Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be adopted by the European Community within the ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors regarding a decision on the allocation of resources to Somalia from the Tenth European Development Fund
Date: 2008-09-25
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Development Fund, Somalia, development aid

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 25.9.2008 
COM(2008) 574 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be adopted by the European Community within the ACP-EC 
Committee of Ambassadors regarding a decision on the allocation of resources to 
Somalia from the Tenth European Development Fund 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

Somalia  was  a  member  of  the  African,  Caribbean  and  Pacific  (hereinafter  referred  to  as 
"ACP")  Group  of  States  until  late  1991,  when  the  government  was  overthrown.  Since  then 
Somalia has been unable to establish a recognised government and consequently to ratify the 
ACP-EC Partnership Agreement between the Community, the Member States and the ACP, 
signed on 23 June 2000 in Cotonou and revised on 25 June 2005. The revised agreement has 
entered  into  force  on  the  first  of  July  2008,  according  to  the  information  provided  by  the 
General  Secretariat  of  the  Council.  Article  93(6)  of  the  ACP-EC  Partnership  Agreement 
provides that "the Council of Ministers may decide to accord special support to ACP States 
party  to  previous  ACP-EC  conventions  which,  in  the  absence  of  normally  established 
government institutions, have not been able to sign or ratify this Agreement". 

Based  on  the  allocation  criteria  adopted  by  Commission  Decision  C(2007)  3617  of 
1 August 2007,  an  amount  of  EUR  212  million  was  established  for  programmable  activities 
(envelope  A)  and  EUR  3.8  million  for  unforeseen  needs  (envelope  B)  by  Commission 
Decision  C(2007)  5223  of  30 October 2007.  These  allocations  have  to  be  confirmed  by  the 
ACP-EC Council of Ministers.  

The  Somalia  Special  Support  programme  2008-2013,  outlining  the  programmes  to  be 
implemented  with  this  funding,  and  the  EU+  Norway  2008-2013  Somalia  Strategy  Paper, 
have  been  approved  on  10  June  by  Member  States  in  the  Committee  of  the  European 
Development Fund. 

The  Commission  therefore  proposes  that  the  Council  adopts  the  attached  Decision,  which 
concerns the position to be taken on behalf of the European Community within the ACP-EC 
Committee of Ambassadors. 

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Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be adopted by the European Community within the ACP-EC 
Committee of Ambassadors regarding a decision on the allocation of resources to 
Somalia from the Tenth European Development Fund 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
300(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

By Decision No 3/2001 of the ACP-EC Council of Ministers of 20 December 20011, 
an  amount  of  EUR  150  million  was  allocated  for  development  finance  cooperation 
with  Somalia  for  the  period  until  the  end  of  2007  from  the  8th  and  9th  European 
Development Funds (EDF) in pursuance of Article 93(6) of the ACP-EC Partnership 
Agreement. This provision allows the ACP-EC Council of Ministers to accord special 
support to ACP States party to previous ACP-EC Conventions which, in the absence 
of  normally  established  government  institutions,  have  not  been  able  to  sign  or  ratify 
this Agreement; 

By  Decision  No  3/2007  of  the  ACP-EC  Council  of  Ministers  of  25 May 2007 
amending Decision No 3/20012, this allocation of resources to Somalia was increased 
by EUR 39 million from the 9th EDF; 

The  revised  ACP-EC  Partnership  Agreement3,  including  the  Multiannual  Financial 
Framework 2008-2013 contained in Annex Ib thereto4, has entered into force on 1 July 
2008. Its Article 93(6) still applies to Somalia; 

To  ensure  the  continuation  of  the  support  to  the  population  of  Somalia,  it  is 
appropriate to allocate resources for this purpose from the 10th EDF which will cover 
the period 2008-2013; 

Somalia should benefit from allocations from the 10th EDF comparable to countries 
from  the  ACP  group  which  have  ratified  the  ACP-EC  Partnership  Agreement.  If 
Somalia had been included in the 10th EDF aid allocation model5 which is based on 

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OJ L 56, 27.2.2002, p. 23. 
OJ L 175, 5.7.2007, p. 36. 
OJ L 209, 11.8.2005, p. 27. 
OJ L 247, 9.9.2006, p. 22. 
C(2007) 3617, 1.8.2007. 

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needs  and  performance  criteria  as  set  out in Article  3  of  Annex  IV to the  ACP-EC 
Partnership  Agreement, the resulting allocation  should  amount  to  EUR  212  million 
to  cover  macroeconomic  support,  sectoral  policies,  programmes  and  projects  in 
support of the focal or non-focal areas of Community assistance and EUR 3.8 million 
to cover unforeseen needs as defined in that same Article; equivalent amounts should 
thus be provided for special support; 

(5) 

The European Community should support this allocation of EDF funds to Somalia; 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Sole Article 

The Community position within the ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors on the allocation of 
resources to Somalia from the 10th EDF is to support the attached draft ACP-EC Council of 
Ministers Decision. 

Done at Brussels, [...] 

For the Council 
The President [...] 

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ANNEX 

Draft  Decision  of  the  ACP-EC  Council  of  Ministers  on  the  allocation  of  resources  to 
Somalia from the Tenth European Development Fund 

THE ACP-EC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, 

Having regard to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 and 
revised in Luxembourg on 25 June 20056, and in particular Article 93(6) thereof, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

By Decision No 3/2001 of the ACP-EC Council of Ministers of 20 December 20017, 
an  amount  of  EUR  150  million  was  allocated  for  development  finance  cooperation 
with  Somalia  for  the  period  until  the  end  of  2007,  from  the  8th  and  9th  European 
Development Funds (EDF) in pursuance of Article 93(6) of the ACP-EC Partnership 
Agreement, which allows the ACP-EC Council of Ministers to accord special support 
to  ACP  States  party  to  previous  ACP-EC  Conventions  which,  in  the  absence  of 
normally established government institutions, have not been able to sign or ratify this 
Agreement; 

By  Decision  No  3/2007  of  the  ACP-EC  Council  of  Ministers  of  25 May 2007 
amending Decision No 3/20018, this allocation of resources to Somalia was increased 
by EUR 39 million from the 9th EDF; 

The  revised  ACP-EC  Partnership  Agreement9,  including  the  Multiannual  Financial 
Framework 2008-2013 contained in Annex Ib thereto, has entered into force on 1 July 
2008. Its Article 93(6) still applies to Somalia; 

To  ensure  the  continuation  of  the  support  to  the  population  of  Somalia,  it  is 
appropriate to allocate resources for this purpose from the 10th EDF which will cover 
the period 2008-2013; 

Somalia  should  benefit  from  allocations  from  the  10th  EDF  comparable  to  countries 
from  the  ACP  group  which  have  ratified  the  ACP-EC  Partnership  Agreement.  If 
Somalia had been included in the 10th EDF aid allocation model10, which is based on 
needs  and  performance  criteria  as  set  out  in  Article  3  of  Annex  IV  to  the  ACP-EC 
Partnership Agreement, the resulting allocation should amount to EUR 212 million to 
cover macroeconomic support, sectoral policies, programmes and projects in support 
of the focal or non-focal areas of Community assistance and EUR 3.8 million to cover 
unforeseen needs as defined in that same Article; equivalent amounts should thus be 
provided for special support; 

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OJ L 209, 11.8.2005, p. 27. 
OJ L 56, 27.2.2002, p. 23. 
OJ L 175, 5.7.2007, p. 36. 
OJ L 209, 11.8.2005, p. 27. 
C(2007) 3617, 1.8.2007. 

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(6) 

The  ACP-EC  Council  of  Ministers  of  25  May  2007  has  agreed  to  delegate  to  the 
Committee  of  Ambassadors  its  power  to  complete  the  work  on  the  revision  of  the 
special support to Somalia under the 10th EDF; 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

(1) 

An  amount  of  EUR  215.8  million  shall  be  taken  from  the  Tenth  European 
Development  Fund  reserve  for  national and  regional  cooperation  for  special 
support in favour of Somalia in accordance with Article 93(6) of the ACP-EC 
Partnership Agreement. From this amount: 

(a) 

(b) 

EUR 212 million shall be used for institution building and economic 
and  social  development  activities,  taking  particular  account  of  the 
needs  of  the  most  vulnerable  sections  of  the  population.  This 
allocation shall be programmed under a special assistance strategy; 

EUR  3.8  million  shall  be  used  to  cover  unforeseen  needs  such  as 
emergency assistance where such support cannot be financed from the 
EU budget.  

(2) 

The Commission shall assume the functions of National Authorising Officer 
for  the  programming  and  implementation  of  this  allocation  in  accordance 
with Article 4(5) of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement. 

Article 2  

The European Commission is requested to take the measures necessary to give effect to this 
Decision. 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption. 

Article 3 

Done at Brussels, [...] 

For the ACP-EC Council of Ministers 

The President of the ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors [...] 

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