European Parliament resolution on the EU-Caribbean partnership for growth, stability and development (2006/2123(INI))
Date: 2006-07-06
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Caribbean Islands, cooperation policy, development aid, development policy, economic growth

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Official Journal of the European Union

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P6_TA(2006)0304

EU-Caribbean partnership for growth, stability and development

European Parliament resolution on the EU-Caribbean partnership for growth, stability and
development (2006/2123(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Communication of 2 March 2006 from the Commission to the Council, the
European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee entitled ‘An EU-Caribbean
the
and Development’
Partnership
‘Commission Communication’),

(COM(2006)0086)

for Growth,

(hereinafter

Stability

— having regard to the evaluation of the Commission's regional strategy for the Caribbean, Volumes 1 and

2, of April 2005,

— having regard to the conclusions of the General Affairs and External Relations Council of 10 April

2006, which include a confirmation of the Common Position on Cuba of 2 December 1996,

— having regard to the Joint statement by the Council and the representatives of the governments of the
Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission on European
Union Development Policy: ‘The European Consensus’ (1),

— having regard to the Vienna Declaration of the Third European-Latin American-Caribbean Civil Society

Forum of 1 April 2006,

— having regard to its resolution of 23 March 2006 on the development impact of Economic Partnership

Agreements (EPAs) (2),

— having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Development (A6-0211/2006),

A. whereas by 2020 some Caribbean States will have achieved developed country status, whilst others face

a drop from the category of middle-income countries to that of low-income countries,

B. whereas these small island States have an inherent vulnerability to natural disasters and other external

shocks,

C. whereas a dialogue has taken place between the Commission and representatives of Cariforum (3) on the

Commission Communication when it was in draft form,

D. whereas the establishment, on the basis of self-determination, of the Caribbean Single Market and

Economy (CSME) represents an important instrument for regional integration,

E. whereas the Cariforum States wanted the EPA negotiations to incorporate a clear development policy
dimension with a view to combating increasing poverty and inequality, fostering social cohesion and
achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),

(1) OJ C 46, 24.2.2006, p. 1.
(2) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0113.
(3) The Forum of the Caribbean States of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.

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F. whereas over 60 % of the region's population is under 30 years of age, and whereas universal access to

education is an unresolved problem for all Caribbean States, with the exception of Cuba,

Thursday, 6 July 2006

G. whereas the Belgian Government has made a positive assessment of the critical dialogue and develop-

ment cooperation with the Cuban Government,

H. whereas the programming phase for appropriations under the 10th European Development Fund has
started, and whereas this aid should in future be disbursed more quickly and more efficiently and should
be better tailored to the needs of the countries in the region,

1. Applauds the involvement of
the Cariforum Group in the discussions on the draft Commission
Communication and welcomes the fact that the communication has taken account of most of the concerns
raised by the States in the region;

2. Welcomes the fact that the Commission has based its strategy on the ethos of equality, partnership and
ownership;

3. Regards Parliament's de facto marginalisation by means of a timetable which ruled out its involvement
in the drafting of the cooperation strategy for the Caribbean as an exceptionally regrettable departure from
the consensual approach employed by the three European institutions, an approach which had proved its
worth in connection with the drafting of the Africa Strategy and the European Consensus on the European
Union's development policy;

4. Deplores the Commission's failure to take proper account of the recommendations made in its evalua-
tion report;

5.
Endorses the Commission's analysis that cooperation between the two regions has not thus far been
accompanied by proper political dialogue; regards as inadequate the practice of holding, once every two
years, a one-hour meeting between the EU Troika and the Cariforum heads of government and welcomes
the proposal that in future the requisite amount of time should be allocated to such a dialogue at all levels;

6. Welcomes the planned involvement of the French overseas departments in the region (Guadeloupe,
French Guinea and Martinique) and the Caribbean overseas countries and territories (OCTs) in the future
political dialogue; in that connection, however, endorses the view expressed by the Caribbean States that the
arrangements for this involvement must first be negotiated with those States which, in the context of the
Cotonou Agreement (1), signed the agreement on the methodology for the political dialogue;

7.
Endorses the standpoint adopted by the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) that the
definition of separate EU policies for the three ACP regions must on no account serve to undermine overall
relations between the European Union and the ACP States; welcomes the establishment of an additional
forum for political dialogue in the form of summits between the European Union and the States of Latin
America and the Caribbean (LAC States), but insists on the primacy of the arrangements made in the
context of the Cotonou Agreement;

8. Welcomes the intention stated in the Commission Communication of strengthening credible institu-
tions and of encouraging good governance and transparency in the spheres of finance, taxation and justice
in the Caribbean States; calls on all Caribbean States to ratify the UN Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime and the UN Convention against Corruption;

(1) Partnership Agreement between the members of 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
(OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3).

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9.
Endorses the Commission's intention of giving priority to supporting the newly-created CSME; reiterates
its view that development objectives must form the focus of the EPA negotiations, that the fledgling
Caribbean internal market needs adequate trade-related support and capacity-building and that trade liberali-
sation must be properly sequenced;

10. Calls on the Commission to ensure that EPAs are structured in a way which takes into account
regional realities and constraints, allowing for recourse to variable geometry if necessary; calls for any
commitments undertaken within the framework of the EPA negotiations to be carefully sequenced with the
delivery of EPA-related development support which targets the main areas of concern to the governments
concerned, including economic restructuring to enhance competitiveness, fiscal adjustment and trade facilita-
tion support;

11. Draws attention once again to the very significant contribution made by income from customs duties
to the budgets and investment capacities of some Caribbean States and concludes, on that basis, that
measures leading to the loss of this income, which at present cannot be offset by means of taxation, should
not be taken without adequate compensation being provided; stresses, however, that the growth of trade
between Caribbean States and between developing countries in general could help to offset losses of tariff
revenues and contribute to more stable sources of revenue;

12.
Endorses the Commission's assessment that the region's small, open economies are particularly vulner-
able to global market forces; points out, however, that progressive trade liberalisation, with adequate safe-
guard mechanisms and allowing sufficient time for adjustment, promotes development and can therefore be
a tool for combating poverty;

13.
Believes that trade-related capacity-building measures must address supply-side constraints, inter alia
by supporting the processing of basic products and the diversification of production, stimulating consulta-
tions with and support for small and medium-sized enterprises, eliminating bureaucratic obstacles to invest-
ment and thus promoting business development in the region;

14. Urges the Commission to implement Recommendation 7 of
its own evaluation report, to take
account of the principles underpinning the United Nations Small Island Developing States Network; and
requests the Commission to publicly disseminate the study carried out on the impact of trade liberalisation
and globalisation on the sustainable development of such States;

15. Regards the compensation and adjustment programmes to cushion the impact of changes in the
market for sugar and bananas as underfunded and, in the light of the recent demonstrations in the region,
fears that social cohesion, a cooperation objective, may be seriously undermined;

16. Calls on the Commission to develop programmes to encourage agricultural conversion with a view to
safeguarding and creating, in a manner consistent with the objectives of social, food security, energy and
environmental policies, acceptable jobs in farms currently run along conventional and uncompetitive lines;

17. Calls for greater attention to be paid to the social, cultural and environmental implications of the
cooperation strategy and for the development of systematic impact forecasting and assessment on the basis
of the indicators provided by the MDGs;

18. Welcomes the incorporation of important environmental-protection tasks in development cooperation
with the Caribbean region and calls for massive funding to develop the use of renewable energy sources and
energy efficiency with a view to forestalling the ruinous impact of the increase in oil prices and to slowing
down climate change;

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Shares the Commission's concerns that, as a result of global climate change, the frequency and inten-
19.
sity of weather-related disasters in the region will
increase even further and supports the objective of
improved natural disaster management, but deplores the lack of any reference to the EU-ACP natural disaster
facility established in 2005; calls on the Commission to support the permanent long-term establishment of
such a facility; requests the Commission to provide regular follow-up on this process to the European
Parliament's Committee on Development and to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on
Social Affairs and the Environment; draws attention to the vulnerability of the Caribbean States' economies
to natural disasters and welcomes the Commission's announcement that it will employ new, quicker disbur-
sement procedures for reconstruction aid which involve compulsory pre-financing;

20. Criticises the fact that the strategy for the Caribbean pays far too little attention to the task of dealing
with the problem of youth unemployment and the growing frustration among young people; is concerned
that the impending crisis in the Caribbean farming industry will serve to exacerbate this situation;

21.
Emphasises the key role which the development of sustainable tourism can play as a force for
economic development and advocates long-term financial support for the building of the requisite infra-
structure (roads, ports, airports, etc.); draws attention, however, to the Commission's failure to acknowledge
that regional and local ownership of tourist amenities is fundamental to that sustainability and must be
encouraged in order to reduce the outflow of profits to ensure that local people are not forced into roles as
menial workers and to prevent the ultimate destruction of landscapes;

22. Welcomes the Commission's offer to keep the door open for political dialogue with Cuba; criticises,
however, the tight restrictions imposed on any such dialogue on the basis of the 1996 Common Position;

Points out that successful representations by the EU to the USA resulting in a lifting of the embargo
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policy could have substantial economic benefits for the entire region; in keeping with a policy based on
respect for political, social, individual and economic human rights, urges the opening of a critical dialogue
with the Cuban Government;

Emphasises the importance of coordinating development programmes with non-European players in
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the region, in particular Canada, China, Brazil and Venezuela and, in that connection, regrets the fact that
the Commission's portrayal of the involvement of other players is characterised by a degree of mistrust;

Emphasises the heterogeneous nature of the region and calls for a more nuanced cooperation strategy;
25.
against that background, calls on the Commission to assess, for each individual Caribbean State, on the basis
of, inter alia, its degree of transparency, strong and independent institutions and good governance, whether
the focus on budgetary aid is a suitable method of achieving development objectives;

26. Draws particular attention to Haiti's desperate plight and calls on the Commission and the Member
States to develop a special programme for Haiti which goes beyond the scope of general cooperation with
the Caribbean region and for which additional resources will be required; welcomes the generally satisfactory
conduct of the presidential and parliamentary elections held in Haiti in February and April 2006;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments

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and parliaments of the Member States and the governments and parliaments of the Caribbean States.