Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be adopted by the Community within the ACP-EC Council of Ministers regarding a decision on the use of the reserve of the long-term development envelope as well as resources from the Investment Facility of the ninth European Development Fund for the establishment of an ACP-EU Water Facility
Date: 2004-04-02
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: ACP countries, European Development Fund, development aid, drinking water

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 02.04.2004 
COM(2004) 241 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be adopted by the Community within the ACP-EC Council of 
Ministers regarding a decision on the use of the reserve of the long-term development 
envelope as well as resources from the Investment Facility of the ninth European 
Development Fund for the establishment of an ACP-EU Water Facility 

(presented by the Commission) 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The European Community plays an active role in the EU Water Initiative launched during the 
World  Summit  on  Sustainable  Development  (WSSD).  This  initiative  has  the  objective  to 
make substantial contributions to poverty reduction, the main objective of both the ACP-EC 
Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 and the Community Development 
Policy. 

The  EDF  being  the  major  source  of  funding  of  Community  Aid  to  ACP  countries,  (any 
further)  contributions  to  new  initiatives  for  the  benefit  of  ACP  countries  should  come  from 
the EDF. The amount earmarked for intra-ACP co-operation under the 9th EDF is too limited 
to cover all initiatives. The 9th EDF reserves should therefore be mobilised. 

In accordance with the Cotonou Agreement and the Internal Agreement between EU Member 
States,  the  Commission’s  services  have  proposed  to  the  EDF  Committee  to  ensure  support 
from  the  Community  to  the  Water  Initiative  by  transferring  the  unallocated  resources 
remaining under the 9th EDF reserve for regional co-operation (€24 million) to the allocation 
for  intra-ACP  co-operation  and  to  use  these  funds  for  a  contribution  to  an  ACP-EU  Water 
Facility. (This reserve was replenished with the same amount by a decision of the EU Council 
of  Ministers  on  the  partial  release  of  the  conditional  billion  under  the  9th  EDF.)  The  EDF 
Committee has expressed a positive opinion on this proposal at its 381st meeting on 30 March 
2004. 

This proposal leads to full absorption of the envelope for regional co-operation. Under these 
circumstances,  the  ACP-EC  Council  of  Ministers  can  take  appropriate  measures  in 
accordance with paragraph 8 of the 9th EDF Financial Protocol, which can be applied when 
funds provided for in any of the instruments of the Cotonou Agreement are exhausted. 

Against  this  background,  the  Commission  proposes  that  the  Council  adopt  the  enclosed 
decision  on  the  position  to  be  adopted  by  the  Community  within  the  ACP-EC  Council  of 
Ministers regarding the transfer  of  €185  million  from  the  reserve  (unallocated  resources)  of 
the  9th  EDF  long-term  development  envelope  as  well  as  €41  million  from  the  9th  EDF 
Investment  Facility,  to  the  allocation  for  intra-ACP  co-operation,  to  be  used  for  the 
establishment of an ACP-EU Water Facility. Together with the above-mentioned increase of 
€24 million of the intra-ACP allocation, this will lead to a total amount of €250 million for a 
first allocation to the Water Facility. 

In  the  light  of  the  outcome  of  the  mid-term  reviews  of  the  Country  Strategies  of  ACP 
countries and of the Council’s performance review of the EDF by end 2004, the Council will 
decide by March 2005 at the latest on the mobilisation of a second allocation of €250 million 
to the Water Facility and on the use of the remaining €500 million of the conditional billion 
under the 9th EDF. 

2 

 
 
  
 
Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be adopted by the Community within the ACP-EC Council of 
Ministers regarding a decision on the use of the reserve of the long-term development 
envelope as well as resources from the Investment Facility of the ninth European 
Development Fund for the establishment of an ACP-EU Water Facility 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
310 in conjunction with the second subparagraph of Article 300(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

At its 2509th session on 19 May 2003 the EU Council of Ministers acknowledged the 
need to mobilise a significant amount of resources for water and sanitation and asked 
the Commission to draw up practical proposals for discussion within the EU and the 
ACP-EC Council of Ministers. 

At  its  2571st  session  on  22  March  2004  the  EU  Council  of  Ministers  agreed  on  the 
establishment of a Water Facility for ACP countries and agreed to consider an amount 
of €500 million out of the conditional €1 billion under the 9th European Development 
Fund for this Water Facility. It also agreed to release immediately a first allocation of 
€250 million from the conditional €1 billion and to decide at the latest by March 2005 
on  the  mobilisation  of  a  second  allocation  of  €250  million  and  on  the  use  of  the 
remaining €500 million of the conditional €1 billion; 

Article 15 of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 
establishes  an  ACP-EC  Council  of  Ministers  with  powers  to  take  decisions  in 
accordance  with  the  Agreement  and  Paragraph  8  of  Annex  I  to  that  Agreement 
(Financial  Protocol)  allows  the  ACP-EC  Council  of  Ministers  to  take  appropriate 
measures  if  funds  provided  for  in  any  of  the  instruments  of  the  Agreement  are 
exhausted; 

Funds  from  the  9th  EDF  envelope  for  regional  co-operation  and  integration  are 
exhausted. The Community's position within the ACP-EC Council of Ministers should 
therefore  be  established  with  a  view  to  its  adopting  a  decision  on  the  Community's 
contribution  to  the  establishment  of  an  ACP-EU  Water  Facility,  from  the  reserve  of 
the  long-term  development  envelope  and  from  the  Investment  Facility  of  the  ninth 
EDF 

3 

 
 
  
 
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:  

Sole Article 

The Community shall take the following position within the ACP-EC Council of Ministers on 
the use of the reserve of the 9th EDF long-term development envelope and resources from the 
Investment Facility for the establishment of an ACP-EU Water Facility, based on the attached 
draft decision of the ACP-EC Council of Ministers. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

4 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX 

DRAFT 

DECISION OF THE ACP-EC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS 

on the use of the reserve of the long-term development envelope as well as resources 
from the Investment Facility of the ninth European Development Fund for the 
establishment of an ACP-EU Water Facility 

THE ACP-EC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, 

Having  regard  to  the  ACP-EC  Partnership  Agreement  signed  in  Cotonou  on  23  June  2000, 
and in particular Paragraph 8 of its Annex I, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

At  its  2571st  Session  on  22  March  2004  the  EU  Council  of  Ministers  agreed  on  the 
establishment of a Water Facility for ACP countries and agreed to consider an amount 
of €500 million out of the conditional €1 billion under the 9th European Development 
Fund for this Water Facility. It also agreed to release immediately a first allocation of 
€250 million from the conditional €1 billion and to decide at the latest by March 2005 
on  the  mobilisation  of  a  second  allocation  of  €250  million  and  on  the  use  of  the 
remaining  €500  million  of  the  conditional  €1  billion.  The  first  allocation  of  €250 
million is distributed as follows over the envelopes referred to in paragraph 3 of the 9th 
EDF  Financial  Protocol:  €185  million  to  the  envelope  for  support  for  long-term 
development,  €24  million  to  the  envelope  for  regional  co-operation  and  integration 
and €41 million to the Investment Facility. 

The  European  Commission  notified  to  the  ACP  Council  of  Ministers  the  increase  of 
the 9th EDF intra-ACP allocation by € 24 million and proposed that these resources be 
used for a contribution to an ACP-EU Water Facility. 

To ensure support for the implementation of the EU Water Initiative in ACP countries, 
it is appropriate to allocate resources to intra-ACP co-operation for a total amount of 
€500 million, of which a first allocation of €250 million can be made available from 
the  resources  released  by  the  EU  Council  of  Ministers.  However,  the  envelope  for 
regional  co-operation  and  integration  as  defined  in  Paragraph  3(b)  of  annex  I 
(Financial  Protocol)  to  the  ACP-EC  Partnership  Agreement  is  exhausted.  The 
necessary resources must therefore be transferred from unallocated resources of the 9th 
EDF long term development envelope and from the Investment Facility, referred to in 
Paragraph 3(b) and (c) of the Financial Protocol. 

(4) 

Article 15 of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 
establishes  an  ACP-EC  Council  of  Ministers  with  powers  to  take  decisions  in 
accordance with the Agreement. 

5 

 
 
  
 
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 – Establishment of an ACP-EU Water Facility  

An amount of €226 million, consisting of €185 million from the reserve of the 9th EDF long-
term  development  envelope  and  €41  million  from  the  9th  EDF  Investment  Facility,  shall  be 
transferred  to  the  intra-ACP  allocation  under  the  envelope  for  regional  co-operation  and 
integration,  and  used  for  the  establishment  of  an  ACP-EU  Water  Facility.  Together  with  an 
amount of €24 million already available under intra-ACP co-operation, a total amount of €250 
million will thus be made available for the first instalment of the ACP-EU Water Facility. 

Article 2 – Second instalment  

Subject to the release of a second allocation by the EU Council of Ministers of €250 million 
from the €1 conditional billion under the 9th European Development Fund, this amount will be 
used for a second instalment of the ACP-EU Water Facility. 

Article 3 

In  accordance  with  Article  13(2)  of  Annex  IV  to  the  ACP-EC  Partnership  Agreement,  the 
ACP Council of Ministers requests the Commission to finance support for the ACP-EU Water 
Facility from intra-ACP co-operation for the amounts referred to in Articles 1 and 2. 

Done at 

For the ACP-EU Council of Ministers 
The President 

6