Lome iii trade agreement

In order to contribute towards achieving the aims of this Convention, the Contracting Parties shall deploy co-operation instruments that correspond to the principles of solidarity and mutual interest, adapted to the economic, cultural and social situation in the ACP States and in the Community and to developments in their international environment.

These instruments shall be directed mainly, by strengthening the established mechanisms and systems, at:

- increasing trade between the Parties;

- supporting the ACP States' efforts to achieve self-reliant development by stepping up their capacity to innovate and to adapt and transform technology;

- helping the ACP States to gain access to the capital markets and encouraging direct private European investment to contribute towards the development of the ACP States;

- remedying the instability of export earnings from the ACP States' agricultural commodities and helping those countries to cope with serious disruptions affecting their mining industries.

Article 17.

In order to promote and diversify trade between the Con- tracting Parties, the Community and the ACP States are agreed on:

- general trade provisions;

- special arrangements for Community import of certain ACP products;

- arrangements to promote the development of the ACP States' trade and services, including tourism;

- a system of reciprocal information and consultation designed to help apply the trade co-operation provisions of this Convention effectively.

Article 18.

The aim of the general trade arrangements, which are based on the Contracting Parties' international obligations, shall be to provide a firm and solid foundation for trade cooperation between the ACP States and the Community.

They shall be based on the principle of free access to the Community market for products originating in the ACP States, with special provisions for agricultural products and a safe- guard clause.

In view of the ACP States' present development needs, the arrangements shall not comprise any element of reciprocity for those States as regards free access.

They shall also be based on the principle of non-discrimination by the ACP States between the Member States and the according to the Community of treatment no less favourable than the most-favoured-nation treatment.

Article 19.

The Community shall contribute towards the ACP States' own development efforts by providing adequate financial resources and appropriate technical assistance aimed at stepping up those States' capacities for self-reliant and integrated economic, social and cultural development and also at helping to raise their population's standard of living and well-being.

Such contribution shall be made on predictable and regular bases. They shall be accorded on the most liberal terms possible for the Community. Particular account shall be taken of the situation of the least-developed ACP States.

Article 20.

The Contracting Parties agree to facilitate greater, more stable flows of resources from the private sector to the ACP States by taking measures to improve the access of ACP States to capital markets and to encourage European private investment in ACP States.

The Contracting Parties underline the need to provide equitable and stable conditions for the treatment of such investment.

Article 21.

Given the extreme dependence of the economies of the vast majority of ACP States on their exports of agricultural commodities, the Contracting Parties agree to pay particular attention to their co-operation in this sector with a view to supporting ACP government policies or strategies designed to restore and improve production and marketing conditions and local processing.

The Contracting Parties also agree to confirm the importance of the system for the stabilization of export earnings, as well as of intensifying the process of consultation between the ACP States and the Community in international forums and organizations which aim to stabilize agricultural commodity markets.

Given the role played by the mining industry in the development efforts of numerous ACP States and the ACP-EEC mutual dependence in that sector, the Contracting Parties confirm the importance of the system established to help ACP States confronted with serious disruptions in that sector to restore it to a viable state and remedy the consequences of such disruptions for their development.

Chapter 4. Institutions

Article 22.

The institutions of this Convention shall be the Council of Ministers, the Committee of Ambassadors and the Joint Assembly.

Article 23.

1. The Council of Ministers shall be composed, on the one hand, of the members of the Council of the European Communities and of members of the Commission of the European Communities and, on the other hand, of a member of the government of each of the ACP States.

2. The functions of the Council of Ministers shall be to:

(a) establish the broad lines of the work to be undertaken in the context of the application of this Convention, notably in helping to solve problems fundamental to the joint and several development of the Contracting Parties;

(b) take any political decision for the attainment of the objectives of this Convention;

(c) take decisions in the specific areas provided for in this Convention;

(d) ensure efficient performance of the consultation mechanisms provided for in this Convention;

(e) deal with problems of interpretation of this Convention;

(f) settle procedural questions and arrangements for the imple- mentation of this Convention;

(g) examine, at the request of one of the Contracting Parties, any question directly liable to hinder or promote the effective and efficient implementation of this Convention or any other issue likely to obstruct attainment of its objectives;

(h) take all necessary measures to establish ongoing contacts between the economic and social sectors in the Community and in the ACP States and to arrange regular consultations with their representatives on matters of mutual interest, given the importance, acknowledged by the Contracting Parties, of establishing an effective dialogue between these sectors and of securing their contribution to the co-operation and development effort.

Article 24.

1. The Committee of Ambassadors shall be composed, on the one hand, of each Member State's Permanent Representative to the European Communities and one representative of the Commission and, on the other, of the head of each ACP State's mission to the European Communities.

2. The Committee of Ambassadors shall assist the Council of Ministers in the performance of its functions and shall carry out any brief given to it by the Council.

It shall monitor implementation of this Convention and pro- gress towards achieving the objectives set therein.

Article 25.

1. The Joint Assembly shall be composed of equal numbers of, on the one hand, members of the European Parliament on the Community side and of, on the other, members of parliament or, failing this, of representatives designated by the ACP States.

2. (a) The Joint Assembly shall be a consultative body, which shall seek, through dialogue, debate and concerted action, to:

- promote better understanding between the peoples of the Member States and the ACP States;

- promote public awareness of the interdependence of the peoples and of their interests as well as of the need for solidarity in development;

- reflect upon all matters pertaining to ACP-EEC co-operation, particularly the fundamental problems of development;

- encourage research and initiative, and formulate proposals with a view to improving and reinforcing ACP-EEC co-operation;

- urge the relevant authorities of the Contracting Parties to implement this Convention in the most efficient manner possible so as to ensure the full attainment of its objectives;

(b) The Joint Assembly shall organize regular contacts and consultations with representatives of economic and social sec- tors in the ACP States and in the Community in order to obtain their views on the attainment of the objectives of this Convention.

Part Two. The Areas of ACP-EEC Co-operation

Title I. Agricultural and Rural Development and Conservation of Natural Resources

Chapter 1. Agricultural Co-operation and Food Security

Article 26.

Co-operation in the agricultural and rural sector, that is arable farming, livestock production, fisheries and forestry, shall be aimed, inter alia, at:

- supporting that ACP States' efforts to increase their degree of self-sufficiency in food, in particular by strengthening the capacity of the ACP States to provide their population with sufficient food and ensure a satisfactory level of nutrition;

- reinforcing food security at national, regional and inter-regional level;

- guaranteeing the rural population incomes that will significantly improve their standard of living;

- promoting the active participation of the rural population in their own development by organizing small farmers into associations and integrating them more effectively into national and international economic activity;

- creating satisfactory living conditions and a satisfactory life style in the rural environment, notably by developing social and cultural activities;

- improving rural productivity, notably by transfers of appropriate technology and the rational exploitation of plant and animal resources;

- reducing post-harvest losses;

- diversifying job-creating rural activities and expanding activities that back up production;

- improving production by on-the-spot processing of the products of agriculture, including livestock farming, and fisheries and forestry;

- ensuring a balance between food crops and export crops;

- developing agricultural research tailored to the natural and human environment of the country and the region and meeting extension service needs;

- in the context of the above objective, protecting the natural environment, particularly through specific operations to control drought and desertification.

Article 27.

1. Operations to attain the objectives referred to in Article 26 shall be as varied and practical as possible, at national, regional and inter-regional level.

2. They shall, furthermore, be designed and deployed to implement the policies and strategies established by the ACP States and respect their priorities.

3. Support shall be provided for such policies and strategies in the context of agricultural co-operation in accordance with the provisions of this Convention.

Article 28.

1. Development of production calls for increased animal and crop production and involves:

- improving farming methods for rain-fed crops while conserving soil fertility;

- developing irrigated crops, inter alia through different types of agricultural water schemes (village water engineering, regulation of watercourses and soil improvement) ensuring optimum use and thrifty management of water which can be mastered by farmers and by local communities; operations shall also consist in the rehabilitation of existing schemes;

- improving and modernizing cultivation techniques and making better use of factors of production (improved varieties and breeds, agricultural equipment, fertilizers, plant treatment preparations);

- in the sphere of livestock farming, improving animal feed (more effective management of pasture, increased fodder production, more new water-points and repair of existing ones) and health, including the development of the infrastructure required for that purpose;

- better integration of arable and livestock farming:

- in the sphere of fisheries, modernizing fish-farming and developing aquaculture.

2. Other prerequisites for the development of production are:

- the extension of secondary and tertiary back-up activities for agriculture, such as the manufacture, modernization and promotion of agricultural and rural equipment and other in- puts and, where necessary, their importation;

- the establishment or consolidation of agricultural credit facilities adapted to local conditions in order to promote access to production factors for farmers;

- the encouragement of all those policies and incentives for producers which are appropriate to local conditions with a view to greater productivity and to improving farmers' incomes.

Article 29.

In order to ensure a return on output, agricultural co-operation shall contribute to:

- adequate means of preservation and suitable storage facilities for producers;

- effective control of disease, pests and other factors causing production losses;

- basic marketing arrangements underpinned by suitable organization of producers, with the necessary material and finan- cial resources, and by adequate means of communication;

- flexible operation of marketing channels, taking account of every form of public or private initiative, to enable local markets, areas of the country with shortfalls and urban markets to be supplied, in order to cut down dependence on outside sources;

- facilities to prevent breaks in supplies (security storage) and guard against erratic price fluctuations (intervention storage);

- processing, packaging and marketing of products, particularly by developing artisanal and agro-industrial units, in order to adapt them to the trend of the market.

Article 30.

Rural promotion measures shall involve:

- the organization of producers within associations or communities in order to enable them to derive more benefit from joint contracts and investment and jointly owned equipment;

- the development of social and cultural activities (such as health, education and culture) essential for improving rural life styles;

- suitable extension services to train farmers;

- improving the training of instructors at all levels.

Article 31.

Co-operation in agricultural research shall contribute:

- to the development, in the ACP States, of domestic and regional research capacities suited to the local natural, social and economic conditions of crop and animal production, with special attention being paid to arid and semi-arid regions;

- in particular, to improving varieties and breeds, the nutritional quality of products and their packaging, and developing technology and processes accessible to the producers;

- to better dissemination of the results of research undertaken in an ACP or non-ACP State and applicable in other ACP States;

- to extension work in order to inform the greatest possible number of users of the results of such research,

Article 32.

Agricultural co-operation schemes shall be carried out in accordance with the detailed provisions and procedures laid down for financial and technical co-operation and in this context they may also cover the following:

1) under the heading of technical co-operation:

- exchange of information between the Community and the ACP States and among the ACP States themselves (on, for example, water use, intensive production techniques and the results of research);

- exchange of experience between professionals working in such areas as credit and savings, co-operatives, mutual insurance, artisanal activities and small-scale industry in rural areas;

2) under the heading of financial co-operation:

- supply of factors of production;

- support for market regulation bodies, on the basis of a co-ordinated approach to production and marketing problems;

- participation in the constitution of funds for agricultural credit facilities;

- opening of credit lines for trade organizations representing farmers, artisans and small-scale industrial operators in rural areas, geared to their activities (such as supplies, primary marketing and storage), and also for associations implementing the campaigns on specific themes;

- support for measures to combine industrial and trade skills in the ACP States and the Community within artisanal or industrial units, for the manufacture of inputs and equipment and for such purposes as maintenance, packaging, storage, transport and processing of products.

Article 33.

1. Community measures aimed at food security in the ACP States shall be conducted in the context of the food strategies or policies of the ACP States concerned and of the development objectives which they lay down.

They shall be implemented, in co-ordination with the instru- ments of the Convention, in the framework of Community policies and the measures resulting therefrom with due regard for the Community's international commitments.

2. In this context, multiannual indicative programming may be carried out with the ACP States which so wish, so that their food supplies can be better forecast.

Article 34.

1. With regard to available agricultural products, the Community undertakes to ensure that export refunds can be fixed further in advance for all ACP States in respect of a range of products drawn up in the light of the food requirements expressed by those States.

Advance fixing shall be for one year and shall be applied each year throughout the life of this Convention, it being understood that the level of the refund will be determined in accordance with the methods normally followed by the Commission.

2. Specific agreements may be concluded with those ACP States which so request in the context of their food security policies.

Article 35.

1. Food aid operations shall be decided on the basis of the rules and criteria adopted by the Community for all recipients of this type of aid.

Subject to those rules and to the Community's freedom of decision in this matter, food aid operations shall be governed by the following guidelines:

(a) except in urgent cases, Community food aid, which shall be a transitional measure, must be integrated with the ACP States' development policies. This calls for consistency be- tween food aid and other co-operation measures;

(b) where products supplied as food aid are sold, they must be sold at a price which will not disrupt the domestic market. The resulting counterpart funds shall be used to finance the execution or running of projects or programmes with a major rural development component;

(c) where the products supplied are distributed free of charge, they must form part of nutrition programmes aimed in particular at vulnerable sections of the population or be delivered as remuneration for work;

(d) food aid operations that form part of development projects or programmes or nutrition programmes may be planned on a multiannual basis;

(e) as a matter of priority, the products supplied must meet the needs of the recipients. In the selection of such products, account should be taken in particular of the ratio of cost to specific nutritive value and of the effect the choice might have on consumer habits;

(f) where in a recipient ACP State, the trend of the food situation is such as to make it desirable for food aid to be replaced in whole or in part by operations designed to consolidate the current trend, alternative operations may be implemented in the form of financial and technical assistance, in accordance with the relevant Community rules. These operations shall be decided upon at the request of the ACP State concerned.

Article 36.

In implementing this Chapter, special attention shall be paid, at the request of the countries concerned, to:

- the specific difficulties of the least-developed ACP States in carrying out the policies or strategies they have established to strengthen their food self-sufficiency and security. In this context, co-operation shall bear in particular on the productive sectors (including the supply of inputs), transport, marketing, packaging and the setting-up of storage infrastructure,

- establishing a security stock system in landlocked States in order to avoid the risk of breaks in supply;

- diversifying agricultural commodities production and im- proving food security in the island States.

Article 37.

1. The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation shall be at the disposal of the ACP States in order to provide them with better access to information, research, training and innovations in the spheres of agricultural and rural development and extension. Within the framework of its responsibilities it shall operate in close co-operation with the institutions and bodies referred to in this Convention.

2. The tasks of the Centre shall be to:

(a) ensure, where so requested by the ACP States, the dissemination of scientific and technical information on methods and means of encouraging agricultural production and rural development (including the planning of agricultural and rural development and the preparation, implementation and evaluation of agricultural and rural development operations);

(b) refer the ACP States' requests for information to the bodies qualified to deal with them, or deal direct with such requests;

(c) provide ACP national and regional documentation centres and research institutes with easier access to scientific and technical publications dealing with agricultural and rural development issues and to data banks in the Community and the ACP States;

(d) in general, help the ACP States to gain easier access to the results of work carried out by the national, regional and international bodies, more especially those qualified in the technical aspects of agricultural and rural development, based in the Community and in the ACP States, and maintain contact with those bodies;

(e) foster the exchange of information between those engaged in agricultural and rural development on the results of field work carried out in the context of agricultural and rural development operations;