European Parliament resolution on the revision of the Cotonou Agreement and setting of the amount for the 10th EDF
Date: 2006-03-23
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: ACP countries, Cotonou Agreement, European Development Fund, development aid, revision of an agreement

1.12.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 292 E/119

Thursday 23 March 2006

— under no circumstances should the military operation consist of troops from only one Member State.
The European character of the operation should be expressed in the participation of several Member
States,

— an intervention from the EU could only take place at the formal request of the Congolese interim

government,

— the deployment of troops under the command of the EU would have a double task: deterring possible
trouble-makers and encouraging the DRC's citizens to exercise their right to vote. The European oper-
ation must therefore be of an adequate and credible size,

— in order to achieve these goals, the Council would have to develop a clear concept of how to deploy the

necessary military or police (possibly gendarmerie) forces,

— a time-limited military operation would have to be closely linked with the efforts of the international

community for the reconstruction of the DRC after the civil war,

— clear commitments have to be made by the international community to improve the long-term effi-

ciency and sustainability of the Congolese police and armed forces;

2.
Calls on the Council to appear before Parliament to present a clear proposal with a clear mandate fully
based on a well-established scenario of needs, including a timetable; notes that for a possible EU mission to
the DRC, there will need to be a specific EU mandate, based on the UN Charter;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Member States,

3.
the DRC transitional government and the UN Secretary-General.

P6_TA(2006)0112

Revision of the Cotonou Agreement and setting of the amount for the 10th EDF

European Parliament resolution on the revision of the Cotonou Agreement and setting of the
amount for the 10th EDF

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the partnership agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific
Group of States (ACP) of the one part and the European Community and its Member States, of the
other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 (1) as amended in Luxembourg on 24 June 2005 (the
Cotonou Agreement), and particularly Annex Ia concerning the multiannual framework of cooperation
under the Cotonou Agreement,

— having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parlia-
ment entitled ‘Towards the full integration of co-operation with ACP countries in the EU budget’, of
8 October 2003 (COM(2003)0590),

— having regard to the Presidency Conclusions of the Brussels European Council of 15 and 16 December
2005, particularly Point 70 and Annex II concerning the respective contributions of Member States to
the ACP countries,

— having regard to its resolutions of 1 April 2004 on Budgetisation of the European Development
Fund (2), of 8 June 2005 on Policy Challenges and Budgetary Means of the enlarged Union 2007-
2013 (3), and of 17 November 2005 on a development strategy for Africa (4),

(1) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.
(2) OJ C 103 E, 29.4.2004, p. 833.
(3) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0224.
(4) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0445.

C 292 E/120

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

1.12.2006

Thursday 23 March 2006

— having regard to the commitments given by Member States in 2005, particularly:

— that the European Union and its Member States will reach the United Nations target of 0,70 % of
the EU's Gross National Income by 2015, which would increase the EU's contribution to the
from EUR 33 000 million in 2003 to more than
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
EUR 84 000 million by 2015 (Presidency Conclusions of the Brussels European Council, 16 and
17 June 2005),

— that an intermediate EU target of 0,56 % would be reached by 2010, which would take EU Official
Development Assistance (ODA) flows to EUR 67 000 million (Presidency Conclusions of the Brus-
sels European Council, 16 and 17 June 2005),

— that the EU and other donors will double aid to Africa and therefore provide Africa with USD
25 000 million in ODA by 2010 (1) (Gleneagles Communiqué, released on 8 July 2005 by the
Group of Eight in Gleneagles),

— having regard to Rule 108(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas Annex 1a to the Cotonou Agreement states that ‘For this new period, the European Union
shall maintain its aid effort to ACP States at least at the same level as that of the 9th European Devel-
opment Fund (EDF), not including balances; to this shall be added, based on Community estimates, the
effects of inflation, growth within the European Union, and enlargement to 10 new Member States in
2004’,

B. whereas, whilst the Commission had initially calculated an amount of EUR 24 948 million for the 10th
EDF for the period 2008-2013 (6 years), the European Council, during its meeting in Brussels on
15-16 December 2005, agreed on an amount of just EUR 22 682 million,

C. whereas this reduction of EUR 2 000 million violates the commitments of the Union with regard to
Annex 1a of the Cotonou Agreement and does not reflect the numerous political pledges given in
2005 for a substantial increase of development aid,

D. whereas the ACP countries would not have given their assent to the Cotonou Agreement without the
inclusion of Annex 1a concerning financing, and there is therefore a need for the EU Member States to
stand by their commitments,

E. whereas some clarification is required before the European Parliament can give its assent to the Coto-

nou Agreement,

F. whereas the budgetisation of the EDF is neither a miracle cure for all problems nor an obstacle to the

effectiveness of the EU-ACP partnership,

G. whereas it is legitimate to consider reforming the EDF 40 years after its creation and the current system
has been unable to resolve the problems relating to both the time needed to release funds and the
accumulation of unused appropriations (EUR 11 000 million),

H. whereas the enlargement of the EU to include Romania and Bulgaria is scheduled for 2007,

I. whereas East Timor acceded to the Cotonou Agreement on 15 December 2005,

J.

having regard to the concern expressed by the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) concerning
their exclusion from the 10th EDF and the uncertainty as regards cooperation between the OCTs and
the EU,

K. whereas the primary objectives of the Cotonou Agreement are the eradication of poverty, sustainable
development and the progressive integration of ACP countries into the world economy; whereas all
ACP countries and EU Member States are committed to the achievement of the MDGs,

L. whereas political dialogue is of increased importance in the Cotonou Agreement and development must
support respect for human rights, democratic principles and good governance, as well as sustainable
development,

(1)

In comparison with 2004 levels, this amounts to a doubling of aid.

1.12.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 292 E/121

Thursday 23 March 2006

Regrets that the overall amount for the 10th EDF decided by the European Council

1.
original calculation of the Commission;

is below the

2.
Regrets that the plethora of political commitments made in 2005 in support of substantial increases
in ODA have not been translated into a substantial increase in the contributions of Member States to the
EDF; underlines that the proposed amount for the 10th EDF would amount to only 0,028 % of Member
States' GDP;

Deplores the fact that, on the one hand, Member States have made commitments to increase devel-
3.
opment aid but on the other hand, if the level of the 10th EDF remains at that fixed by the European
Council, the overall levels of ODA managed by the Commission will fall from 19 % to just 14 % by 2015,
making this a de facto re-nationalisation of development policy;

4.

Calls on the Member States to consider significantly raising their contributions to the 10th EDF;

Calls on the Council and the Commission to clarify how the development dimension of the Economic

5.
Partnership Agreements, currently under negotiation, will be financed;

Urges the Council to provide new money for ‘aid for trade’ programmes and insists that such pro-
6.
grammes should not shift resources already earmarked for other development initiatives, such as the MDGs;

Calls on the Council to ensure that the contributions of Romania and Bulgaria to the 10th EDF will be

7.
additional once they have acceded to the EU;

Calls on the Council to take into account the accession of East Timor to the Cotonou Agreement and
in the light of the formula

8.
the fact that aid directed to this new country should clearly be additional
described in Annex 1a to the Cotonou Agreement;

Calls on the Council and the Commission to clarify as soon as possible the question of future financ-

9.
ing of cooperation with OCTs;

Calls on the Council and Commission to clarify the future financing of the African Union, including

10.
what level of financing should come from the MEDA programme;

Recalls that all EDF expenditure must satisfy the ODA eligibility criteria, as defined by the OECD's

11.
Development Assistance Committee;

Calls on the Commission to take the lead in ensuring coordination between the Member States in

12.
order to enhance the effectiveness of both EU and bilateral development funding;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Governments of

13.
the EU Member States and of the ACP countries.

P6_TA(2006)0113

The development impact of Economic Partnership Agreements

European Parliament resolution on the development impact of Economic Partnership Agreements
(EPAs) (2005/2162(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific
Group of States (ACP) of the one part and the European Community and its Member States, of the
other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 (1) (the Cotonou Agreement),

— having regard to the African Union's Ministerial Declaration on EPA Negotiations made at

the

3rd Ordinary Session of the AU Conference of Ministers of Trade, Cairo, 5-9 June 2005,

(1) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.