15 Cooperation with Industrialised and
other High-Income Countries and Territories
| (a)
(27261)
5854/06
COM(06) 25
(b)
(28057)
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Commission Communication: Thematic Programme on Cooperation with Industrialised and other High-income Countries under the Future Financial Perspectives (2007-2013)
Draft Council Regulation laying down general provisions establishing a Financing Instrument for Cooperation with Industrialised and other High-Income Countries and Territories under the Future Financial Perspectives (2007-2013)
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| Legal base | Article 181a EC; consultation; QMV
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 24 November 2006
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| Previous Committee Report | (a) HC 34-xx (2005-06), para 5 (1 March 2006)
(b) None
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| To be discussed in Council | 20-12 December 2006 Agriculture and Fisheries Council
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
15.1 At present the EC's External Actions spending is funded from
a multitude of diverse instruments and budget lines. As part of
the 2007-2013 Financial Perspective, the Commission proposed,
in 2004, a major simplification:
- three instruments directly to support European external policies:
the Pre-Accession Policy (IPA), the European Neighbourhood and
Partnership Instrument (ENPI) and the Development Cooperation
and Economic Cooperation Instrument (DCECI), this last to be the
main means of cooperation with other non-EU countries not covered
by the first two instruments; and
- three further instruments to respond to crises
and regional or international problems: the Humanitarian Aid Instrument
(HAI), the Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) Instrument and the
Instrument for Stability. The first two would continue the current
arrangements for, respectively, providing short-term humanitarian
assistance, including food aid, and guarantees for EC loans to
third countries to help with extraordinary balance of payments
difficulties. The Instrument for Stability would be used to address
trans-border challenges such as the fight against terrorism and
trafficking, to promote nuclear safety, to provide electoral assistance
and to develop the European Union's peace-keeping capacity.
15.2 The Committee examined the framework and the
associated draft Council Regulations relating to the proposed
Instruments on 1 December 2004; considered them on several further
occasions in 2005; and finally recommended them for debate in
the ESC. That debate took place on 10 November 2005.
15.3 Since then we have cleared the final versions
of the Nuclear Safety Instrument (which it was decided
should be separated out from the Stability Instrument), the IPA,
the ENPI and the Stability Instrument.
15.4 We have also cleared the Development Cooperation
Instrument, which originally encompassed both economic and
commercial cooperation with developed and developing partners
together and development assistance to less-developed partners;
and the European Instrument on Democracy and Human Rights
(which was originally to be "mainstreamed" into other
external instruments but which, after consultation with the European
Parliament, it was decided to retain as the successor to the European
Initiative on Democracy and Human Rights).
15.5 The Instrument for Cooperation with Industrialised
and Other High Income Countries and Territories (ICI) started
off as a "Thematic Programme for Industrialised Countries"
within the combined DCECI.[33]
Following consultations with the European Parliament, it was agreed
that it should be separated out into a specific instrument with
its own financial envelope.
15.6 Thus, from 1 January 2007, there will be nine
key instruments designed to implement particular policies and
to provide the necessary response to particular needs:
- Instrument for Pre-Accession
Assistance (IPA)
- European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument
(ENPI)
- Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI)
- Instrument for Stability (SI)
- European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights
(EIDHR)
- Nuclear Safety Instrument (NSI)
- Humanitarian Aid Instrument (HAI)
- Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA)
- Instrument for Cooperation with Industrialised
and Other High Income Countries and Territories (ICI)
The Council Regulation
15.7 The ICI aims to provide a framework for engagement
with newly industrialised or high-income countries and territories
with whom the Community has a strategic interest in promoting
links. It has the following geographical coverage:
- Key OECD member countries:
the United States, Japan, Canada, the Republic of Korea, Australia
and New Zealand;
- OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC)
list of ODA recipients: Singapore, Hong-Kong,
Macao, Chinese Taipei, and Brunei; and
- Gulf Cooperation Council countries excluded
from the DAC list of ODA recipients: Kuwait,
Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia;
Co-operation with the two remaining GCC countries
(Saudi Arabia and Qatar) which are still listed by the OECD DAC
as developing countries ("upper middle income countries")
will also be carried out under this instrument. The Commission
will amend the list of countries at Annex 1 in the Regulation
to take account of the OECD/DAC's reviews of its List of Developing
Countries.
15.8 Cooperation activities with these countries
reflect the policy goals and co-operation objectives laid down
in the various bilateral instruments (such as framework agreements,
cooperation agreements, political declarations, co-operation agendas
and action plans) which govern relations between the European
Union and the partner countries. The core activities listed under
Article 4 include:
- Promotion of economic partnerships
and business cooperation:
between companies in the EU and in certain partner countries,
through inter alia helping EU companies to build-up their capacity
to handle more effectively the specific features of the market
and business environment in these partner countries;
- Dialogues: in particular
with, and between, civil society in areas such as business, consumers,
environment, labour market, and media;
- People-to-people links/education cooperation;
and
- Public diplomacy and outreach:
notably through the consolidation and expansion of centres of
excellence of the existing network of EU Centres, and the establishment
of new EU Centres in partner countries where they do not exist.
15.9 The objectives will be met through a framework
of multi-annual cooperation programmes covering cooperation with
all or a selection of the partner countries. Priorities for assistance
will be developed on the basis of annual action programmes, which
will set out the objectives pursued, the fields of intervention,
the expected results, how they will be managed and how much funding
is needed.
15.10 The Commission will submit annual reports to
the Council and European Parliament; and, by 31 December 2010,
a review evaluating the implementation of the Regulation in the
first three years.
15.11 The indicative financial framework for this
instrument for 2007-2013 is €172million.
The Government's view
15.12 In his Explanatory Memorandum, the Minister
for Europe (Mr Geoffrey Hoon) notes that the EU has a "raft
of agreements" with the countries covered by the ICI, whose
effect will be "to provide a more coherent framework for
developing political, economic and commercial relations with them,
and to raise the EU's profile across the board — in the
private and NGO sectors as well as with governments". He
supports separating out the ICI from the originally proposed Development
Cooperation and Economic Cooperation Instrument, as a means of
increasing the effectiveness of funding and improving transparency.
15.13 He welcomes the objectives set out in Article
1 of the draft Regulation, particularly the references to the
promotion of cooperation projects in areas such as research, science
and technology, and climate change. He is pleased that the reference
to Taiwan ("Chinese Taipei") in Annex 1 makes clear
that, "although there are no diplomatic or political relations
with Chinese Taipei, intensive contacts do take place and should
be continued in the areas of economy, trade, science and technology,
standards and norms and on a number of other subjects."
15.14 He also welcomes the inclusion of clauses aiming
to ensure regular evaluation of these community programmes including
associating non-state actors, among others, in the evaluation
phase.
15.15 He notes that the reference in Article 14 to
an annual report (rather than biannual as proposed by the Commission)
was inserted at the UK's insistence to bring the text in line
with the other external spending instruments.
15.16 With regard to the financial envelope, he says
that he supports the continuation of a limited amount of funding
of this nature to promote the EU's interests with industrialised
countries and territories, and will keep a close eye on annual
budget appropriations and will seek to maximise resources where
needs and impact are greatest.
15.17 Looking ahead, the Minister says that:
- the text of the ICI was agreed
at Council Working Group level on 22 November and under Article
181a has been passed to the European Parliament for its formal
opinion;
- the EP will give this in the week beginning 11
December;
- the Committee of Permanent Representative will
then agree the text on 13 December; and
- the Presidency will seek approval at the 20/21
December Agriculture and Fisheries Council.
Conclusion
15.18 As noted above, the instruments dealing
with Humanitarian Aid Instrument (HAI) and Macro-Financial Assistance
(MFA) are well-established, and continue as before, while the
remainder are new. This present proposal is the conclusion of
a long and winding road, resulting in the creation of a framework
which, if not as numerically small as originally conceived, is
nonetheless much smaller and more coherent. As the Minister says
about the ICI, the much simplified framework of which it is part
should facilitate greater transparency and, it is accordingly
to be hoped, effectiveness.
15.19 The evaluation process is particularly important.
Though the ICI itself is modest, at €172million over 6 years,
total expenditure is significant — €49.5 billion
under the heading "the
European Union as a global partner" in the 2007-13 Financial
Perspective.
15.20 The ICI now having materialised, we clear
the Commission Communication which we had in the meantime kept
under scrutiny.
15.21 Although the Council Regulation has yet
to be finalised, we are content to allow the Minister to join
in a consensus around the unofficial text, which we also now clear.
We would expect him to revert to us, however, if the Opinion of
the European Parliament leads to any significant changes.
33 See HC 34-xx (2005-06), para 5 (1 March 2006). Back
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