African, Caribbean, Asian and European Union ministers, diplomats and officials will meet again in early January to finalize the new post 2000 Europe/ACP arrangement. The revised trade, aid and other provisions need to be in force by the end of February 2000 when Lomé IV Convention expires. The negotiators met 8/9 December in Brussels where they were able to successfully overcome most differences that had divided the 71-member group of African, Caribbean and Pacific states and the European Union. Agreements were achieved on issues such as the essential elements of good government, settlement of disputes, accession to the new agreement and its ratification, the role of the private sector, matters relating to trade relations and cultural issues. Matters relating to migration, the drafting and the duration of the arrangement remain to be resolved in January. The blocs agreed to take forward a virtually immediate application to the World Trade Organization for a waiver that will allow the enforcement of the new arrangement which calls for an extension of trade preferences through year 2008. Agreements were also reached regarding bananas, rum, rice, beef and veal and sugar through a roll over of existing protocols, their modification or a joint declaration on the commodity concerned. The group also advanced on agreements to improve market access, changes to rules of origin, and the ways in which Stabex and Sysmin could be retained within new structures and a new approach. The successful negotiations over a vast range of highly technical and globally difficult trade issues in Brussels contrasts with the failure of the WTO’s Seattle ministerial conference which preceded the post Lomé negotiations. The Seattle conclusion that a small group of wealthy nations could no longer determine what is best for all benefited the work climate in Brussels, bringing more balance to the discussion table and focusing the negotiators on development rather than trade as an end in itself.
