§ 22. Mr. HopeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with EU and ACP ministers on the successor to the current Lomé agreement. [73852]
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§ Clare ShortI met Commissioner Pinheiro and ACP and EU Ministers in Dakar on 8–9 February for the first substantive Ministerial discussion of successor arrangements to the Lomé Convention. The meeting made good progress. There was a consensus on the main objectives of the next Convention and, although the ACP were not ready to accept the inclusion of good governance as a new essential element, they agreed to work on reaching a common definition of the concept. There was a large measure of agreement on development strategies, providing support for private sector development and the need to rationalise the existing instruments and improve aid management procedures. Progress was more limited on the future of support for short term fluctuations in earnings from basic products. The EU proposed updated, more flexible and more effective arrangements for helping countries where economic and wider reforms were jeopardised from such fluctuations, but the ACP continue to favour the retention of current arrangements. I participated in the discussion on trade and economic co-operation, the area of greatest divergence between the ACP and EU positions. I put the case for alternatives to the Commission's favoured regional free trade option. This was taken up by the ACP and reflected in the final report.