ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INTEREST GROUPS
Nairobi, 4-5 July 2016
EESC-2016-03833-00-04-TCD-TRA (EN) 1/4
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), representing organised civil society in the European Union (EU), held the 15th Regional Seminar of ACP-EU economic and social interest groups in Nairobi (Kenya) on 4-5 July 2016, in accordance with the mandate conferred on it by the Cotonou Agreement. This meeting brought together delegates of economic and social interest groups from the East African Community (including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) and European and ACP members of the EESC's ACP-EU follow-up committee.
Representatives of EU and ACP institutions, the diplomatic corps, international and regional socio-professional organisations and representatives of Kenyan non-governmental organisations more generally also attended.
The participants discussed four issues: a)civil society dialogue in the region; b)the contribution of economic and social interest groups to the implementation of SDGs; c)the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and the East African Community; and d)the post-Cotonou agenda. The following declaration was adopted.
FINAL DECLARATION
The representatives of the ACP-EU economic and social interest groups:
1.On relevant regional and political issues and civil society dialogue
1.1condemn the repression inflicted on the Burundian people, which includes executions, murders, forced disappearances and other forms of ill-treatment particularly targeting young people and civil society figures, and urge the government and all parties involved in the conflict to favour dialogue, in order to reach a peaceful resolution and thereby guarantee political stability;
1.2strongly condemn crimes committed in the EAC region by extremist groups such as Al-Shabaab, and call on EU and ACP countries to invest in combating the root causes of fundamentalism, particularly by means of education, employment and anti-poverty policies;
2.On the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
2.1fully support an SDG framework based on the principles of universality and differentiation with a view to eradicating poverty worldwide, mitigating the negative impact of climate change, preserving natural resources and developing sustainable production and consumption;
2.2emphasise the importance of the pledge that "no one will be left behind", in order to avoid the failures and shortcomings of the former Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which neglected not only the needs and rights of the most vulnerable people in terms of living conditions, but also excluded, discriminated and lacked respect for human rights in both developed and developing countries;
2.3call for clear recognition of the role of and for full participation of economic and social actors in the planning, follow-up and evaluation of strategies for achieving the SDGs, by removing legislative barriers for participation, providing capacity building, facilitating ownership of SDGs and encouraging the dissemination of good practices;
2.4believe that the appropriate implementation of the SDGs should lead to a multi-stakeholder governance model, with a greater role for economic and social actors. This entails new, more collaborative and inclusive working methods, specifically in the social dialogue area, and building around horizontal and participatory decision-making;
2.5draw attention to the Addis Ababa action agenda that points to all sources of finance that can be used for development and SDG implementation, and call for better coordination of funding sources;
2.6stress the need to raise awareness ofthe SDGs and their significance among non-state actors so that each citizen engages with the whole process of implementation;
3.On the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and the East African Community
3.1note the imminent signing of the EPA and recognise that certain trade instruments relating to this agreement (better access to the EU market, simplified rules of origin) have the potential to contribute to the development of the EAC region;
3.2further note that the liberalisation in the trade of goods between the EU and the EAC, which have highly unequal development levels, both between them and within the EAC region, could have a negative impact on the ability of EAC economies to develop their own industries;
3.3point out that the agreement must contribute not only to accelerated regional economic integration based on the solidarity of all members, but also, and ultimately, to poverty reduction, inclusive and sustainable development, productive employment and decent work in East Africa;
3.4recommend the political authorities to remove technical and economic obstacleslikely to prevent the development of intra-regional trade in East Africa; express concern therefore that the loss of revenue from customs duties, which is a major source of income for African governments, could have a negative impact on their ability to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, and further recommend devising mechanisms to offset any loss of tax income resulting from the implementation of the agreement;
3.5insist on the need to make the free movement of people a reality and to include cooperation on social protection;
3.6call for the EPA to take account of farming sector particularities and of the right to food, to facilitate the creation of a regional market that can react effectively to global volatility shocks, and ask for EU technical and financial support to help local agricultural producers meet health standards for food exports to the EU;
3.7welcome the EPA provision establishing a consultative committee that includes socio-economic partners and civil society organisations (Article 108), and draw attention to the need to involve this consultative committee throughout the whole policy process, from the impact assessment stage to the monitoring and evaluation of EPA implementation;
3.8call on the authorities of the East African Community and the EU to provide this committee with adequate and predictable logistical and financial resources to ensure its regular workof making recommendations, both at domestic level for partner countries and for joint meetings of EAC and EU non-state actors;
3.9note that EPAs with other African regions (such as SADC) include a chapter on sustainable development aimed at reaching a balance among the economic, social and environmental dimensions, in order to be able to make a successful contribution to reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development;
3.10therefore, regret that the EAC EPA only provides for a sustainable development chapter within five years after the entry into force of the EPA (as part of a rendez-vous clause, Article3); and call for a revision of the EPA to include a sustainable development chapter, or, failing this, for a protocol to the EPA setting out a clear timetable for its inclusion under therendez-vous clause with the active participation of economic and social actors;
3.11call on East African economic and social actors to step up their cross-border cooperation, to inform and raise awareness about the EPA provisions among their members and the general public, and to make their voices better heard within the relevant fora;
3.12urge public authorities from East Africa and the EU to help train these stakeholders on trade issues and contribute to their capacity-building, not least by defining specific measures to support entrepreneurship among women and young people.
4.On the post-Cotonou agenda
4.1encourage ACP countries to continue as a collective group; however, note that this is a decision that should be made by the ACP countries themselves;
4.2call for a future "partnership of equals" that transcends a donor-recipient relationship and recognises the universality of challenges across EU and ACP countries such as income inequality, gender inequality, youth unemployment, climate change, natural catastrophes, economic crises or migration;
4.3stress the need for a framework that guarantees the involvement of socio-economic actors, whose specific task should be not only to monitor and assess the impact of the implementation of the future agreement on the sustainable development of the parties, but also to participate in the conception and inception of development policies. To undertake this role, these organisations should be provided with adequate financial support;
4.4recommend that all forms of development support that the EU gives to other countries be subject to the same democratic scrutiny by the European Parliament;
4.5support the development of additional development cooperation frameworks that include South-South cooperation;
4.6encourage an increasing role of middle-income countries in addressing global challenges through international development cooperation.
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EESC-2016-03833-00-04-TCD-TRA (EN) 1/4