On June 23, 2000, after eighteen months of negotiations, the European Union (EU) and its Member States signed a new partnership agreement with the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) states in Cotonou, Benin, called the Cotonou Agreement. This twenty-year partnership agreement with seventy-seven ACP states replaced the Lome Convention, which had provided the structure for trade and cooperation between the ACP states and the EU since 1975. The Cotonou Agreement focuses on poverty reduction as its principal objective, which will be achieved through political dialogue, development aid, and closer economic and trade cooperation. This Note discusses the structure of the Cotonou Agreement and analyzes the various effects the Agreement will have on the ACP countries, particularly, the countries of the Caribbean. It concludes that, despite its objectives, the Agreement will likely contribute to a decline in the economies of the ACP nations.
Introduction: This paper attempts to discuss the EU's external relations with the Developing World within the context of the Cotonou Agreement and the CFSP. While CFSP and Cotonou operate formally under distinct and autonomous mechanisms, it is argued here that despite this pillarisation of policy spheres and the narrow definition of EU foreign affairs, development policy forms a core element in EU foreign policy and is linked, consequently, to a broader understanding of CFSP. The paper falls into two parts: one locating the context within which EU development policy might be discussed; the other discussing the actual development policy reforms since 2000. Part one addresses a series of questions. First, the appropriate theoretical context for discussing EU development policy is debated. Second, the linkages between development policy and CFSP are examined. And third, the very basis of an EU development policy is considered in relation to the principle of subsidiarity. Part two examines the motivations behind the reform of EU development policy, discusses the central policy innovations proposed, and concludes by exploring the potential areas of future policy conflict that might arise. Undoubtedly, these are ambitious objectives in such a limited space: however, only by marrying the wider perspectives of CFSP, integration and subsidiarity with an empirical analysis of the Cotonou Agreement, can the topic be adequately contextualized. As the paper concludes, development policy does not stand in splendid isolation, but is part of the network of integration processes that shape EU policy and decision-making.
Document de recherche - DR LEO 2004-19 ; National audience ; The Cotonou agreement is a turning point in the relations between E.U. and ACP countries. This partnership tended to support development by using the classical means of financial assistance but also with commercial tools. The arbitration of the banana crisis by the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism in 1997 has led to the termination of the non-reciprocal preferences which benefited to the ACP countries. The debate on EU\'s financial cooperation scheme takes place in a context of international reflexion about the conditionality of official development assistance, in its contents and proceedings. The EU could also loose its originality and become a simple actor of a new international consensus managed by the Bretton Woods Institutions (new strategies for aleviating poverty) and the United Nations System (millenium goals). ; L'accord de Cotonou marque un tournant dans les relations entre l'Union européenne et les Etats ACP. Ces relations étaient caractérisées par la volonté des Etats européens d'aider les Etats ACP aussi bien par le moyen classique de l'aide au développement qu'en utilisant l'outil de la politique commerciale. Les vives contestations des exportateurs de bananes sud-américaines devaient conduire, après la condamnation de l'Union européenne par l'Organe de Règlement des Différends de l'OMC en 1997, à une remise en cause de la discrimination commerciale positive des pays ACP. Pour sa part, le débat sur l'aide au développement de l'UE s'inscrit dans la perspective d'une réforme de la conditionnalité de l'aide internationale aussi bien dans son contenu que dans sa mise en oeuvre. Sous cet aspect, l'UE pourrait également perdre en originalité et simplement devenir un des acteurs du nouveau consensus orchestré par les institutions de Bretton Woods (stratégies de lutte contre la pauvreté) et le système onusien (objectifs du millénaire).
Document de recherche - DR LEO 2004-19 ; National audience ; The Cotonou agreement is a turning point in the relations between E.U. and ACP countries. This partnership tended to support development by using the classical means of financial assistance but also with commercial tools. The arbitration of the banana crisis by the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism in 1997 has led to the termination of the non-reciprocal preferences which benefited to the ACP countries. The debate on EU\'s financial cooperation scheme takes place in a context of international reflexion about the conditionality of official development assistance, in its contents and proceedings. The EU could also loose its originality and become a simple actor of a new international consensus managed by the Bretton Woods Institutions (new strategies for aleviating poverty) and the United Nations System (millenium goals). ; L'accord de Cotonou marque un tournant dans les relations entre l'Union européenne et les Etats ACP. Ces relations étaient caractérisées par la volonté des Etats européens d'aider les Etats ACP aussi bien par le moyen classique de l'aide au développement qu'en utilisant l'outil de la politique commerciale. Les vives contestations des exportateurs de bananes sud-américaines devaient conduire, après la condamnation de l'Union européenne par l'Organe de Règlement des Différends de l'OMC en 1997, à une remise en cause de la discrimination commerciale positive des pays ACP. Pour sa part, le débat sur l'aide au développement de l'UE s'inscrit dans la perspective d'une réforme de la conditionnalité de l'aide internationale aussi bien dans son contenu que dans sa mise en oeuvre. Sous cet aspect, l'UE pourrait également perdre en originalité et simplement devenir un des acteurs du nouveau consensus orchestré par les institutions de Bretton Woods (stratégies de lutte contre la pauvreté) et le système onusien (objectifs du millénaire).
The European Union is currently negotiating free trade agreements, called Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), with African countries as part of the Cotonou Agreement between the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. The paper empirically assesses the impact of the EPAs on trade flows and government revenue for 14 West African countries. The results indicate that the decline in import duties due to the preferential tariff elimination might be of some cause for concern and that complementary fiscal and economic policies have to be implemented before or at the time the EPAs come into force.
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.
Permanent Mission of the OAU in Brussels. (2001-01). Activity report of the OAU Permanent Office in Brussels from July to December 2000. OAU Permanent Office carried out activities in the economic, political and socio-cultural areas and also in terms of representation activities relating to cooperation between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP).
On Friday May 16, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba summoned the newly-appointed charged'affairs of the European Commission in Havana and announced the withdrawal of the application procedure for membership in the Cotonou Agreement of the Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries, and in fact renouncing to benefit from European development aid.1 In a blistering note published in the Granma official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party, the government blamed the EU Commission for exerting undue pressure, its alleged alignment with the policies of the United States, and censure for the measures taken by Cuba during the previous weeks.2 In reality, Cuba avoided an embarrasin flat rejection for its application. This was the anti-climatic ending for a long process that can be traced back to the end of the Cold War, in a context where Cuba has been testing alternative grounds to substitute for the overwhelming protection of the Soviet Union ; Divendres 16 de maig, el Ministeri de Relacions Exteriors de Cuba va convocar als recent nomenats charged'affairs de la Comissió Europea a l'Havana i va anunciar la retirada de la sol · licitud del procediment d'adhesió a l'Acord de Cotonou de les regions d'Àfrica, Carib i Pacífic, i de fet renunciant a beneficiar-se de l'ajuda europea al desenvolupament . En una nota publicada en el diari oficial Granma del Partit Comunista de Cuba, el govern va culpar a la Comissió de la UE per exercir una pressió indeguda, de la seva suposada alineació amb les polítiques de dels Estats Units, i la censura de les mesures adoptades per Cuba durant la setmana anterior. En realitat, va posar fi a un llarg procés que es remunta fins al final de la Guerra Freda, en un context en què Cuba ha estat provant criteris alternatius per substituir la protecció de la URSS.
ÖZETİnsan haklarının dünya siyasetindeki rolü gün geçtikçe artmaktadır. İnsan haklarının giderek artan önemi insan hakları ve egemenlik, insan hakları ve milliyetçilik, insan hakları ve siyasal sistemler arasındaki ilişki vb. konulara dikkat çekmektedir. İnsan hakları, ülkelerin dış politika kararları üzerinde de etkili olmaya başlamıştır.Bu çalışmada da insan hakları konusu yukarıda değinilen bağlamda ele alınmıştır. Ancak çalışmanın daha belirgin (spesifik) bir amacı vardır: İnsan haklarının Avrupa Birliği'nin dış ilişkilerinde bir faktör olarak oynadığı rol. Bu çerçevede, öncelikle Avrupa Birliği Kurucu Antlaşmaları'nda yer alan insan haklarının korunması ile ilgili maddeler incelenmiş, Avrupa Temel Haklar Şartı ile gelişimin son noktası vurgulanmıştır. Avrupa Birliği'nin dış ilişkilerinde kullanmış olduğu araçlar (deklarasyonlar,siyasi diyalog,ortak pozisyon vb) sıralanırken insan hakları maddelerinin yer aldığı antlaşmalara özel bir önem verilmiştir. 1990'lardan bu yana yapılmakta olan bu tür antlaşmalar içinde barındırdığı "insan hakları maddesi" vasıtasıyla birtakım yaptırımlar içermektedir. İnsan hakları ihlalleri karşısında antlaşmanın askıya alınması ya da durdurulması mümkündür(Cotonou Antlaşması'nda olduğu gibi).Son bölüm, insan hakları konusunun Türkiye-Avrupa Birliği ilişkilerindeki rolü üzerinedir.Son gelişmeler ışığında (Katılım Ortaklığı Belgesinde sözü edilen kısa ve orta vadeli öncelikler gibi)insan haklarının Türkiye-Avrupa Birliği ilişkilerindeki rolü incelenmiştir.ABSTRACTThe emergence of human rights as an issue has had several implications in international affairs. The first effect of human rights has been witnessed in foreign policies of nation-states. They (States) have been caught in a dilemma: on the one hand, there has been human rights concerns which have indeed raised as moral imperatives,on the other hand,the long-rooted concept of international system that is sovereignty and non-interference principle.However, in this specific study, the main concern is not concentrated on individual state practices ( though they are to be mentioned briefly) as regards human rights but on the European Union's human rights policy in its external relations.Since it is not a state but still has its own sphere of influence it offers a unique path with regard to human rights. Thus, this study is focused on the role of human rights in the European Union's external relations. In this regard, first a general framework has been drawn.Secondly, the European Union's human rights policy has been put on the table. The integration into agreements of human rights clauses as part of conditionality is significant in this sense;this tool has increasingly been used by the Union to have influence on human rights issues( as seen in the Cotonou and Europe Agreements).The last part has been devoted to a special case study that is the role of human rights in Turkey-European Union Relations.In the light of recent developments such as short and midterm priorities brought by the Accession Partnership ,the role assumed by human rights factor in this relationship has been tried to clarify.
