article 3 thereof,

Having regard to the Commission proposal,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

The  essential  elements  of  Article  9  of  the  Cotonou  Agreement,  namely  respect  for
democratic principles and the rule of law on which the ACP-EU partnership is based,
were violated by the military  coup of 15 March 2003, which  was  condemned  by  the
European Union in its statement of 21 March 2003.

In accordance with Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement, consultations took place on
12 June 2003 with the ACP countries and the Central African Republic, during which
the  Central  African  authorities  made  specific  commitments  to  remedy  the  problems
identified by the European Union, to be implemented over a three-month period of in-
depth dialogue.

At  the  end  of  this  period  the  European  Union  considers  overall  that  a  process  of
transition  towards the  return to  constitutional rule has begun.  However,  considerable
uncertainties persist as to the firmness and clarity of the authorities' policy guidelines
and the administration's ability to implement them,

1

2

3

OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.
OJ L 65, 8.3.2003, p. 27.
OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 376.

7

                                                
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The  consultations  with  the  Central  African  Republic  under  Article  96  of  the  Cotonou
Agreement are hereby concluded.

The measures set out in  the draft  letter  at  annex  are  adopted  as  appropriate  measures  under
Article 96(2)(c) of the Cotonou Agreement.

Article 2

Article 3

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption. It shall be valid until 30 June
from the date of its adoption by the Council.

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Brussels,

For the Council
The President

8

ANNEX

Draft letter

To  the  Prime  Minister,  Head  of  the  National  Transitional  Government  of  the  Central
African Republic

Sir,

The European Union attaches great importance to the provisions of Article 9 of the Cotonou
Agreement. The observance of democratic principles and human rights, including respect for
fundamental  social  rights  and  the  rule  of  law,  on  which  the  ACP-EU  partnership  is  based
constitute essential elements of that agreement and consequently the basis of our relations.

In this spirit, in  its statement  of 21  March  2003  the  European  Union  firmly  condemned  the
military coup of 15 March.

The  Council  of  the  European  Union  accordingly  decided  on  22  May  2003  to  invite  the
authorities of the Central African Republic and the ACP countries to consultations in order to
examine the situation in depth and the means of remedying it.

The consultations took place in Brussels on  12  June 2003. Several fundamental issues  were
addressed  and  you  presented  the  Central  African  authorities'  viewpoint  and  analysis  of  the
situation. The European Union was pleased to note that the Central African side made certain
commitments,  in  particular  to  ensure  the  return  to  constitutional  rule,  to  maintain  a  multi-
party  political  system  and  to  launch  a  national  dialogue;  to  restructure  the  defence  and
security forces; to improve the management of public finances and to fight against corruption
so as to properly meet its sovereign obligations on expenditure, first and foremost the regular
payment of salaries.

It was also agreed that an in-depth dialogue would take place in Bangui over  a three-month
period on the various issues raised and that the situation would be reviewed at the end of that
period.

This  regular  in-depth  dialogue  took  place  in  Bangui.  It  was  based  on  a  "scoreboard"  and
monthly  monitoring  reports  which  were  presented  to  the  members  of  the  local  Monitoring
Committee.  Implementation  of  the  CAR  commitments  was  systematically  evaluated  by
Presidency  and  Commission  representatives  on  the  ground  in  cooperation  with  the  UNDP
representative  and  ACP  Ambassadors.  The  ACP  Group  also  sent  an  information  mission  to
the  Central  African  Republic  from  17  to  20  August  2003,  the  conclusions  of  which  were
incorporated into the reports of the committee monitoring the consultations.

Monitoring  showed  that  certain  commitments  gave  rise  to  encouraging  initiatives  by  the
Central African authorities. In particular:

(cid:1)  A national dialogue appears to have been initiated.

(cid:1)  The National Transitional Council (NTC) functions normally, its opinions are made public

and the main thrust of its recommendations are taken on board.

(cid:1)  Salaries were paid from March to July 2003, despite certain delays.

9

(cid:1)  On  11  September  2003  the  Council  of  Ministers  approved  the  action  plan  to  improve

public finances.

(cid:1)  The recommendations made to the CAR by a Kimberley mission have been applied.

However, the following concerns remain:

(cid:1)  While political activities are continuing normally, the status of the opposition still has not

been presented to the NTC.

(cid:1)  The  electoral  timetable  announced  when  the  consultations  began  has  not  been  translated

into actions or measures, so there is no guarantee that it will be complied with.

(cid:1)  The  human  rights  situation  deteriorated  in  the  first  half  of  the  year,  as  noted  by  the  UN
Secretary-General  in  his  report  to  the  June  2003  Security  Council.  Although  this
deterioration  during  the  political/military  crisis  seems  to  have  slowed,  causes  of  concern
persist. The press, the National Transitional Council, the Office of the High Commissioner
for  Human  Rights  and  other  sources  report  frequent  cases  of  human  rights  violations,  in
particular by military forces or "liberators".

(cid:1)  Salaries  were  paid  more  or  less  on  time  throughout  most  of  the  period,  constituting
considerable progress. However, it is doubtful whether this practice (which has been made
possible up to now thanks partly to external contributions) can continue, since income from
tax and customs is extremely meagre.

(cid:1)  In  this  context  of  financial  stringency,  certain  efforts  have  been  made  to  pay  off  public
debt,  increase  tax  and  customs  income,  audit  public-sector  companies  and  reduce
expenditure. A plan to improve public finances was adopted on 11 September 2003 but the
methods and timetable for its introduction remain to be established.

(cid:1)  Ad hoc measures to fight corruption have taken place, including arrests. However they do
not seem to form part of an overall action plan and the anti-corruption law does not seem
to  be  applied  systematically.  While  arrests  of  persons  responsible  for  the  former  regime
continue, corrupt practices seem to persist.

(cid:1)  Measures  to  strengthen  the  armed  forces  (appointments,  reinstatements,  creation  of  new
units,  regional  deployment,  training,  etc.)  have  been  taken  with  major  assistance  from
France. However the intentions behind these measures are not clear, as there is no explicit
programme. A revised disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration policy letter are also
awaited.

The  European  Union  considers  overall  that  a  process  of  transition  towards  a  return  to
constitutional rule has begun. However, considerable uncertainties remain as to the firmness
and clarity of the authorities' policy  guidelines and the administration's ability  to implement
them.

In  the  light  of  the  commitments  made  and  this  assessment  of  their  implementation,  the
European Community and its Member States are ready to conclude the consultations carried
out in accordance with Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement. Since important measures have
yet to be implemented under the commitments of 12 June 2003, the Council of the European
Union has decided to introduce as appropriate measures under Article 96(2)(c) of the Cotonou
Agreement:

10

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

A  partial  suspension  of  cooperation.  This  suspension  will  apply  to  the  operations
provided for in the 9th EDF concerning the Bouar-Garoua Boulai roads, the upgrading
of Bangui's roads and macroeconomic support.

The progressive continuation of other areas of cooperation and existing programmes in
order to support the efforts of the Central African authorities in response to the actual
implementation  of  the  commitments  made  at  the  meeting  on  12  June  2003  and  the
progress  noted  in  the  transition  towards  democracy.  This  approach  could  be  as
follows:

(1) 

(2) 

At  the  end  of  the  consultations,  cooperation  will  be  centred  on  the  social
fields, in particular health, and on direct  support for  the  population.  Ad  hoc
support  for  measures  taken  by  the  authorities  to  fulfil  their  commitments
could be considered,  in  particular  regarding  preparation  of  the  elections  and
technical  assistance  for  the  adoption  of  an  action  plan  to  improve  public
finance.

Once  the  government  has  drawn  up  a  clear  policy  letter  for  the  DDR
programme  (disarmament,  demobilisation,  reintegration)  and  established  the
broad outline of the restructuring of the army and the security forces, support
for  peace-keeping  and  security  operations  in  the  Central  African  Republic
could be considered.

The resumption of macroeconomic support alongside a programme with the IMF, once
an  electoral  plan  has  been  adopted  laying  down  the  steps  and  procedures  for  the
organisation of the elections and as long as respect for human rights is ensured. This
support will be on the basis that the public finance improvement programme has been
established.

The full and complete resumption of cooperation when democracy and the rule of law
have  been  re-established  following  the  elections,  which  should  take  place  by  early
2005 at the latest. However, this might require a revision of programming in the light
of requirements and constraints. Discussion of this issue will be launched immediately
between the Central African authorities and the Commission.

In the  event of  non-fulfilment of the commitments made by the Central African  authorities,
the European Commission reserves the right to reduce the 9th EDF allocation to the Central
African Republic by 20% a year as of the end of the consultations.

The  European  Union  will  continue  to  follow  the  situation  closely  and  to  monitor  the
continuation of the transition process. It sincerely hopes that a strengthened and close political
dialogue with the Central African authorities will continue with a view to accompanying the
return to the rule  of  law  and  achieving  social  and  economic  stability  in  the  Central  African
Republic.

11

Yours faithfully,

Done at Brussels

For the Council,

For the Commission

12