NGOs press for continued aid to relieve ACP poverty

Date: 03/07/1997

By Mark Turner

EUROPE's non-governmental organisations are calling on the Commission to continue favouring its African, Caribbean and Pacific partners when it lays down the future of EU development aid this autumn.

Their demands are directed at Development Commissioner João de Deus Pinheiro, who is to propose a blueprint for the new millennium to EU ministers in September.

It is widely acknowledged that the Union's development policy needs a thorough rethink to take account of new global trading rules and to turn around the world's poorest economies after decades of mismanagement.

But EU member states are still deeply unsure how to do it, split between advocates of more trade support and those who prefer a completely new basis for cooperation.

“The conclusions to this debate will have far-reaching consequences for people living in poverty and conflict across the globe,” said Oxfam policy adviser Caroline Lequesne, who has just prepared a report for NGO umbrella group Eurostep.

The organisation is arguing that whatever the EU decides to do, it should aim first and foremost to eradicate poverty in the ACP region. “Everything else stems from this single objective,” said Lequesne.

Building on demands from G7 leaders at Denver in June, Eurostep is calling for the Union to give the ACP more non-reciprocal access to its markets, and to simplify its arcane and often daunting rules of origin.

Its members add that the Union should also run more trade development programmes to help producers to use their privileges.

The trouble is that the future of trade preferences looks highly shaky, especially in the light of a recent World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling against EU favouritism of Caribbean banana producers.

In defiance of this trend, Eurostep continues to call for WTO waivers for the world's poorest countries, citing growing evidence that “global deregulation of markets and structural adjustment in some regions of the world have actually increased inequality and poverty levels.”

Dequesne hopes that promises made by the US in Denver to improve market access for poor countries may mark a new political move away from the strict free-market philosophy which has driven thinking so far this decade.

“It is clear these arrangements will not last for ever,” she conceded. “This is an evolving situation. But we need to buy time.”

Given the past 50 years of non-growth in Africa, however, some wonder how much more time is needed. Despite years of favoured treatment, sub-Saharan African economies have actually shrunk over the last 20 years and look destined for poverty for many years to come despite recent signs of an upturn.

Lomé's failure to help Europe's former colonies find their feet is a glaring blot on its copybook, and suggests a radical rethink is needed.

But Dequesne believes that Lomé's poor performance has been as much due to weak political will amongst world leaders as any inbuilt structural difficulties. “The agreements still remain an unprecedented attempt to introduce genuine dialogue into international relations,” she asserted.

Furthermore, there are at last some signs of an invigorated international commitment to the world's economic losers, which could make Lomé's ideals come true in practice.

WTO leaders agreed at Singapore to hold a special meeting this October to address the situation, and organisations such as the World Bank are trying hard to be more sensitive to poor economies' special needs.

Eurostep says that now, more than ever, it is essential for EU governments to spend more money - although better targeted - on building trade capacity in the ACP. The Union could, for example, provide advice on prudent liberalisation policies, help countries diversify into new areas such as information technology services and revise mechanisms designed to stabilise commodity prices.

NGOs add that to help achieve these aims, the ACP should remain a strong and unified group, rather than splitting into its constituent regional parts.

“Although we originally felt that regionalisation could be a good idea, after talking to ACP countries we realised that they want to stay together,” said Lesquene. “These countries feel they have little enough influence already without dividing them further.”