Communication from the Commission to the Council on the opening of consultations with Guinea under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement
Date: 2009-02-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU policy, Guinea, consultation procedure, cooperation policy, coup d'état, democratisation, political situation, rule of law

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 16.2.2009 
COM(2009) 76 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

on the opening of consultations with Guinea under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

on the opening of consultations with Guinea under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

On 20 March 2004 the European Union opened consultations under Article 96 of the Cotonou 
Agreement as a result of the deterioration of democracy and the rule of law in Guinea. The 
consultations  concluded  on  14 April  2005  with  Guinea  entering  into  a  number  of 
commitments.  A  political  dialogue  was  introduced  in  conjunction  with  monitoring  missions 
during  the  implementation  phase  of  the  commitments.  Initially  set  at  three  years,  the 
implementation  phase  was  increased  to  four  years,  i.e.  until  14 April  2009,  as  a  result  of 
delays  in  the  organisation  of  elections,  the  most  important  of  the  commitments  (the  others 
were considered to have been met to an acceptable extent).  

The  announcement  of  the  death  of  President  Conté  and  the  appointment  of  Aboubacar 
Somparé, the President of the National Assembly, as interim Head of State on 23 December 
2008 was followed a few hours later by a military coup d'état led by a junta of 26 officers and 
6 civilians, who formed a National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD). The 
CNDD announced the suspension of the Constitution and political and trade union activities, 
and the dissolution of the institutions of the Republic, before installing a provisional regime to 
administer the country until a transitional government could be formed. The CNDD set up its 
headquarters  in  the  Alpha  Yaya  army  camp  in  Conakry  and  elected  one  of  its  members 
President, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, who proclaimed himself President of the Republic. 
In  justifying  the  coup,  the  CNDD  referred  to  the  embezzlement  of  public  monies,  general 
corruption,  a  lack  of  legitimacy  on  the  part  of  the  government  and  National  Assembly,  the 
establishment of impunity as a method of government and anarchy in the management of state 
affairs, all of which had plunged the country into a catastrophic situation. It laid the blame for 
this at the door of members of the Souaré government and the institutions of the Republic. In 
view of the general desire to break with the Conté regime and fears of national destabilisation, 
the CNDD was welcomed by the Guinean public, including the leaders of the main political 
parties, trade unions and civil society.  

The  coup  d'état  was  accompanied  by  changes  within  the  army,  including  the  enforced 
retirement of a number of generals. The CNDD declared its intention to hold presidential and 
general elections before the end of 2010 and invited the political parties and representatives of 
civil  society  to  submit  proposals  as  to  how  a  peaceful  transition  to  a  constitutional  and 
democratic regime could be organised. They submitted proposed roadmaps for the holding of 
elections before the end of 2009. 

On  31 December  2008  the  President  of  the  CNDD  appointed  Kabiné  Komara,  a  senior 
international banker, as Prime Minister to form a transitional government. Three ministers had 
already been provisionally appointed: General Toto Camara (Minister for Security and Civil 
Protection), Colonel Sékouba Konaté (Defence Minister) and Captain Claude Pivi1 (Minister 
for  Presidential  Security).  These  three,  together  with  the  President  of  the  CNDD,  are  the 
CNDD "strongmen". On 14 January the Prime Minister announced the appointment of his 28-
member  transitional  government.  Originally  announced  as  a  civilian  government  in  the 

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Pivi  is  widely  believed  to  have  masterminded  the  army  mutiny  in  May  2008  and  to  be  the  principal 
architect  of  the  December  coup  d'état.  A  number  of  sources  accuse  him  of  association  with  drug-
traffickers. 

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CNDD's  initial  declarations,  the  government  in  fact  includes  ten  members  of  the  military 
(mostly  members  of  the  CNDD)2,  including  the  ministers  in  key  posts:  justice,  security, 
defence,  trade  and  finance.  Four  key  ministries  are  attached  directly  to  the  office  of  the 
President  of  the  Republic  (National  Defence,  Construction  and  Land-Use  Planning,  Finance 
and  Special  Services/Action  on  drugs)3.  No  representatives  of  the  political  parties,  trade 
unions  or  civil  society  are  included  on  the  list  of  ministers.  To  coincide  with  these 
appointments, the President of the CNDD delivered a keynote speech announcing a series of 
reforms  to  revive  the  national  economy,  raise moral  standards  in  society  and  modernise  the 
administration,  in  particular  through  measures  on  water  and  electricity,  employment, 
monetary policy, taxation, food security, public finance, management of the mining sector and 
tackling  corruption.  The  keynote  speech  did  not  once  refer  to  organising  a  democratic 
transition.  The  President  also  set  up  a  Legislative  Council  and  an  Audit  and  Surveillance 
Committee for strategic sectors of the national economy. 

The  EU,  the  African  Union,  ECOWAS,  the  United  States  and  Nigeria  have  condemned  the 
seizure of power  and urged the CNDD  to re-establish  constitutional order. Guinea has been 
suspended from the African Union, ECOWAS and the OIF (International Organisation for the 
French-Speaking World). The United States has suspended assistance other than humanitarian 
aid and measures to foster transition, and has called on the transitional government to publish 
dates for the elections. The new regime has, on the other hand, been hailed by Libya, Senegal, 
Mauritania and Gambia. ECOWAS has initiated mediation efforts with the military regime to 
speed  up  the  transition.  The  African  Union,  the  United  Nations,  France  and  the  European 
Union have also conducted missions, all conveying the same message about the need to hold 
elections in the near future and to safeguard democratic principles.  

2. 

CONCLUSIONS OF THE ARTICLE 96 MONITORING MISSION OF 14-16 JANUARY 2009 

This  exploratory  mission  was  conducted  in  the  context  of  the  ongoing  consultations  under 
Article 96  of  the  Cotonou  Agreement  with  the  main  aim  of  assessing  the  new  political 
situation  to  emerge  following  the  military  coup  in  order  to  propose  appropriate  action,  in 
particular with a view to possible further Article 96 consultations. The mission was organised 
and  carried  out  together  with  the  African  Union  and  ECOWAS.  The  mission's  conclusions 
can be summarised as follows: 

•  concern as to the intentions of those who carried out the coup and their genuine desire for 

democratic transition;  

•  concern as to the CNDD's internal unity and the high risk of internal problems or of a new 

coup d'état; 

•  gradual loss of confidence on the part of the political parties, trade unions and civil society 
in  the  intentions  of  the  CNDD  and  gradual  closure  of  the  window  of  opportunity  for 
starting a democratic transition process;  

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General Camara and Colonel Konaté kept their positions. Though not included on the list of ministers, 
Captain Pivi has just had his position reconfirmed by decree. 
According  to  the  President  of  the  CNDD,  the  attachment  of  the  Finance  Ministry  to  the  President's 
office  is  justified  by  the  need  to  keep  a  tight  rein  on  public  spending,  while  the  attachment  of  the 
Construction and Land-Use Planning Ministry is justified on grounds of the need to control the sale of 
public land and awards of public construction contracts. The President of the CNDD does not consider 
the services currently provided by these ministries sufficiently reliable. Paradoxically, the Ministry of 
Mining has not been attached to the President's office. 

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•  major delays in the voter registration process;  

•  risks  of  a  rapid  deterioration  in  human  rights  conditions  (suspension  of  trade  union  and 
political activities, acts of violence by members of the armed forces, risk of a witch-hunt) 
and of reactions by the people of Guinea (demonstrations); 

•  gradual takeover by the junta of all financial institutions, the central bank, the finance and 
customs  ministry,  possibly  leading  to  an  economic  freeze  or  slowdown  in  economic 
activity; 

•  difficult  technical  and  operational  conditions  for  transition  and  confusion  as  to  how  it 
should  be  organised.  However,  some  convergence  points  exist  to  help  identify  the 
benchmarks for possible transition; 

•  importance of keeping up pressure on the CNDD and of arranging Article 96 consultation 

meetings as soon as possible.  

3. 

COMMISSION PROPOSAL 

The  Commission  supports  the  Presidency  statement  of  31 December  2008  condemning  the 
taking of power by force and calling on Guinea to begin a peaceful, orderly and democratic 
transition as soon as possible and in a spirit of consensus in order to re-establish the normal 
functioning  of  institutions  at  the  earliest  opportunity,  in  particular  through  the  holding  of 
presidential  and  general  elections.  The  Commission  states  that  it  is  prepared  to  support  the 
measures  taken  by  ECOWAS  and  the  African  Union  to  speed  up  the  transition  process,  in 
particular by assisting in the organisation of the elections. 

Article 9(2) of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 and 
revised  in  Luxembourg  on  25 June 2005  lays  down  the  essential  elements  on  which  the 
partnership  is  based.  Democratic  principles,  the  rule  of  law  and  human  rights  underpin  the 
domestic  and  international  policies  of  the  Parties  and  constitute  essential  elements  of  the 
Agreement. In the light of this Article, and given the circumstances in which the military junta 
took  power  in  Guinea,  the  Commission  finds  that  there  has  been  a  particularly  serious  and 
manifest violation of these essential elements and deems the situation to be a case of special 
urgency  within  the  meaning  of  Article  96(2)(b)  of  the  Agreement.  It  therefore  considers  it 
necessary to open consultations with the authorities in power in Guinea in order to examine 
possible  solutions  to  the  crisis  which  would  re-establish  constitutional  order.  These 
consultations  will  be  conducted  in  accordance  with  Article  96  of  the  revised  Cotonou 
Agreement  and  will  entail  in  particular  discussing  a  transition  roadmap  with  the  authorities 
concerned that will specify: 

•  the  agreement  of  all  the  parties  (CNDD,  government,  political  parties,  trade  unions  and 

civil society) to the stages of transition; 

•  the establishment of a National Council for Transition based on consensus, with the powers 

and authority of a constituent assembly; 

•  updating of the legal framework (Constitution and electoral laws)4; 

•  the organisation of free and transparent general and presidential elections before the end of 

2009; 

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This item includes the voter registration process and the establishment of an electoral register which all 
stakeholders can trust. 

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•  the timetable for each of the items on the roadmap. 

Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and urgent attention to the freedom and 
safety  of  persons,  freedom  of  expression  and  the  non-use  of  torture  and  other  inhuman  or 
degrading acts, will be regarded as an essential element of the transition. 

Such dialogue will give the military junta in Guinea an opportunity to state its intentions and 
its proposals for ending the crisis and allow the European Union to judge whether and how it 
could, on the basis of this dialogue, support initiatives tending towards compliance with the 
principles set out in Article 9(2) of the revised Cotonou Agreement.  

The  Commission  therefore  proposes  that  the  Council  invite  the  Republic  of  Guinea  to  hold 
consultations  under  Article  96  of  the  revised  Cotonou  Agreement  in  accordance  with  the 
attached draft letter. 

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ANNEX 

Brussels, 

Prime Minister of the Transitional Government  
of the Republic of Guinea 
Conakry 
Guinea 

DRAFT 

Sir, 

In  its  statement  of  31 December  2008  on  the  coup  d'état  in  Guinea,  the  Presidency  of  the 
European  Union  roundly  condemned  the  taking  of  power  by  force  and  called  on  Guinea  to 
begin  a  peaceful,  orderly  and  democratic  transition  as  soon  as  possible  and  in  a  spirit  of 
consensus  in  order  to  re-establish  the  normal  functioning  of  institutions  at  the  earliest 
opportunity, in particular through the holding of presidential and general elections.  

In  that  statement,  the  Presidency  of  the  European  Union  also  stated  that  it  was  prepared  to 
support  the  measures  taken  by  ECOWAS  and  the  African  Union  to  speed  up  the  transition 
process, in particular by assisting in the organisation of the elections.  

In application of Article 96(2)(b) of the Cotonou Agreement and in view of the serious and 
manifest violation of the essential elements referred to in Article 9 of the Agreement, we have 
the  honour,  on  behalf  of  the  Community  and  the  Member  States  of  the  European  Union,  to 
invite your country for consultations in order, as provided for in the Agreement, to study the 
situation in depth and, where appropriate, take steps to remedy it. These consultations will be 
conducted in accordance with Article 96 of the revised Cotonou Agreement and will entail in 
particular discussing a transition roadmap with the authorities concerned, possibly based, inter 
alia, on the following steps and associated timetable: 

•  agreement  of  all the parties (CNDD, government, political parties, trade unions and civil 

society) to the stages of transition;  

•  the establishment of a National Council for Transition based on consensus, with the powers 

and authority of a constituent assembly; 

•  updating of the legal framework (Constitution and electoral laws)5; 

•  the organisation of free and transparent general and presidential elections before the end of 

2009; 

•  the timetable for each of the items on the roadmap. 

Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and urgent attention to the freedom and 
safety  of  persons,  freedom  of  expression  and  the  non-use  of  torture  and  other  inhuman  or 
degrading acts, will be regarded as an essential element of the transition. 

We  propose  that  these  consultations  take  place  in  the  near  future,  at  a  date  to  be  agreed 
jointly, in the building of the Council of the European Union in Brussels. The consultations 
will  provide  an  opportunity  for  Guinea  to  be  more  specific  about  the  urgent  and  peaceful 

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This item includes the voter registration process and the establishment of an electoral register which all 
stakeholders can trust. 

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return to democracy within the existing legal order and in full respect of the Constitution, and 
to establish appropriate measures to accompany the transition. 

We have the honour to be, Sir, yours faithfully, 

For the Council 

For the Commission 

Copies:  President of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers 

Chairman of the ACP Committee of Ambassadors  
General Secretariat of the ACP Group 

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