Annual Report of the Acp-Eec Council of Ministers (1988)
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ACP-EEC CONVENTION OF LOME ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ACP-EEC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS (1988) CONVENTION ACP-CEE DE LOME ACP-EEC CONVENTION OF LOMÉ LE CONSEIL THE COUNCIL LES SECRETAIRES THE SECRETARIES 3 ¡Ml SS3 Brussel s , H.E. Mr Giovanni BERSANI, 000091 H.E. Mr Ghebray BERHANE, Co-Chairmen of the ACP-EEC Joint Assembly, European Parliament, LUXEMBOURG Sirs, At its meeting in Brussels on 2 June 1989, the ACP-EEC Council of Ministers examined the question of the Annual Report which it has to publish pursuant to Article 269 paragraph 4 of the Third ACP-EEC Convention and instructed the Chairmen of the Committee of Ambassadors, in conjunction with the Secretaries of the Council of Ministers, to finalize this report and to forward it to the Joint Assembly. As this report has now been finally adopted, we have the honour of communicating the text thereof to the Joint Assembly in order that it may be examined by that body in accordance with Article 276 paragraph 1 of the Third ACP-EEC Convention. The necessary copies of this text will be made available to your services as soon as possible. Yours sincerely, >Á> '1/ Edwin GTON F. BJØRNEKÆR Enc: 1 ACP-EEC CONVENTION OF LOME ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ACP-EEC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS (1988) This publication is also available in ES ISBN 92-824-0675-X DA ISBN 92-824-0676-8 DE ISBN 92-824-0677-6 GR ISBN 92-824-0678-4 FR ISBN 92-824-0680-6 IT ISBN 92-824-0681-4 NL ISBN 92-824-0682-2 FT ISBN 92-824-0683-0 Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg : Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1989 ISBN 92-824-0679-2 Catalogue number : BX-56-89-481-EN-C Reproduction is authorized, except for commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged Printed in Belgium CONTENTS OF THE ANNUAL REPORT (1988) Pages I. INTRODUCTION II. OPENING OF NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE RENEWAL OF THE ACP-EEC CONVENTION 13 - 14 III. OVERVIEW OF THE WORK OF THE ACP-EEC INSTITUTIONS 15-22 1. Council of Ministers 15 2. Committee of Ambassadors 18 3. Article 193 Committee 19 4. Joint Assembly 20 5. Consultation of ACP-EEC economic and social interest groups 21 IV. ACTIVITIES OF THE ACP-EEC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS IN THE VARIOUS AREAS OF ACP-EEC CO-OPERATION 23 - 77 1. Trade co-operation (a) Uruguay Round 2 3 (b) Evolution of ACP-EEC trade 23 (c) ACP requests in connection with the Protocol of Accession of Spain and Portugal to Lomé III 24 (i) Sugar and rice 24 (ii) Two-tier tariff regime 24 (Mauritius) (d) Imports of certain ACP agricultural products into the Community 24 (i) Molasses 24 (ii) Yams 25 (iii) Rice 25 _ 6 - Pages (e) New definition adopted by the Community for rum 25 (f) Community action programme to combat environmental pollution by cadmium 25 2. Customs co-operation 26 (a) Harmonized system 26 (b) Derogation from the rules of origin 26 3. STABEX 27 4. Sugar 2 9 5. Agricultural commodities 31 6. Financial and technical co-operation 31 (a) Implementation in 1988 31 (b) Article 193 Commmittee 32 (c) Figures for the 4th, 5th and 6th European Development Funds 34 7. Investment 71 8. Agricultural co-operation 7 2 9. Industrial co-operation 73 10. Situation in southern Africa 74 - 7 - Pages 11. Implementation of the 3rd Lomé Convention - other aspects '° (a) Shipping 76 (b) Council Directives (EEC) on noise from aircraft landing in the Community 76 (c) Cultural and social co-operation 77 OTHER ACTIVITIES COVERED BY ACP-EEC CO-OPERATION 78 - 114 1. EIB activities in the ACP countries 78 2. Activities of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation 85 3. Activities of the Centre for the Development of Industry 98 - 8 - ANNEXES Pages Annex I - Resolutions adopted by the ACP-EEC Joint Assembly in Lomé (Togo) 114 Annex II - Resolutions adopted by the ACP-EEC Joint Assembly in Madrid (Spain) 130 Annex III - Summary of the recommendations of the ACP-EEC rapporteurs as a result of the first consultation by the ACP-ESC Council of ACP-EEC economic and social interest groups, pursuant to Article 23(2)(h) of the Convention, on the development of the role of ACP and European SMEs in line with the objectives of the Lomé Convention 159 Annex IV - Conclusions drawn by the ACP-EEC Council from its consultation of ACP-EEC economic and social interest groups, pursuant to Article 23(2) (h) of the Convention, on the development of the role of ACP and European SMEs in line with the objectives of the Lomé Convention 166 Annex V - Final declaration of the twelfth annual meeting of ACP-EEC economic and social interest groups 171 Annex VI - Sectoral allocation of EIB financing in 1988 177 Annex VII - Breakdown of ΞΙΒ financing operating in 1988 (own resources and risk capital) 178 Annex VIII - EIB loans from own resources (contracts signed in 1988) 179 Annex IX - Operations from risk capital (contracts signed in 1988) \Q\ - 9 - I. INTRODUCTION The major event in 1988 in relations between the Community and the ACP States was the holding of a ministerial conference in October opening negotiations between the two parties for the renewal of the ACP-EEC Convention. During 1988, both the Community and the ACP States concentrated on the preparation of their respective negotiating briefs so that negotiations could open within the time limit laid down by the third ACP-EEC Convention. The preparations formed the backdrop not only for the proceedings of the ACP-EEC Council of Ministers and ACP-EEC Committee of Ambassadors, but also for those of the ACP-EEC Joint Assembly and of the representatives of the ACP-EEC economic and social interest groups, both of which had devoted a large part of their proceedings to questions relating to the renewal of the Convention, in order to make a contribution of their own to the negotiations. With over ten years of shared experience, the two parties have managed to make these successive Conventions into the most complete and innovative example of their common desire to work out, within the framework of a continuous dialogue between confident and equal partners, a contractual aid policy which corresponds, even more closely to the specific and varied needs of the ACP partners. 10 - Implementation of the third Lomé Convention in the various areas of co-operation continued in 1988 under conditions and with results which were considered on the whole satisfactory by both parties, and the dialogue within the institutions of the Convention demonstrated once again the will on the part of both sides to deal with a number of difficulties with which the ACP States were confronted in the course of the year. Concerning the operation of STABEX, the ACP-EEC Committee of Ambassadors, in accordance with the powers delegated to it in this matter by the Council of Ministers and on the basis of a report drawn up by the Commission pursuant to Article 155(4) of the third Convention, examined the situation, which was marked in 1987 by the fact that the total number of requests for transfers exceeded the STABEX resources available for 1987, with the result that the Committee allocated the ACP States concerned an additional sum of 120 MECU from the resources of Lomé II and Lomé III. On the question of financial and technical co-operation, the following should be noted: - increased effectiveness in the implementation of programmable resources under the new approach to programming. The Community significantly expedited its operations, to the extent, that at the end of 1988 some 60% of the available resources had been committed. In addition, payments more than doubled in 1988 over the previous year, to almost 10%. 11 - the adoption in May of a Resolution of the ACP-EEC Council of Ministers on appraisal, and of another Resolution in July on the ten years of implementation of financial and technical co-operation under the first two Lomé Conventions: and also the progress made by the Article 193 Committee, particularly in its work on the general conditions to be adopted for contracts financed by the EDF and on the rules of procedure for arbitration. During the year, ACP-EEC international co-operation was further stepped up, particularly in the fields of trade policy and commodities. As regards the institutions, the bodies set up under the Convention held regular meetings, thereby continuing a very positive and fruitful dialogue and strengthening the relationship between the Community and the ACP States, which remains a touchstone for relations between industrialized and developing countries. Consultation of economic and social sectors also entered a new phase in 1988: in addition to the annual meetings under the auspices of the Joint Assembly, the ACP-EEC Council organized a first meeting to consult ACP-EEC socio-professional interest groups to discuss the role of ACP and European small and medium-sized enterprises in achieving the objectives of the Convention. This meeting produced a number of conclusions and recommendations to the Community, the ACP States and the socio-professional organizations themselves. 13 - II. OPENING OF NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE RENEWAL OF THE ACP-EEC CONVENTION The negotiations between the European Economic Community and the 66 African, Caribbean and Pacific States party to the third ACP-EEC Convention of Lomé formally opened at a Ministerial Conference held in Luxembourg on 12 and 13 October 1988. Mr T. PÁNGALOS, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Communities, chaired the conference.