The Council also took note of the resolution adopted by the 2nd meeting of ACP Ministers of Culture and welcomed the organization of the 1st ACP Festival held in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic).

Among the issues discussed by the Council of Ministers were the following:

Budget. The Council of Ministers examined and adopted the ACP Secretariat budget for financial year 2007.

Future of the ACP Group. The Ministers took note of the report by the Ambassadorial working group on the Future of the ACP Group and mandated the Committee of Ambassadors to pursue discussions on this issue. 

Acquisition of a new headquarters. Considering the increase in the ACP Group's activities and the lack of office space and meetings room, the Council decided to mandate the Committee of Ambassadors to adopt the tender and ad hoc procedures and any other relevant measures acceptable to the ACP Group for the sale of the current building and the acquisition of a new headquarters.

Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The Council of Ministers reiterated that the ACP regions should be allowed to pursue their regional integration processes at a pace that is politically, economically and socially justifiable and sustainable. In a decision, Ministers urged the ACP negotiating regions to remain focused on the relevant issues of the negotiations to secure an agreement that would achieve the development objectives that ACP States and regions set for themselves. They recognized the need to prioritize national and regional policy formulation and to build implementation capacities in ACP countries in preparation of any trade liberalization and other commitments being proposed by the European Commission in the context of the negotiations. Finally, Council decided to mandate the ACP Ministers responsible for EPA negotiations to meet in the early part of 2007 to examine all outstanding issues on the negotiations and make recommendations on the way forward.

Cotton. Regarding cotton, ACP Ministers expressed their concern at the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Communities to cancel the new European aid to the cotton regime and deplored the fact that the suspension of the negotiations of the Doha Programme caused the cotton dossier to be pushed into the background. The Council urged the European
Union to fully appreciate the urgent nature of the situation in the cotton sector and the considerable delay already experienced in implementing the EU-Africa Plan of Action on Cotton so that the support programme for the commodities sector could be set up as quickly as possible and in the best conditions possible. Ministers called on the international organizations responsible for implementing the programme to cooperate with each other and with local stakeholders in the ACP countries so that they can truly benefit from the resources made available through the programme.

Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Sugar. The ACP Ministers expressed their concern on the decision that only ACP countries under the Sugar Protocol would benefit from the additional 100 million euros expected to be made available for the European Investment Bank in the framework of the Investment Facility to encourage investment in the sugar sector. They called on the European Union and the European Commission to honour their commitment that under the EBA initiative for sugar, LDC imports of sugar from 1 July 2009 are guaranteed to enter the European Union free of any duties. Council  invited the European Union and the European Commission to make provision for the inclusion of all ACP sugar-producing countries to benefit from the funds that would be made available in the framework of the Investment Facility, and to confirm the inclusion of all ACP-sugar-producing countries in the activities and results of the EDF financed Intra-ACP sugar research programme.

Sugar. Council welcomed the agreement reached between the Council and the European Parliament to set aside 165 million euros from that budget for 2007 but stressed that for these aid measures to be effective, it is important that the largest portion of the available resources is allocated in the early years of the reform. Ministers called on the European Union and the European Commission to make available to the ACP countries under the Sugar Protocol the resources allocated for the financing of the accompanying measures for 2006. Council called on both institutions to avoid making any decision that might cause even more harm to the economies of the Sugar Protocol countries.

Tuna. The ACP Council requested the European Union to maintain the 24% tariff non-preferential country imports, which can be achieved through the exemption of the tuna sector from the application of the Swiss Formula in the World Trade Organization negotiations, to take full account of the effect of preference erosion and the exclusion of canned tuna from the scope of a possible Free-Trade Agreement.

Fiji. The meeting adopted a declaration on the political situation in Fiji condemning the coup d'etat that took place on 5 December 2006. In their declaration, Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the principle of democracy and the rule of law as the basis for resolving problems using lawful means through democratic processes and institutions.

Date and venue of the next session of the Council of Ministers. The 85^th session of the ACP Council of Ministers will be held in Brussels (Belgium) in the first semester of 2007. It will be followed by the 30th session of the ACP-EC Council of Ministers.

The Council session was preceded on 3 December 2006 by the following meetings: Ministerial Committees and consultations on Sugar (Consultative Sugar Group and Least Developed Countries Sugar Group), Cotton and Development Finance Committee.

Source: ACP Secretariat (www.acp.int)