Communication from the Commission to the Council on the opening of consultations with Madagascar under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement
Date: 2009-05-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU policy, Madagascar, consultation procedure, cooperation policy, coup d'état, democratisation, political situation, rule of law

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 11.5.2009 
COM(2009) 219 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

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

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

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

1. Background 

After  two  decades  of  one-party  Socialist  rule,  a  democratic  climate  started  to  emerge  in 
Madagascar in 1991-92, based on a multi-party system and the separation of powers. A new 
founding  constitution  of  the  third  Malagasy  Republic  was  adopted  in  1992.  The  ensuing 
political  transition  showed  much  evidence  of  democratic  progress,  but  significant  setbacks 
also  occurred  under  the  presidency  of  Didier  Ratsiraka  (1996-2001).  The  presidential 
elections of 11 December 2001 prompted a serious political crisis. On 29 April 2002 the High 
Constitutional Court proclaimed the election of Marc Ravalomanana, who took office in May 
and was recognised by the international community in July. 

Relative stability returned to Madagascar following the 2002 crisis. 2006 brought presidential 
elections, which took place in a calm and orderly manner observed by representatives of the 
international  community  with  the  EU  in  the  forefront.  On  23 December 2006  the  outgoing 
President, Marc Ravalomanana, was declared the winner with some 55% of the votes in the 
first round. 

A lengthy electoral cycle culminated in 2008 in a large majority for the President's party, the 
TIM,  in  the  Parliament  (national  assembly  and  senate)  and  at  local  authority  level 
(municipalities and regions). Political tension mounted in Antananarivo at the end of 2008 on 
account  of  the  closure  of  VIVA,  the  television  channel  owned  by  Mr Andry  Rajoelina,  the 
capital's  independent  mayor.  His  relations  with  President  Ravalomanana  became  openly 
hostile.  In  the  run-up  to  Christmas,  the  mayor  publicly  gave  the  government  an  ultimatum: 
authorise the reopening of his television channel and allow general freedom of the  press  by 
13 January 2009. As the deadline approached, the mayor organised a series of rallies for the 
inhabitants of Tana and called for a general strike on 24 January. A rally attended by tens of 
thousands of demonstrators on 26 January rapidly degenerated. Demonstrators set fire to the 
State  broadcasting  company's  offices  and  shops  were  looted,  especially  those  of  the  Tiko 
chain  store  owned  by  the  President's  family.  The  rioting  continued  on  27  and  28  January, 
resulting  in  between  70  and  100  deaths.  The  power  struggle  between  the  President  and  the 
mayor  continued  with  the  latter  proclaiming  himself  President  of  the  "High  Transitional 
Authority"  and  the  former  removing  him  from  his  post  of  mayor  and  replacing  him  with  a 
provisional  administrator.  After  a  further  rally  on  7 February  a  serious  escalation  in  events 
ended  in  shots  being  fired  when  a  mob  tried  to  storm  the  Presidential  palace,  some  40 
protesters being killed and 250 wounded.  

Against  this  background  and  despite  the  mediation  efforts  of  the  Malagasy  Council  of 
Christian  Churches,  backed  by  a  UN  special  envoy  and  other  international  and  regional 
organisations,  including  the  African  Union  and  the  Indian  Ocean  Commission,  the  political 
situation  changed  dramatically  following  the  issuing  of  a  72-hour  ultimatum  by  the  army's 
chief of staff urging the parties to take the dialogue forward and work for a political solution. 
On 17 March the President decided to dissolve the government and issued a decree conferring 
full  powers  on  a  board  of  members  of  the  military.  The  military  board  subsequently 

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transferred  the  full  powers  to  Mr  Rajoelina.  The  double  transfer  of  power  was  immediately 
approved  by  the  High  Constitutional  Court  which  declared  Mr Rajoelina  President  of  the 
Republic.  

The international community in its entirety has condemned  this double transfer of power as 
unconstitutional.  

2. Commission proposal 

The  Commission  considers  that  any  solution  falling  outside  the  constitutional  framework  is 
completely unacceptable. It has fully endorsed the Presidency statement issued on behalf of 
the EU on 20 March, which condemns the transfer of powers that led to the deposing of the 
democratically elected President by force and calls on the Malagasy parties to comply fully 
with the provisions of the Constitution of Madagascar on presidential vacancies. 

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.  Respect  for  human  rights,  democratic  principles  and  the  rule  of  law 
underpin  the  domestic  and  international  policies  of  the  Parties  and  constitute  the  essential 
elements of the Agreement. In the light of this Article, and given the circumstances in which 
Mr Rajoelina  took  power  in  Madagascar,  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 
Madagascar  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.  

Such dialogue will give the authorities in power in Madagascar an opportunity to state their 
intentions and proposals for ending the crisis and allow the EU to judge whether and how it 
could,  on  the  basis  of  this  dialogue,  support  initiatives  directed  at  compliance  with  the 
principles set out in Article 9(2) of the revised Cotonou Agreement.  

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

The Commission proposes that, during the consultation period, ongoing cooperation activities 
continue  with  the  exception  of  budgetary  aid,  which  is  to  be  suspended,  and  programme-
estimates and all other payments to the government and its agencies which must be examined 
on  a  case-by-case  basis.  Contacts  with  national  authorities  concerning  preparation  activities 
for  new  projects  will  be  confined  to  any  humanitarian  measures  or  measures  that  directly 
benefit the population, to be approved on a case-by-case basis. In the case of activities based 
on  Community  external  aid  instruments,  the  Commission  proposes  that  they  be  treated  in  a 
similar way to activities under the Cotonou Agreement, while ensuring compliance with the 
provisions of these instruments and the Financial Regulation. 

Outside  the  strict  development  cooperation  context,  there  is  the  Fisheries  Partnership 
Agreement  and  the  Protocol  thereto  on  the  regional  plan  for  fisheries  surveillance  in  the 
south-west  Indian  Ocean;  the  Commission  is  currently  verifying  whether  the  conditions  for 
implementing the Protocol are still met. Subject to further checks on the proper application of 

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the Fisheries Agreement and regional plan, the Commission may take any relevant action it 
deems necessary in the context. 

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ANNEX  

Brussels, 

President of the High Transitional Authority  
of the Republic of Madagascar  
Antananarivo 
Madagascar 

DRAFT 

Sir,  

In its statement of 20 March on the recent developments in Madagascar, the Presidency of the 
European  Union  expressed  its  grave  concern  at  the  developments  which  led  to  the 
democratically elected President, Marc Ravalomanana, being deposed by force and urged the 
Malagasy  parties  to  comply  fully  with  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  of  Madagascar  on 
presidential vacancies. 

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(2) of the Agreement, we 
have the honour, on behalf of the Community and its Member States, 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. 

We propose that these consultations take place within 30 days of the date of this invitation, at 
a date to be agreed jointly, in the building of the Council of the European Union in Brussels. 

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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