Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be adopted by the European Union within the ACP-EU Council of Ministers concerning the multiannual financial framework for the period 2014 to 2020 of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement
Date: 2011-12-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: ACP countries, Cotonou Agreement, association agreement (EU), financial protocol, financing method

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 7.12.2011 
COM(2011) 836 final 

2011/0396 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be adopted by the European Union within the ACP-EU Council of 
Ministers concerning the multiannual financial framework for the period 2014 to 2020 
of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement  

{SEC(2011) 1459} 
{SEC(2011) 1460} 

 
 
  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The  Partnership  Agreement  between  the  members  of  the  African,  Caribbean  and  Pacific 
(ACP) 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 20001 provides for the adoption of financial 
protocols for each five year period. 

The  multiannual  financial  framework  for  the  period  2008  to  2013  forms  Annex  Ib  to  that 
Agreement. 

For  the  post-2013  multiannual  financial  framework,  the  European  Commission  presented  in 
its Communication ‘A budget for Europe 2020’2 the overall volume (EUR 30 318.7 million in 
2011  prices,  i.e.  EUR  34  275.6  million  in  current  prices)  proposed  for  the  11th  EDF  for 
cooperation with ACP countries and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs). 

The  Commission  is  presenting  a  Communication  describing  the  main  elements  that  could 
figure in the Internal Agreement for the 11th European Development Fund, for the period from 
1 January 2014 to 31 December 20203.  

Annex  I  to  the  Cotonou  Agreement  also  needs  to  be  supplemented  accordlingly  with  an 
additional  protocol  for  the  2014-2020  multiannual financial  framework.  So  the Commission 
hereby proposes a new Annex 1c to be inserted in the Cotonou Agreement (The multiannual 
financial framework for the period 2014-2020). 

The structure of the multiannual financial framework proposed for 2014-2020 and the share of 
the  different  EDF  instruments  broadly  follow  those  applied  to  the  10th  EDF,  with  the 
exception of the Investment Facility which will be financed from the reflows from the 9th and 
10th  EDFs’  Investment  Facilities.  The  assumption  of  the  European  Commission  is  that  an 
agreement will be reached by the European Union and its Member States on laying down the 
financing mechanism (the 11th European Development Fund), the exact period to be covered 
(2014-2020),  and  the  amount  of  funds  to  be  allocated  to  that  mechanism,  for  implementing 
the  ACP-EU  Partnership,  and  that  the  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member 
States will agree on an Internal Agreement for an 11th European Development Fund. 

1 

2 
3 

OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3. Agreement as amended by the Agreement signed in Luxembourg on 25 
June 2005 (OJ L 287, 28.10.2005, p. 4) and by the Agreement signed in Ouagadougou on 22 June 2010 
(OJ L 287, 4.11.2010, p. 3). 
COM(2011) 500. 
COM(2011) 837. 

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2011/0396 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be adopted by the European Union within the ACP-EU Council of 
Ministers concerning the multiannual financial framework for the period 2014 to 2020 
of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement  

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 209 (2) in conjunction with Article 218 (9) thereof,  

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,  

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

The  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  20004,  as  amended  in 
Luxembourg on 25 June 20055 and in Ouagadougou on 22 June 20106 (‘the ACP-EU 
Agreement’) provides for the adoption of financial protocols for each five year period. 

The European Union and its Member States, in accordance with paragraph 7 of Annex 
Ib to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, together with the ACP States, conducted a 
performance  review,  assessing  among  other  things  the  degree  of  realisation  of 
commitments and disbursements.  

[On  …  ],  the  European  Union  and  its  Member  States  have  agreed  to  lay  down  the 
financing mechanism (the 11th European Development Fund), the exact period to be 
covered (2014-2020), and the amount of funds to be allocated to that mechanism, for 
implementing the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement. 

(4) 

The  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member  States  have  adopted  an 
Internal Agreement on an 11th European Development Fund,  

4 
5 
6 

OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3. Agreement as rectified by OJ L 385, 29.12.2004, p. 88. 
OJ L 209, 11.8.2005, p. 27. 
OJ L 287, 4.11.2010, p. 3. 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

The  position  to  be  taken  by  the  European  Union  within  the  ACP-EU  Council  of  Ministers 
regarding the protocol on the multiannual financial framework for the period 2014-2020 shall 
be based on the draft Decision of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers attached hereto.  

Article 2 

After its adoption, the Decision of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers shall be published in the 
Official Journal of the European Union. 

Done at Brussels, […] 

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX 

Draft 

Decision of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers of 

adopting a protocol on the multiannual financial framework for the period 2014-2020 
under the 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 

THE ACP-EU COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, 

Having regard to the 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 20007 as amended in Luxembourg on 
25  June  20058  and  in  Ouagadougou  on  22  June  20109  (the  ‘ACP-EU  Partnership 
Agreement’), and in particular Articles 95(2) and 100 thereof, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

The European Union and its Member States together with the ACP States conducted 
a performance review, in accordance with paragraph 7 of Annex Ib to the ACP-EU 
Partnership  Agreement,  assessing  among  other  things  the  degree  of  realisation  of 
commitments and disbursements.  

The European Union and its Member States have agreed to lay down the financing 
mechanism  (the  11th EDF),  the  exact  period  to  be  covered  (2014-2020),  and  the 
amount  of  funds  to  be  allocated  to  that  mechanism,  for  implementing  the  ACP-EU 
Partnership Agreement. 

(3) 

The protocol establishing the multiannual financial framework for the period 2014 to 
2020 should be inserted into the Agreement as Annex Ic,  

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

The  Annex  to  this  Decision  is  adopted  as  a  new  Annex  Ic  to  the  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, as revised in Luxembourg on 25 June 2005 and in Ouagadougou on 22 June 
2010. 

Article 2 

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9 

OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3. Agreement as rectified by OJ L 385, 29.12.2004, p. 88. 
OJ L 209, 11.8.2005, p. 27. 
OJ L 287, 4.11.2010, p. 3. 

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This Decision shall enter into force on the day on which it is adopted. 

Done at […], […] 

For the ACP-EU Council of Ministers 

The President

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ANNEX 

The following Annex shall be inserted in the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement: 

"ANNEX Ic  

Multiannual financial framework for the period 2014 - 2020 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

For  the  purposes  set  out  in  this  Agreement  and  for  a  period  starting  on  1  January 
2014,  the overall  amount  of  financial assistance available to the  ACP  States within 
this multiannual financial framework shall be EUR 34 718.4 million, as specified in 
points 2 and 3. 

The  sum  of  EUR  32 218.4  million  under  the  11th  European  Development  Fund 
(EDF), shall be made available from the entry into force of the multiannual financial 
framework. It shall be allocated between the cooperation instruments as follows: 

(a)  EUR 27 658.2 million to finance national and regional indicative programmes. 

This allocation will be used to finance: 

– 

– 

the national indicative programmes of individual ACP States ; 

the  regional  indicative  programmes  of  support  for  regional  and  inter-
regional cooperation and integration of Groups of ACP States; 

(b)  EUR 3 960.2 million to finance intra-ACP and inter-regional cooperation with 
many or all of the ACP States. This envelope shall include structural support to 
the CDE and the CTA, and to the Joint Parliamentary Assembly. It shall also 
cover assistance with the operating expenditure of the ACP Secretariat referred 
to in points 1 and 2 of Protocol No 1 ‘on the operating expenditure of the joint 
institutions’; 

(c)  EUR  600  million  to  finance  the  Investment  Facility  in  accordance  with  the 
terms and conditions set out in Annex II ‘Terms and conditions of financing’) 
to this Agreement, under the form of grants for the financing of the interest rate 
subsidies and project-related technical assistance provided for in Articles 1, 2 
and 4 of that Annex over the period of the 11th EDF. 

The operations financed under the Investment Facility, including the corresponding 
interest rate subsidies, shall be managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB). An 
amount  of  up  to  EUR  2  500  million  in  addition  to  the  11th  EDF  shall  be  made 
available by the EIB in the form of loans from own resources and will be subject to a 
revision clause at mid term. These resources shall be granted for the purposes set out 
in  Annex  II  to  this  Agreement,  in  accordance  with  the  conditions  laid  down  in  the 
statutes  of  the  EIB  and  the  relevant  provisions  of  the  terms  and  conditions  for 
investment  financing  in  that  Annex.  All  other  financial  resources  under  this 
multiannual financial framework shall be administered by the Commission. 

After  31  December  2013  or  after  the  date  of  entry  into  force  of  this  multiannual 
financial  framework,  whichever  is  the  later,  balances  from  the  10th  EDF  or  from 
previous  EDFs  and  funds  decommitted  from  projects  under  these  EDFs  shall  no 

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longer be committed, unless the Council of the European Union decides otherwise by 
unanimity, with the exception of the remaining balances and reimbursements of the 
amounts allocated for the financing of the Investment Facility, excluding the related 
interest rate subsidies, and the remaining balances of the primary agricultural export 
receipt  stabilisation  guarantee  system  (STABEX)  under  the  EDFs  prior  to  the  9th 
EDF. 

The  overall  amount  of  this  multiannual  financial  framework  shall  cover  the  period 
from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020. The funds of the 11th EDF, and, in the 
case of the Investment Facility, the funds stemming from reflows, shall no longer be 
committed  beyond  31  December  2020,  unless  the  Council  of  the  European  Union 
decides otherwise by unanimity, on a proposal from the Commission. However, the 
funds  subscribed  by  Member  States  under  the  9th  and  10th  EDF  to  finance  the 
Investment  Facilities  shall  remain  available  after  31  December  2020  for 
disbursement. 

The  Committee  of  Ambassadors,  acting  on  behalf  of  the  ACP-EU  Council  of 
Ministers,  may,  within  the  overall  amount  of  the  multiannual  financial  framework, 
take appropriate measures in order to meet programming requirements under one of 
the allocations provided for in point 2, including the reassignment of funds between 
these allocations. 

The  Parties  may  decide  to  conduct  a  performance  review,  assessing  the  degree  of 
realisation  of  commitments and disbursements, as well as the results and impact of 
the  aid  provided.  This  review  would  be  undertaken  on  the  basis  of  a  proposal 
prepared by the Commission. 

Any  Member  State  may  provide  the  Commission  or  the  EIB  with  voluntary 
contributions  to  support  the  objectives  of  the  ACP-EU  Partnership  Agreement. 
Member  States  may  also  co-finance  projects  or  programmes,  for  example  in  the 
framework of specific initiatives to be managed by the Commission or the EIB. ACP 
ownership of such initiatives at the national level must be guaranteed." 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

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