EU/ACP: NEGOTIATIONS OH COTONOU AGREEMENT REVIEW MAKE SOME PROGRESS

摘要

The first review of the Cotonou Agreement between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries should be wrapped up by the end of February. With this in mind, the ACP Council of Ministers met in Brussels between November 30 and December 2 to identify the main trade and political dialogue differences between the two groups. A European Troika and ACP Group officials then had a Ministerial meeting on the afternoon of December 3 in Brussels to clear the way for the final round of talks on thetrade and aid pact, scheduled for February 15, 2005. Discussions focused on political dialogue and in particular political consultation procedures regarding failures to honour democratic principles, but also on the investment facility and rules and procedures. Ministers requested that technical negotiating teams to pursue work on differences with a view to signing a revised trade and aid Agreement before the deadline of February 28, 2005. The principal difficulties concern political, security and defence issues, but even on the Investment Facility, the EU says it has insufficient latitude to take the ACP Group's proposal on board.