8 EC assistance to Haiti
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11691/05
COM(05) 367
| Draft Council Decision repealing Council Decision 2001/131/EC and concluding the consultations between the EU and Haiti under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement
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| Legal base | Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement; QMV
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 29 June 2006
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| Previous Committee Report | HC 38-v (2005-06), para 41 (12 October 2005)
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| Discussed in Council | 17 October 2005 Environment Council
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared (Decision reported on 12 October 2005)
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Background
8.1 The Cotonou Agreement provides a framework for relations between
the EU and 77 countries of Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP).
Article 96 allows for consultations between the EU and an ACP
state if either Party is considered to be in breach of an "essential
element" of the Agreement (i.e. respect for human rights,
democratic principles or the rule of law). If no remedy to the
situation is found, co-operation with the State concerned may
be suspended, in whole or in part.
8.2 In January 2001 the European Union decided on
partially suspending development assistance to Haiti, following
the flawed elections in 2000, and making the normalisation of
its relations conditional on the organisation of free and fair
elections. But actions to strengthen civil society and the private
sector, to support democratisation and strengthen the rule of
law, to fight poverty, and to give humanitarian and emergency
assistance continued, using funds from the 8th EDF.
8.3 The 2001 Decision was reviewed and renewed in
January 2002, in January 2003 and in December 2003. In early 2004,
a protracted period of violence and bloodshed led to the departure
of President Aristide and the installation of an Interim President
and an Interim Government, which committed itself to free and
fair elections within 18 months. In response, the Commission proposed
that the EU should notify Haiti of its 9th EDF allocation
and begin preparation of a new Country Strategy Paper, to identify
which Haitian sectors would need EU support. Funds from the 9th
EDF would become available to Haiti only once the National Indicative
Programme had been signed, following free and fair national elections.
The proposals did not alter the earlier measure regarding the
remaining EU aid from the 8th EDF. At that time, the
Minister said that the EU was keen that dialogue with the Haiti
authorities should continue; and that the Government was reassured
that the release of 9th EDF funds — €72
million — would remain dependent upon the conduct of these
elections.
8.4 In his 23 September 2005 Explanatory Memorandum
on the Council Decision, the then Minister for Europe explained
that, somewhat later than originally envisaged, the interim Government
had announced an electoral calendar that envisaged parliamentary
and presidential elections on 20 November, with a possible second
round on 3 January 2006; and local elections on 11 December, in
order to allow the elected President to take office on 7 February
2006. The effect of the Council Decision would be to release the
9th EDF funds ahead of the elections because, otherwise,
the Haitian authorities would not be able to fund them.
8.5 We agreed that this appeared to be a
risk worth taking, and cleared the document. But we asked that
the Minister kept the situation under close review, and that in
due course that he would inform us on the progress of the elections.[31]
The Minister's letter
8.6 In his 29 June 2006 letter, the Minister for
Europe (Mr Geoffrey Hoon) says that the elections were postponed
four times due to logistical difficulties and concerns over the
security situation, with the first round of presidential and parliamentary
elections finally taking place on 7 February 2006. Several international
observer missions were present, including one sent by the EU;
he says that all were encouraged by the high voter turnout of
63% and by the relatively low levels of violence on polling day.
8.7 But, he says, tensions flared up in the following
days due to delays and allegations of fraud in the vote count:
"On 16 February the Electoral Council announced
that René Préval had been elected President with
51% of the vote. This was possible due to eliminating the influence
of blank votes from the overall tally. Whilst this initially caused
some controversy amongst Préval's opponents, they decided
not to challenge the result. Préval was acknowledged by
the international community as the democratically elected President
and was inaugurated on 14 May, the second round of parliamentary
elections took place on 21 April. Turnout was relatively low at
around 30%, although it is worth noting that this is significantly
higher than for previous legislative elections in Haiti. René
Préval's Lespwa Platform again performed well and will
be the dominant force in both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies."
8.8 He concludes by very much welcoming what he judges
were successful presidential and legislative elections, which
he describes as an important step forward in Haiti's democratic
process, and looks forward to working with the new government.
Conclusion
8.9 We are grateful to the Minister for this
further report, which demonstrates that the right decision was
taken last autumn. It also demonstrates that an enormous job still
remains to be done in order to create a functioning polity and
society in the Caribbean's oldest independent state, in which
the Cotonou Process will no doubt continue to play a significant
part.
31 See headnote. Back
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