Activites

• 2003/09/04 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T5-0378/2003 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report drafted by Luisa MORGANTINI (EUL/NGL, Italy) on trade and development. (Please see the summary of 09/07/03.) On the question of Doha and Cancun, Parliament called for a sustainable impact assessment to be carried out systematically before and after trade agreements are concluded, with the active participation of the populations concerned. If the EU wishes to provide effective support for developing countries, it must carry out an assessment of the impact of its trade policy on the populations of developing countries, whether at bilateral and/or multilateral level, in order to draw the necessary lessons and redesign its trade policy. A fair and regulated trade system whose goal is a global sustainable development strategy is the best means of promoting economic growth and employment. The Doha round must allow developing and least-developed countries the flexibility they need to maintain their subsistence farming sector as well as to fulfil their development and food security needs. Parliament therefore asked the Commission to support the application of the special provisions of the WTO agriculture agreement empowering developing countries to protect their small producers by means of a stability fund. Parliament went on to ask the EU and all developed countries to make further efforts to assist the poorest countries in diversifying their production and increasing the export of their locally processed high-value products. On the question of access to medicines, Parliament stated that a failure to honour the Doha agreement on TRIPS and Public Health would constitute a breach of faith by the industrialised countries, which could derail the current trade round. All WTO members must implement paragraph 6 of that Declaration without delay. The language of the Doha declaration is clear and unambiguous. The Commission must respect the Declaration and reject any position that would result in limitations regarding the scope of diseases or the countries that could make use of an effective solution to the problem defined in paragraph 6 of that Declaration. Finally, Parliament urged the Commission to provide financial support for undertakings and associations which practise and promote fair trade in the EU.�

• 2003/09/03 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2003/07/09 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A5-0277/2003
• 2003/01/16 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• #2450
• 2002/09/30 Council Meeting
  • 2450
• 2002/09/18 Non-legislative basic document published
  • COM(2002)0513 summary

    PURPOSE : to agree a plan to boost developing countries' capacity to benefit from trade. CONTENT : looking to build on the foundations laid in Doha, Monterrey and Johannesburg, the European Commission adopted an action plan to boost developing countries' efforts to capture the benefits of trade. The Communication sets out the importance of the relationship between development, trade and the integration of developing countries into the world economy. It concludes with a series of practical ways in which the European Union intends to support the developing world in its efforts to gain more from the world trading system, including adjustment of funding for trade related assistance as necessary, in agreement with partner countries. The Commission plan ranges from measures aimed at improving the delivery of trade related assistance in key areas to ideas for better co-ordination and policy coherence within the EU and with international organisations. Overall, the measures should help developing countries, and in particular the least developed countries, acquire institutional regulatory capacity, and the expertise to deal with the technicalities of trading in a global system. At the same time, the Commission stresses the importance for developing countries to improve the investment climate for the business sector and to ensure poor people can fully benefit from trade. CONTEXT : in those countries or regions in which trade has not received appropriate attention, the mid-term review of the strategies, which will be launched starting in 2003 will seek to ensure that trade issues are properly addressed and adequately funded. In the meantime, the Commission will identify additional measures to complement trade capacity building activities already under way, so as to enable if needed a rapid scaling up of assistance in this area following the CSPs and RSPs mid-term reviews. Eligible activities would cover support in different areas from developing products other countries want to import, to making it easier for traders to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the multilateral trading system for instance, meeting international technical and phytosanitary standards, dealing with certification, customs administration and processes, and protecting intellectual property rights. Assistance would also be channelled towards capacity-building: i.e. training officials, equipping negotiators with the knowledge and skills to enable them to be effective in international negotiations, in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and elsewhere. The EU will pay particular attention to providing adequate assistance to poorest countries. The European Union will co-operate closely with other players in the international community (eg, the WTO and other international agencies) in developing, funding and making available appropriate training. It would aim to make sure the resources and expertise available in different locations are identified and coordinated, and made available to all countries which would benefit. Some programmes would be directed at regions, rather than specific countries. Countries which are not yet members of the WTO will be eligible for assistance to help them in the accession negotiations, and eventually to join. The Commission will draw up a review of the EU's trade-relatedassistance by the end of 2005. Over the past five years, the EU has already spent about EUR640 million on 117 operations classified as trade-related assistance. About 70 percent of this is trade development and support for the private sector, and 30 percent is technical assistance and capacity-building. Around 60 percent of EU assistance was aimed at regional projects and the programs are often linked to new trade agreements with the EU. Over 60 percent of this was earmarked for African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. Recent and forthcoming trade-related assistance programmes include: - African, Caribbean, Pacific Countries: Pesticide programme to improve competitiveness of horticultural sector (EUR29 million); - Assistance to fish exporters to help them meet international health standards (EUR45 million); - Egypt: trade enhancement programme (EUR 60 million); - Mercosur: program for norms and standards (EUR 4 million); - Philippines: WTO related capacity building programme (EUR 2 million); - Support for the WTO Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund to train trade negotiators from developing countries (Over 60% of total funding amounting to approximately EUR12 million from EU and Member States). The following is a list of concrete proposals for action : 1) Intensification of dialogue with partner countries : - stronger emphasis on trade issues in the dialogue on Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs); - ensure that funding for this new priority, trade-related assistance, is adjusted as necessary in the review of the Country Strategy Papers and Regional Strategy Papers. 2) Enhanced effectiveness of EU support : - reinforce trade component in the programming exercise in EU development assistance; - pay particular attention to the least developed countries and other low income countries; - examine the scope for funding horizontal trade-related assistance initiatives, including bilateral, regional and multilateral initiatives; - increase EU ability to design and deliver training programmes for negotiators and administrators, and establish networks in higher education institutions; - provide technical assistance for sustainability impact assessments; - reinforce efforts to improve developing country capacity in the Sanitary and Phytosanitary field. 3) Contributing to international effectiveness : - ensure policy coherence in provision of trade related technical assistance, building on the principles agreed in the Commission Communication on Development in 2000; - review existing mechanisms for co-ordination of Member States, and promote "best practices"; - co-operate more efficiently with other international organisations; - continue to advocate the Integrated Framework for Least Developed Countries, and participate actively in governing bodies of the IF; - encourage Regional Development Banks to pursue trade capacity building; - support the WTO Secretariat on WTO Technical Assistance, and continue to contribute to the DDA Global Trust Fund. �

  • DG [{'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/trade/', 'title': 'Trade'}],

Documents

• Non-legislative basic document published: COM(2002)0513
• Debate in Council: 2450
• Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A5-0277/2003
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0378/2003

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)