ACP/EC Lomé Convention: agreement amending the 4th ACP/EC Convention

The rapporteur, Mr Wurtz (GUE/NGL, F), said that public aid for development was in free fall and amounted to barely 0.27% of the wealth produced in the industrialised nations, which was the lowest level for a quarter of a century. It was against this background that the Committee on Development wanted to assess the achievements and shortcomings of Lomé IV. Expressing alarm for the fate of Lomé IV, which would probably be the last of its kind, Mr Wurtz urged members to vote for the preservation and strengthening of the ‘spirit of Lomé’, which was being opposed by the full force of the ultra-liberals. He referred in particular to the partnership that was the founding principle of Lomé and on the basis of which it would be possible to reject the unilateral conditionality imposed by the international financial institutions. Commissioner Pinheiro shared the concerns of the rapporteur for the future of development and cooperation. Paying tribute to the role played by Parliament, which had always supported better relations between the European Union and the third world, the Commissioner said that he was favourably disposed to opening an in-depth debate on the future of the partnership.