32 The EU and Guinea-Bissau
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision | Cleared from scrutiny; further information requested
|
| Document details | Council Decision repealing Decision 2011/492/EU concerning the conclusion of consultations with the Republic of Guinea-Bissau under Article 96 of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement
|
| Legal base | Article 9 and Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement; QMV
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
|
| Document numbers | (36693), 6690/15 + ADD 1, COM(15) 75
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
32.1 Guinea-Bissau is a small West African state with a population
of 1.6 million, a forecast nominal GDP of £526 million for
2014 and a ranking of 176 out of 186 countries on the UN Human
Development Index (2014).
32.2 Guinea-Bissau has remained unstable since gaining
independence from Portugal in 1974 with, most recently, two military
coups in April 2010 and in April 2012. It is a key transit point
for narcotics trafficking, principally cocaine, between South
America and Europe; this poses a direct threat to the security
of the United Kingdom and undermines civilian authority over the
military, the rule of law and the effectiveness of development
aid.
32.3 EU development aid provided directly to the
authorities via the European Development Fund (EDF) was suspended
in 2011, on the basis that the country had breached the Cotonou
Agreement's essential political elements (in Cotonou Agreement
parlance, Article 96 "appropriate measures"). The EU
opened "Article 96" consultations with Guinea-Bissau
in March 2011, focusing on reforms in the areas of political,
judicial and economic governance.
32.4 Last July, the Minister for Europe (Mr David
Lidington) reported that no further progress had been made over
the past year against the agreed Article 96 benchmarks and, on
this basis, the Article 96 measures should be renewed for another
12 months to 19 July 2015; however, the legislative and presidential
elections in April and May were judged by all international observers,
including the EU Electoral Observation Mission, as free and credible,
and a major step in restoring constitutional order. So, in order
to engage with and to support the newly elected authorities to
move the country towards a more stable democratic future, the
Council and Commission had proposed:
· to
extend for a further 12 months, to 19 July 2015, the appropriate
measures set out in Decision 2011/492/EU, which had concluded
formal consultations with the Republic of Guinea-Bissau under
Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement;[90]
and
· that
the application of these appropriate measures be suspended in
order to allow for engagement with the newly elected Government
of Guinea-Bissau.
32.5 The Minister agreed with this proposal: despite
positive signals from the new government, security sector reform
(SSR) remained a priority and "replacing the military hierarchy
is of the utmost importance as it continues to pose a threat to
the democratic process". Suspending application of the appropriate
measures would allow financial support and help alleviate the
currently strained economic situation: "the Commission has
reported that the public treasury is empty and the State is unable
to assume vital functions such as health, education, energy and
water". Should the Government of Guinea-Bissau not renew
the previous undertakings and embark upon the necessary reforms,
the suspension could be lifted. The Minister considered the Commission's
proposed way forward to be sensible.
Our assessment
32.6 We had no questions regarding the proposal,
which we reported to the House because of the importance to UK
and wider EU interests of endeavours to encourage and support
good governance in the region and counteract authoritarian rule.
32.7 We were, however, concerned about the late submission
of the proposal. We therefore asked the Minister to explain why
— when the renewal date was known a year ago and there was
no suggestion of any necessity for the last minute consideration
of the appropriateness of the proposal — his Explanatory
Memorandum was not submitted until, effectively, 8 July, only
four working days before the Council meeting at which it was to
be adopted. In his response, asked the Minister to remind us of
how many times he had taken up the matter of late submission of
proposals with the then EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission (Baroness
Ashton) and how she has responded — including whether she
had responded at all to his most recent representations.
32.8 In the meantime, we cleared the draft Council
Decision.
32.9 In so doing, we asked the Minister to write
in six months' time with details of the Commission's progress
review and his own assessment.[91]
32.10 The proposal now is that the arrangements outlined
above be lifted, four months before the July 2015 expiry date.
32.11 The Minister supports this proposal, as do
all other EU Member States. He says that, following the April-May
2014 elections, the Commission put together an urgent €60
million recovery package, enabling the delivery of vital state
functions and basic social services, and heading off the risk
of illegitimate parties again taking control. In late January
2015, EU Heads of Mission accredited to Guinea-Bissau (including
the British Ambassador based in Dakar) judged that the "strong
political will of the new Authorities to move forward on necessary
reforms" remained high, and that some concrete results had
already been delivered, with "some showing political courage
and resolve". However, the report concluded that, "in
order to reach a point of no return, full and coordinated international
support is necessary; otherwise the unique chance to leave fragility
behind might be lost".
32.12 A contemporaneous European External Action
Service (EEAS) report mirrored these conclusions, and recommended
that "considering the overall political situation, the progress
made so far and the political commitment of the new authorities",
the Article 96 appropriate measures should be lifted by mid-March
and political engagement should be reinforced. This would not
only allow the EU to finalise the 11th EDF programming and sign
the seven-year National Indicative Programme with the new authorities
of Guinea-Bissau, but also allow the EU to participate in the
25 March 2015 Guinea-Bissau donor roundtable (supported by the
UNSC and ECOWAS); this round table "provides the opportunity
for the international community to give strong support for Guinea-Bissau
to consolidate its democracy, strengthen the rule of law, accelerate
economic recovery, keep the peace, and improve the lives of its
people". This is "a crucial juncture for Guinea-Bissau.
It needs to sustain the positive momentum". The UK is one
of a small number of EU Member States that have been actively
engaged in Guinea-Bissau, and we would not want "the Bissau-Guinean
authorities to conclude that we did not support the lifting of
Article 96", nor "to inadvertently set back their fragile
progress".
32.13 The proposal seems to be well-founded, and
raises no questions in and of itself. We now clear it from scrutiny.
32.14 We should, however, be grateful if the Minister
would remind the Committee of where matters presently stand on
the EU restrictive measures initiated in 2012 following the military
coup.[92]
32.15 We would also be grateful if he would clarify
if and when he responded to our 9 July 2014 request for further
information about his representations to the previous EU High
Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (Baroness
Ashton; c.f. paragraph 32.7 above).
Full details of
the documents: Draft
Council Decision repealing Decision 2011/492/EU concerning the
conclusion of consultations with the Republic of Guinea-Bissau
under Article 96 of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement: (36693),
6690/15 + ADD 1, COM(15) 75
Background
32.16 Guinea-Bissau has remained unstable since gaining
independence from Portugal in 1974. Recent years have seen the
murder of a serving President, one attempted coup d'état,
and two actual coups in April 2010 and April 2012. Power has tended
to lie with the overly-large military, which often acts with impunity
and in its own interests. Divisions within the civilian leadership
exacerbate matters, with rival politicians seeking to use the
military leaders and their ambitions to shore up their own positions.
It is a key transit point for narcotics trafficking, principally
cocaine, between South America and Europe; this poses a direct
threat to the security of the United Kingdom. The narcotics trade
undermines civilian authority over the military, the rule of law
and the effectiveness of development aid in Guinea Bissau and
across West Africa.
32.17 The genesis of the Article 96 measures on Guinea-Bissau
began with a mutiny on 1 April 2010, and the appointment of its
main instigators to high-ranking positions in the military hierarchy.
This was seen as a serious and manifest breach of the Cotonou
Agreement. Under the terms of Article 96 of the Agreement, consultations
were opened with Guinea-Bissau in March 2011. The Government of
Guinea-Bissau put forward undertakings which would ensure the
primacy of civilian authority, improvements to democratic governance,
guarantees safeguarding constitutional order and the rule of law,
and measures to tackle impunity and organised crime. As a result,
the EU Commission concluded the consultations in June 2011, and
on 18 July 2011 the EU adopted Council Decision 2011/492/EU. The
EU and UN imposed restrictive measures against named members of
the military command and others who took part in the coup. These
consist of travel bans and asset freezes.[93]
32.18 That Council Decision included benchmarks for
the gradual resumption of EU cooperation. The Article 96 measures
suspended development funding to the government authorities under
the 9th and 10th cycles of the European Development Fund (EDF9
and EDF10). The resumption of funding is directly linked to progress
against the commitments undertaken by Guinea-Bissau during the
Article 96 consultations. The Commission proposed to monitor the
situation for the following twelve months, to July 2012, reserving
the right to amend the measures, depending on how the political
situation developed.
32.19 A January 2012 EU evaluation mission concluded
that insufficient implementation of the agreed commitments had
been achieved and recommended that restrictions continued. In
April 2012, a military coup d'état took place as campaigning
for the second round of Presidential elections was about to start.
The military junta set up a transitional government with
the third-placed Presidential candidate from the first round as
transitional President. The transitional authorities originally
said both Presidential and legislative elections would be held
within a year, though this slipped as those in power sought to
extend the transition.
32.20 Continued lack of progress since the coup in
2012 has resulted in the suspension of financial aid being renewed
three times; the most recent renewal will expire on 19 July 2015.
The draft Council Decision
32.21 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 11 March 2015,
the Minister explains that this draft Council Decision seeks to
repeal Council Decision 2011/492/EU four months early. He expects
this decision to be discussed at COREPER on 11 March 2015,[94]
and agreed at Council by written procedure on 24 March.
The Government's view
32.22 The Minister says: "We support this proposal,
as do all other EU Member States".
32.23 The Minister recalls the April 2012 coup d'etat,
the closure of the consultations in 2011, and the return to political
talks under Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement, as the best method
to maintain pressure on Guinea-Bissau, and notes that the intention
was "to engage in regular dialogue, focusing on reforms in
the areas of political, judicial and economic governance and to
influence Guinea-Bissau's leaders into acting in the best interests
of their citizens": but also notes that "Article 8 talks
have not taken place as the EU agreed a policy of non-engagement
with the post-coup transitional authorities".
32.24 He then says:
"A joint monitoring mission to Guinea-Bissau
from the European External Action Service and the Commission took
place in January 2015 in order to assess progress in addressing
essential elements (democratic principles, rule of law, human
rights, good governance) laid down in Article 9 of the Cotonou
Agreement.
"On the basis of the mission's findings,
and on the recommendation of the non-resident EU Heads of Mission
to Guinea-Bissau, it was decided that the Article 96 measures
should be lifted four months early.
"The Commission argues that if the Appropriate
Measures are not lifted early, the pledging part of the Guinea-Bissau
Roundtable scheduled to take place on 25 March will be undermined.
We support the Commission's proposal. There is unanimous support
by other Member States."
The Minister's letter of 16 March 2015
32.25 The Minister provides the following additional
information:
"Following the free and credible Presidential
and Legislative elections the Commission put together an urgent
recovery package of €60m, with a Budget Support Programme
of €20m as its centrepiece. This preliminary step toward
engagement was to help establish stability by enabling the Government
to ensure vital state functions and deliver basic social services.
Without this, there was considerable concern that the nascent
democratic government would fail, paving the way for illegitimate
parties to take control once again.
"On 26 January the EU Heads of Mission accredited
to Guinea-Bissau (including the British Ambassador based in Dakar)
released their assessment of the Bissau-Guinean government. They
noted that, 'The strong political will of the new Authorities
to move forward on necessary reforms remains high. Some concrete
results have already been delivered, some showing political courage
and resolve'. However, the report concluded that, 'in order to
reach a point of no return, full and coordinated international
support is necessary; otherwise the unique chance to leave fragility
behind might be lost'.
"On 27 January the European External Action
Service (EEAS) released its own report on the situation, mirroring
the conclusions of the EU Heads of Mission. It announced that
"considering the overall political situation, the progress
made so far and the political commitment of the new authorities,
the Joint Monitoring Mission considers that the Article 96 appropriate
measures should be lifted by mid-March and political engagement
should be reinforced.
"On the basis of these two reports (discussed
in Council 28 January) it was decided that the Article 96 measures
should be lifted early. This would not only allow the EU to finalise
the 11th EDF programming and sign the seven-year National Indicative
Programme with the new authorities of Guinea-Bissau, but also
allow the EU to participate in the Guinea-Bissau donor roundtable
(supported by the UNSC and ECOWAS) organised for 25 March 2015.
"This round table provides the opportunity
for the international community to give strong support for Guinea-Bissau
to consolidate its democracy, strengthen the rule of law, accelerate
economic recovery, keep the peace, and improve the lives of its
people. This is a crucial juncture for Guinea-Bissau. It needs
to sustain the positive momentum.
"Despite pressure from the Prime Minister
of Guinea-Bissau, the Commission and EEAS argued to delay the
Donor Conference to March to allow Member States and the EU to
participate to the fullest level. The Commission only released
its draft Council Decision calling for the conclusion of consultations
with the Republic of Guinea-Bissau under Article 96 on 2 March."
32.26 On the timing of his Explanatory Memorandum,
the Minister says:
"Although the late timing of this draft
Decision by the Commission has been far from ideal, I hope you
will agree with me that it will be to the UK's advantage to support
the proposal in Brussels. The UK is one of a small number of EU
Member States that have been actively engaged in Guinea-Bissau,
and we would not want the Bissau-Guinean authorities to conclude
that we did not support the lifting of Article 96. Nor would we
want inadvertently to set back their fragile progress."
Previous
Committee Reports
None, but see (36160), 11136/14, + ADD 1, COM(14)
369: Sixth Report HC 219-vi (2014-15), chapter 6 (9 July 2014),
and (35074), 11379/13, COM(13) 439: Ninth Report HC 83-ix (2013-14),
chapter 18 (10 July 2013). Also see Fourteenth Report HC 428-xiii
(2010-12), chapter 15 (19 January 2011).
90 The Cotonou Agreement is the principal instrument
of the European Union's development policy towards Africa and
Caribbean and Pacific countries. It was established in 2000 and
was revised in 2005 and 2010. Based on partnership, the Agreement
aims to promote economic, cultural and social development. It
provides for regular and wide-ranging political discourse with
emphasis on human rights, democracy, the rule of law and good
governance. Back
91
See (36160), 11136/14, + ADD 1, COM (14) 369: Sixth Report HC
219-vi (2014-15), chapter 6 (9 July 2014). Back
92
Council Decision 2012/285/CFSP and Council Regulation (EU) No
377/2012, as subsequently amended. Back
93
See Fourteenth Report HC 428- xiii (2010-12), chapter 15 (19 January
2011) for full background. Back
94
See COREPER. Back
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