2003/837/EC: Council Decision of 24 November 2003 concluding the consultation procedure opened with the Central African Republic and adopting appropriate measures under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement
Date: 2003-11-24
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Central African Republic, consultation procedure, cooperation policy, coup d'état, political situation

4.12.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 319/13

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL DECISION

of 24 November 2003

concluding the consultation procedure opened with the Central African Republic and adopting
appropriate measures under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement

(2003/837/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed in
Cotonou (Benin) on 23 June 2000 (1), hereafter referred to as
the ‘Cotonou Agreement’,

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,

the governments of

Having regard to the Internal Agreement between the represen-
tatives of
the Member States, meeting
within the Council, on measures to be taken and procedures to
be followed for the implementation of the ACP-EC Partnership
Agreement (3), and in particular Article 3 thereof,

Having regard to the Commission proposal,

Whereas:

(1)

the Cotonou
The essential elements of Article 9 of
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.

(2)

(3)

In accordance with Article 96 of the Cotonou Agree-
ment, 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
Central African Authorities' policy guidelines and the
Central African Administration's ability to implement
them.

(4)

Appropriate measures should accordingly be adopted
under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

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

Article 2

(1) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.
(2) OJ L 65, 8.3.2003, p. 27.
(3) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 376.

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

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This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Union.

Article 3

It shall apply until 30 June 2005.

Done at Brussels, 24 November 2003.

For the Council

The President

G. MAGRI

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

ANNEX

Sir,

The European Union attaches great importance to the provisions of Article 9 of the Cotonou Agreement. The obser-
vance 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.

In this context, 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.

These consultations took place in Brussels on 12 June 2003. Several fundamental issues were addressed, at that time,
and you were able to present the Central African Authorities' viewpoint and analysis of the situation. The European
Union was pleased to note that the Central African Authorities 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 Monitoring Committee. Implementation of the commitments was systema-
tically evaluated by Presidency and Commission representatives on the ground in cooperation with the UNDP represen-
tative and ACP Ambassadors. The ACP Group also sent an information mission to the Central African Republic from 17
to 20 August, the conclusions of which were incorporated into the reports of the Committee monitoring the consulta-
tions.

Monitoring showed that certain commitments gave rise to encouraging initiatives by the Central African Authorities. In
particular, it is noted that:

— the national dialogue concluded with the adoption of 126 recommendations, divided into 10 groups,

— the National Transitional Council (NTC) functions normally, its opinions are made public and the main thrust of its

recommendations are taken on board,

— salaries were paid from March to August 2003, despite certain delays,

— on 11 September 2003 the Council of Ministers approved the action plan to improve public finances,

— the recommendations made to the Central African Republic by a Kimberley mission have been applied.

However, the following concerns remain:

— while activities of varying political parties are continuing normally, the status of the opposition still has not been

presented to the NTC,

— the electoral timetable announced when the consultations began has not been translated into new actions or

measures,

— 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 down, 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’,

— salaries were paid more or less on time throughout the main part of the period, constituting considerable progress.
However, whether this practice (which has been made possible up to now thanks largely to external contributions)
can continue is dependent on the fact that income from tax and customs is extremely meagre,

— 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,

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— 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,

— 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 is
also awaited.

It seems that, overall, 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 Agree-
ment. 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:

a partial suspension of cooperation and the progressive continuation of other areas of cooperation in order to support
the efforts of the Central African Authorities on the basis of the actual implementation of the commitments made at the
meeting on 12 June 2003 and the progress noted in the transition towards democracy. This partial suspension will apply
to the operations concerning the Bouar-Garoua Boulai roads, the upgrading of Bangui's roads and macroeconomic
support. Resumption of the suspended cooperation will be governed by the above criteria.

This approach could be as follows.

A. The pursuit of existing cooperation

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

(ii) 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 consolidation of security operations in the Central African Republic will be examined
under the Multidonor Rehabilitation and Reinsertion Programme (MDRP) of the World Bank through the UNDP.

B. Resumption of suspended cooperation

(i) 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 various elections and provided
respect for human rights is ensured. This support will be on the basis that the public finance improvement
programme has been established. In this connection, the Commission and the Member States will encourage
multilateral donors to resume their relations as soon as possible with the Central African Authorities on the
ground.

(ii) 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 revi-
sion 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 Community
reserves the right to reduce the ninth 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.

Please accept, Mr Prime Minister, the expression of our highest consideration,

Done at Brussels

For the Council

For the Commission