The direct effects of EPAs on ACP countries arise from the requirement to eliminate tariffs on most imports from the EU. While consumers gain from cheaper imports, the government losses tariff revenue and producers face increased completion, implying adjustment costs. This paper estimates the consumer welfare and revenue impact for a sample of 34 ACP countries of eliminating tariffs on imports from the EU under an EPA, and discusses the associated adjustment costs. Although the ACP overall and on average experiences consumer welfare gains, the gains (or any losses) are small and associated with significant revenue losses and potential adjustment costs. As the gains are associated with increased imports from the EU, larger welfare gains tend to be associated with larger revenue losses and adjustment costs. There is scope for tax substitution to address revenue concerns, but addressing adjustment costs (especially employment) will be much more difficult. ACP countries can exclude up to 20% of imports from the EU from tariff elimination (sensitive products). The paper argues that regionally traded goods should be classified as sensitive and excluded from liberalization. Although this reduces consumer welfare gains (or increases welfare losses), these are likely to be more than offset by the benefits from lower revenue losses and trade effects that reduce adjustment costs. This also serves to encourage increased intra-regional trade: regional exporters gain from the preservation of their regional market share and in all countries domestic producers are likely to produce some regionally traded goods.
The article considers the changes that have taken place within the political economy of international trade over the last decade. The work begins by assessing briefly the dynamics of the last successful trade negotiations undertaken by the ACP Caribbean – the agreement on a single European banana market in 1993. Since then, however, the international political and economic climate has dramatically changed. The article evaluates recent developments, which have highlighted attention on the political acceptability of trade discrimination, particularly within the context of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the World Trade Organisation. In addition, there is an analysis of the reform process undertaken by the European Union, both in terms of its membership and policy agenda, which has seriously impacted on Caribbean economic interests. The article establishes that the actors representing the Caribbean were extremely successful in constructing strategic coalitions to defend their trading interests in the early 1990s, but the region must now appreciate that the international environment has changed so dramatically that former negotiating strategies are no longer appropriate. An awareness of the changed negotiating environment on the part of the Caribbean is vitally important if ongoing international trade negotiations are to be completed to the region's satisfaction. Resumen: Batallas bananeras y desafíos políticos: El grupo ACP del Caribe y la fragmentación de las coaliciones de interésEste trabajo considera los cambios ocurridos en la economía política del comercio internacional durante la última década. El artículo comienza con una breve evaluación de la dinámica de las últimas negociaciones comerciales satisfactorias del grupo ACP del Caribe: el acuerdo sobre un mercado único bananero europeo en 1993. Desde entonces, sin embargo, el clima político y económico internacional ha cambiado drásticamente. El artículo evalúa los recientes acontecimientos que han puesto de relieve la aceptabilidad política de la discriminación comercial, en particular en el contexto del Acuerdo General sobre Tarifas y Comercio y la Organización Mundial del Comercio. Además, se hace un análisis del proceso de reforma efectuado por la Unión Europea, tanto en términos de su ampliación como de su agenda política, los cuales han tenido un grave impacto en los intereses económicos caribeños. El artículo establece que a principios de los años 90 los representantes caribeños tuvieron gran éxito a la hora de desarrollar estrategias para defender sus intereses comerciales, pero en estos momentos la región debe tomar nota de que el ambiente internacional ha cambiado de forma tan radical que las antiguas estrategias de negociación no pueden considerarse ya como apropiadas. Para que la región pueda asegurar un resultado positivo de las actuales negociaciones, es de vital importancia que el Caribe tome conciencia del nuevo clima en que se desarrollan dichas negociaciones.
Since the signing of the Cotonou Agreement in 2000, the European Union (EU) has suspended development aid towards a number of African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries in response to breaches of Human Rights and democratic principles by activating the so-called Human Rights clause (article 96). The present article analyses the use by the EU of aid suspensions as political tools and their efficacy in achieving the desired policy goals, in an attempt to identify and explain the determinants leading to the success of these measures. The investigation finds that the use of development aid suspensions is frequently effective. Classical sanctions theory appears to account largely for their success, given that most targets display a significant degree of dependence on the EU as a donor or a trading partner. However, and without refuting the explanatory power of that approach, a closer look at this practice unveils a number of factors that contribute to facilitate success. One of them is the selective use of the tool: suspensions are applied predominantly in cases of interruptions of the democratic process, while they are rarely used in situations of violent conflict. The specificities of the consultations mechanism, and especially the attitude of ACP neighbouring countries- often openly supportive-, largely determine the final outcome.
The Economic Partnership Agreements between the European Union and 77 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries will not cause markets in the South to be swamped with European imports, as opponents suggest. But they will result in dramatic reductions in government revenues.
Cotonou agreement, signed in June 2000, between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Countries, is characterized by the respect of Human Rights, Democratic standards and Rule of Law in one side, and the quest for compliance with the standards principles of World trade Organization (WTO) in the other side. Since then the development policy implemented by Europe for ACP Countries was created with the Treaty of Rome which established European Development Funds, in favor of these countries. For many years, this partnership, mainly economic, has given huge benefits to ACP countries to ensure their development. For almost two decades that the political standards rules were introduced into this partnership, no doubt to notice that some countries, including Togo, are still reluctant to introduce real democratic reforms to ensure effective political changes. Despite sanctions here and there from the European Union, these countries find support from China who treats with African countries, a specific partnership excluding any Civil Society. ; L'Accord de Cotonou, signé en juin 2000 entre l'Union européenne et les États d'Afrique, des Caraïbes et du Pacifique (ACP), se caractérise par un respect des droits de l'homme, des normes démocratiques et de l'État de droit d'une part, et la quête d'une conformité des normes aux principes de l'Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC), d'autre part. En effet, la politique de développement mise en place par l'Europe au profit des États ACP a vu le jour avec le Traité de Rome et la création du Fonds européen de développement au profit des ces pays. Pendant longtemps, le partenariat, essentiellement économique, a octroyé d'énormes avantages aux pays ACP en vue d'assurer leur développement. Depuis bientôt deux décennies que les normes politiques ont été insérées dans ce partenariat, force est de constater que quelques pays, dont le Togo, demeurent toujours réticents quant à l'instauration de réelles réformes démocratiques en vue d'assurer une véritable alternance politique. En ...
The Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA), which governs relations between the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group and the European Union (EU), will expire in the year 2020. While the three pillars of this framework addressing political dialogue, development cooperation and trade are generally considered to have served their purpose well, there are clear signs that significant changes within the ACP group, the EU and the wider international landscape demand a different articulation of the relationship. A tacit understanding among Europeans is that the ball is in the ACP's corner in terms of defining and determining their own future as a group and its relationship vis-à-vis the EU as such. However, a momentum needs to be built for the coming 2015 revision of the Cotonou Agreement with a view to a plausible post-2020 scenario, in which the EU also needs to set out its own desires and priorities in giving shape to the cooperation. In previous years the EU Member States increasingly "outsourced" the management of the partnership to the European Commission, but there is a gradually growing recognition that the CPA is presently the principal functioning vehicle guiding EUAfrica relations. European perceptions on the future of the Cotonou Agreement point to two sets of arguments, namely: Reasons to do away with the ACP-EU partnership: Weak rationale to keep a common framework with these very different regions, combined with weak evidence of the development of an ACP identity or intra-ACP trade; Decreasing relevance of ex-colonial ties, particularly in the context of an enlarged EU, but also more generally of the agreement's strong focus on official development assistance; Poor track record in shaping joint positions and interventions at international fora. Elements in the partnership deemed worth preserving: Legally binding nature that favours political dialogue as well as predictability and strategy ownership in development cooperation; A relatively strong performance of the European Development Fund (EDF) compared to other EU development cooperation instruments, combined with its multi-stakeholder approach to the design and management of development strategies; Potential alliance for global public goods provision. Despite the fact that there is not yet an official position from the EU nor its Member States on what should happen after the CPA expires, European actors (European Commission, European Parliament, Member States) seem to be inclined to move towards a more regional approach of the Union's external relations while maintaining the valuable aspects of the present setup. While the EU's declining strategic interest in the Caribbean – and especially the Pacific – is no secret, too rejectionist a stance towards the cooperation framework by EU Member States could seriously harm the promotion of their values and interests in Africa. The EU would currently seem most inclined to preserve key elements of the CPA in a "light version" of the current ACP-EU agreement, by transferring those elements into separate EU regional strategies towards Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, or a combination of both. European policy discussions on this matter are also long overdue, given that the preparations for the third revision of the CPA in 2015 will be a key "warming-up session" for the negotiations for post-2020. The EPA negotiations have seriously and negatively affected ACPEU relations in the recent past and could also harm the EU's own position and trade with Africa in the medium- to long term if continued in the same manner.
A rare case under the General Conditions of Contract for the Airport Core Programme Civil Engineering Works (the ACP Conditions) will soon be published in the law reports. In A-G v Trafalgar House Construction (Asia) Ltd and Others, to be reported as [1996] 4 HKC 1, the Government opposed an adjudicator hearing a common law claim for damages for breach of contract. This month J.A. Mclnnis looks at the jurisdiction of the adjudicator under the ACP Conditions and the distinction between claims under the contract and common claims for damages for breach of contract. ; published_or_final_version
The partnership between the EU and the ACP countries (that include 38 of the world's 49 least developed countries) has a long standing history and was renewed in 2000 with the Cotonou Agreement. Furthermore, the European Commission has become the world's fifth largest donor of development aid - and therefore one of the most important - in the 1990's. When total aid is looked at the ACP countries are disproportionally among those receiving the most foreign aid per capita in the world and hence the effects of European aid are of special relevance for them. The aim of this paper is therefore to investigate the effect European aid has on investment in the ACP countries. It contributes to the ongoing debate on aid effectiveness by arguing that the impact f aid does not only depend on the characteristics of the recipient but also of the donor. The EU-ACP Partnership Agreement could increase incentives for private investment in the ACP countries either through direct support measures or more indirectly through complementary spending for infrastructure and administration. The special private sector chapter in the Cotonou Agreement makes it visible that private sector support is a primary objective and brings the existing provisions into a more coherent and refined framework. However, given the limited funds that were available under the Lomé Conventions direct investment support cannot be expected to increase total investment considerably. The empirical findings show that total aid has a positive but declining effect on the share of gross domestic investment in GDP. The effect of aid from the European Commission on gross domestic investment seems to be smaller partly due to its allocation towards ACP countries with a relatively poor investment performance. ; Die Partnerschaft zwischen EU und AKP-Staaten (von denen 38 zu den 49 am wenigsten entwickelten Ländern gehören) hat eine langjährige Geschichte und wurde im Jahre 2000 mit dem Cotonou Abkommen erneuert. Zudem hat sich die Europäische Kommission in den 90er Jahren zum fünftgrößten Geber von Entwicklungshilfe in der Welt entwickelt. Die AKP-Staaten liegen bei Betrachtung der Gesamthilfe überproportional unter denen, welche die meiste Entwicklungshilfe pro Kopf in der Welt erhalten. Es werden daher die Auswirkungen der EU-Hilfe insbesondere auf die Investitionen in den AKP Staaten untersucht. Damit wird ein Beitrag zu der gegenwärtigen Debatte über die Wirksamkeit von Entwicklungshilfe geleistet. Es wird argumentiert dass die Wirksamkeit von Hilfe nicht nur von den Gegebenheiten im Empfängerland, sonder auch vom Geber abhängt. Das Abkommen von Cotonou soll die Anreize für Privatinvestitionen in den AKP-Staaten steigern, entweder durch direkte Förderungsmaßnahmen oder indirekt durch ergänzende Ausgaben für Infrastruktur und Administration. Das Sonderkapitel über den Privatsektor im Cotonou-Abkommen macht deutlich, dass die Unterstützung des privaten Sektors ein primäres Ziel ist und bringt die bestehenden Bestimmungen in einen kohärenten und verbesserten Rahmen. Einer der Schwerpunktsektoren ist daher die Förderung von Investitionen und privatem Sektor. Bei den begrenzten Geldmitteln, die durch die Lomé-Abkommen verfügbar waren, kann allerdings nicht erwartet werden, dass die Förderung direkter Investitionen die Gesamtinvestitionen wesentlich steigert. Die empirischen Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Gesamthilfe einen positiven, aber sinkenden Einfluss auf den Anteil der inländischen Investitionen am BSP hat. Die Auswirkungen der EU-Hilfe auf Investitionen in den AKP Staaten sind weniger stark. Dies kann insbesondere auf die stärkere Ausrichtung der EU-Zusammenarbeit auf die AKP Staaten mit schlechteren allgemeinen Investitionsbedingungen zurückgeführt werden.
The African,Caribbean and Pacific Group of States' (ACP) development cooperation partnership with the European Union (EU) is due to expire in 2020. The EU might not extend it, but some commentators are asking whether the ACP really needs the EU since they are also starting to do business with emerging countries such as Brazil and China.
Executive summary Introduction CTA works primarily through intermediary organisations and partners (non-governmental organisations, farmers' organisations, regional organisations) to promote agriculture and rural development and to deliver its various information products and capacity building services. By partnering with these organisations, CTA seeks to increase the number of ACP organisations capable of generating and managing information and developing their own information and communication management strategies. In the period 2003 – 2005, CTA undertook a series of needs assessment studies in 21 countries in the ACP Pacific and Caribbean. As a continuation of this process, CTA have now commissioned assessments of the agricultural information needs of 6 countries emerging from prolonged conflict situations in ACP Africa, including Mozambique, which forms the focus of this report. Objectives of the Study The objectives of this study are to develop a strategy for CTA's approach to post-conflict countries, to improve the effectiveness of CTA's support for post-conflict countries and to compile baseline data on the status of ICM and ICTs in agriculture and rural development in Mozambique. Methodology The country profile was produced through a desk study. This study relied heavily on information available on the internet and additional information was obtained from various institutions in Mozambique, internationally and from key informants. Through the desk study we were able to identify a list of nine key institutions. This list was discussed with CTA and informants in Mozambique and face to face interviews were requested with each institution. Of these, seven of the institutions agreed, whilst one indicated that it would be closing its operations within a year and was therefore removed from the list. Expected results This study will provide: 1) an inventory of the status of agricultural information services, institutions and other actors and their needs as their relate to physical infrastructure, information availability and access and human capacity development; 2) an assessment of the current and / or planned interventions of the government and bi- or multilateral agencies in the field of information for agriculture and rural development; 3) an overview of the needs of potential partners for CTA activities and services in terms of building capacity for information and communication management; 4) a short-list of potential partners / beneficiaries for CTA activities and services; 5) baseline data to facilitate subsequent monitoring activities. The study will also provide a framework for CTA to develop a framework for action and fashion a strategy aimed at institutions in countries emerging from conflict situations and provide input into its 2006 – 2010 strategic plan. Findings Following the signing of a peace agreement in 1992 to end 16 years of conflict, Mozambique has achieved impressive economic growth and lowered its prevalence of poverty. Sustained by strong foreign investment, real GDP in Mozambique has been growing at rates in excess of 7 percent for the last 4 consecutive years, and per capita income in US dollars has increased by nearly 50 percent between 2001 and 2004. Mozambique's economic growth, however, implies an important transformation in the composition of its GDP, although services remain the dominant sector. The share of industry in total GDP increased to 27 percent in 2004 from about 16 percent in 1996, whereas the share of agriculture decreased to 23 percent from about 30 percent in the same period. The agricultural sector, however, still supports 80 percent of the economically active population, and agriculture still provides major export earnings from commodities such as prawns and fish, cotton, sugar, timber and cashew nuts. The forestry sector also has an important role in the country, contributing 4 percent of gross domestic product and supplying about 80 percent of the energy used. There is no unified policy or strategy in Mozambique with regard to the management of agricultural information and broad dissemination networks are not well developed. Institutions that fall outside of the state or donor worlds often find it difficult to get hold of information. Information exchange between institutions tends to be informal rather than structured. Agricultural research generally is restricted by the insufficient number of scientists who can formulate and carry out studies relevant to Mozambican needs. Budgets for information management tend to be a low priority. In-house capacity for maintaining and troubleshooting computer networks is a constraint; reliance is made upon private companies specialised in IT. Retention of staff at the centre with IT skills, in the face of competition from the private sector, was cited as a problem by all of the state agencies. Building the capacities of in-house staff was therefore felt to be important. Existing websites, maintained by some of the key institutions vary in their effectiveness as publishing outlets and often tend to be reflections of the institution, its structure and its work programme, rather than being designed specifically to disseminate information, reports, studies, etc. that are produced, or to act as advocacy tools. Use of radio as a means of disseminating information in vernacular languages is still rather limited. Problems in this respect are the costs of translation and payments for the transmissions. Training in how to pass information on to low literacy groups was also indicated by several agencies. This included training in more effective writing skills and training in how to compile radio programmes and audio visual materials. There is a general lack of metadata; documentation on who is doing what and types of available information is generally poor. This has a double negative effect. On one hand, potential data and information users have difficulties finding or getting access to relevant information and on the other hand, information suppliers do not know what they have, which prevents better organisation of information for dissemination. Conclusions Most of the institutions which we interviewed have fairly well-developed links to relevant sources of information; data on the functioning of markets, prices and production levels in the agriculture and fisheries sectors has vastly improved in recent years. Some of these agencies need information on regional and international markets and production levels. Technical data is still harder to source, particularly in Portuguese. There are information needs regarding developments in thinking on food security, forms and means of supporting organisations at community level, participatory approaches to resource management, information on low cost technologies for increasing production and conserving produce, on gender, on HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation strategies and on general rural development issues. Respondents requested capacity building in information management to increase the effectiveness of their organisations. Government services and NGO staff indicated the importance of training in the analysis of socio-economic data. Training in the use of the internet to obtain information and in the targeting of information by library and documentation services was also a broad need. The design and development of web sites was indicated by many respondents, but it is felt that there is a particular need for support in how to conceptualise these as sources of information rather than just 'publicity'. Training in effective communication to low literacy target audiences, in the development of extension materials and the use of radio and audio-visual materials is also important. Recommendations We recommend that CTA provide support to the development of a national IMC strategy for agricultural information that takes full advantage of the opportunities offered by the new GovNet infrastructure. The ICM strategy should ensure that information is easily available to all stakeholders in rural development. Furthermore, the ICM strategy should prevent a gap from evolving between organisations connected to GovNet and those that are not. Finally, the ICM should provide for communication channels from the rural poor to research organisations and policy makers, to ensure that research and policies are guided by the needs of poor rural households. We recommend that CTA attempts to increase the amount of information disseminated in Portuguese language, particularly in regard to food security, forms and means of supporting organisations at community level, participatory approaches to resource management, information on low cost technologies for increasing production and conserving produce, on gender, on HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation strategies and on general rural development issues. We recommend that CTA support short term research activities targeted at Mozambican-specific issues in relation to agricultural production and the conservation of produce. Links should be set up to inform IIAM and DNER about the information needs of poor farmers, women and PLWHA. These links can be set up through members organisations such as ORAM and UNAC, through Farmer Field Schools and through NGOs to which DNER has outsourced extension activities. We recommend that CTA investigate ways of supporting exchange of experience between organisations involved in training through associations and support to the development of training packages for associations. These should be provided to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of extension efforts in the field. In the long term, the required technical information can be provided to associations through newly developed training packages. ; The objectives of this study are to develop a strategy for CTA's approach to post-conflict countries, to improve the effectiveness of CTA's support for post-conflict countries and to compile baseline data on the status of ICM and ICTs in agriculture.
Executive summary Introduction CTA works primarily through intermediary organisations and partners (non-governmental organisations, farmers' organisations, regional organisations) to promote agriculture and rural development and to deliver its various information products and capacity building services. By partnering with these organisations, CTA seeks to increase the number of ACP organisations capable of generating and managing information and developing their own information and communication management strategies. This study is one of six country assessment studies of needs for agricultural information needs in countries emerging from prolonged conflict situations in Africa. Objectives The objectives of this study are to develop a strategy for CTA's approach to post-conflict countries, to improve the effectiveness of CTA's support for post-conflict countries and to compile baseline data on the status of ICM and ICTs in agriculture and rural development in Angola. Methodology The country profile was produced through a desktop study that relied heavily on information available on the Internet. Additional information was obtained from informants through e-mail contacts. Using the desktop study we compiled a list of key institutions to interview. This list was discussed via e-mail with CTA and informants in Angola. Informants of nine key institutions were then interviewed face-to-face. Expected results This study will provide: 1) an inventory of the status of agricultural information services, institutions and other actors and their needs as their relate to physical infrastructure, information availability and access and human capacity development; 2) an assessment of the current and / or planned interventions of the government and bi- or multilateral agencies in the field of information for agriculture and rural development; 3) an overview of the needs of potential partners for CTA activities and services in terms of building capacity for information and communication management; 4) a short-list of potential partners / beneficiaries for CTA activities and services; 5) baseline data to facilitate subsequent monitoring activities. The study will also provide a framework for CTA to develop a framework for action and fashion a strategy aimed at institutions in countries emerging from conflict situations and provide input into its 2006 – 2010 strategic plan. Findings During the civil war between UNITA and the Angolan Government that lasted until 2002, the infrastructure in Angola, especially in rural areas, was almost completely destroyed. Since 2002, up to 4.5 million displaced people were resettled in their area of origin or preference and received emergency support. About 2.2 million households (75% of the population) are engaged in subsistence agriculture. Agricultural production is still low but growing rapidly. Since 2002 the area under cultivation has increased with 50 % to 3.2 million hectare but that represents still only 5% of all arable land and Angola still imports about half of its cereal requirements. The main export crops are coffee and palm oil. Livestock numbers are also increasing rapidly since 2002. The production is concentrated in the southern provinces. Access to water is the main constraint for livestock holders in these areas. Fisheries are an important sector, providing direct employment to 35,000 people. Firewood and charcoal are an important source of income for up to 18% of the rural households and the only source of energy to almost all rural households. Timber production is concentrated in Cabinda province. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries contribute 8% to the GNP. Because of the weak infrastructure and the focus on emergency projects, which spent only the minimum on obtaining information and ICM, there is limited information available about the situation in rural areas. The information that is available is fragmented and scattered in many project evaluation reports. To cope with this situation, an informal network of information exchange has developed between NGOs, GoA and bi- and multilateral agencies in Angola over the last four years. The language barrier and outdated libraries are the main obstacles encountered by organisations searching for technical information on agriculture. Limited access to mass media and weak infrastructure are the main obstacles encountered in extension activities. There is currently no national strategy on information management and none of the organisations interviewed had an organisational strategy on information management. Organisations working in the area of agriculture and rural development are now changing to development activities and this change is accompanied by some important changes in information demands. Firstly, there is an increased need for active participation in the planning and implementation of activities by the target group. Secondly, new actors are coming in, while present ones are leaving. Thirdly, it is expected that rural households in Angola will increase production above subsistence level in the near future and will be looking for opportunities to market excess production or divert resources to cash crops. Fourthly, the government is relaxing media controls, allowing freer communication between all stakeholders and a potential increase in the use of media by NGOs. Conclusions Most respondents need information on the actual situation on the ground. Existing information produced between 2002 and 2006 is scattered over many organisations and reports. This information must be consolidated in a data-base before the main implementers leave Angola. Respondents also need information about developments in thinking on food security, rural livelihoods, participatory approaches to resource management and rural development preferably in the form of reference books. Furthermore, information is needed on micro credit and support to associations. This information should be in the form of manuals and exchange visits to successful projects, preferably in Portuguese speaking and/or African countries. Finally, technical information on food crops and fisheries is needed. Respondents need capacity building in information management to increase the effectiveness of the organisation. Especially government officials requested training in the analysis of socio-economic data. Training in the design of questionnaires and in training the interviewers is also necessary. Furthermore, respondents wanted training in the use of the Internet to obtain information and in the design and development of websites, in effective writing and the development of extension materials, in the use of participatory methods and in demand driven extension. Finally, some respondents wanted training in the use of mass media, especially radio and in the production and use of audio-visual training material. Recommendations We recommend that CTA support IDA with the development of a national IMC strategy for agricultural information that will encourage a pro-poor and gender sensitive development strategy. CTA should also supports IDA, FONGA and ADRA with the establishment of an institutional ICM. This would include building a data-base with all information produced to date. Additionally CTA should support a policy for the use of mass media, especially community radio in extension programmes. Simultaneously, the most needed information will have to be made available at central level for ongoing work. Small libraries can be set up for this at IDA and FONGA. Second, a programme of capacity building is needed to enable all actors to implement the policies formulated in the first phase. This programme should be accompanied by a limited provision of resources (Internet access, increased libraries). Trained personnel musts have the resources to use their new skills to implement activities. Successful approaches used at central level can be replicated at provincial level during this stage. Care must be taken that the information system remains pro-poor and gender sensitive. Possibly, specific actions to help prevent the spread of HIV and mitigate its effects should be taken during this phase. Finally, in the long term, specific technical information will need to be supplied for specific target groups such as fish breeders and farmers specialising in niche markets. ; The objectives of this study are to develop a strategy for CTA's approach to post-conflict countries, to improve the effectiveness of CTA's support for post-conflict countries and to compile baseline data on the status of ICM and ICTs in agriculture.
The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the European Union could serve as an opportunity to accelerate global and regional trade integration of ACP countries. Moreover, the European Commission intends to use EPAs as a tool for development and the eradication of poverty in ACP countries. To achieve their potential development, however, there are a number of preconditions in ACP countries to be fulfilled. This paper argues that institutional quality plays a key role in a successful trade liberalisation. In fact, only countries with high-quality institutions, partly in the form of good government regulations, are likely to benefit from trade. nfortunately, the vast majority of African ACP countries have excessive regulations that hinder them from taking advantage of trade. For the necessary institutional reforms to resolve this problem, we will discuss a number of important issues that have to be addressed to enable ACP countries to take full advantage of EPAs.
As the basis for rejuvenating small-scale fisheries in ACP countries, this report maps the pathway from fisher to the system of policy, legislation and practice that constrain his operation. The report reviews the existing use of ICTs in the small-scale fisheries value chain in ACP countries and finds that there is no strategic or operational framework within which these technologies are applied. Recommendations and cautions are offered to rejuvenate the small-scale fisheries sector within the context of its complex interdependencies and rich ecosystem. ; Internal Review
The Object of the Paper - legal aspects of the EU - ACP (African, Caribbean, Pacific countries) partnership. After the general questions on EU Development policy, follows the analysis of principal aspects of EU - ACP relations: protection of human rights, democracy, rule of law; financial mechanism of the partnership; trade relations; dispute settlement procedures. The main documents, examined in this Paper are the General Agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT), the Cotonou Agreement (2000) and the Economic partnership agreements (comming into force in 2008). There is also the characterization of Lithuania's relations with ACP countries.
The Object of the Paper - legal aspects of the EU - ACP (African, Caribbean, Pacific countries) partnership. After the general questions on EU Development policy, follows the analysis of principal aspects of EU - ACP relations: protection of human rights, democracy, rule of law; financial mechanism of the partnership; trade relations; dispute settlement procedures. The main documents, examined in this Paper are the General Agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT), the Cotonou Agreement (2000) and the Economic partnership agreements (comming into force in 2008). There is also the characterization of Lithuania's relations with ACP countries.
