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

The Council instructed the French Presidency to come up with a compromise formula for the trade provisions of the negotiations and certain indicative parameters for the volume of the 8^th EDF to run from 1995 to 2000. Trade provisions: the compromise proposal of the French Presidency seeks to improve the conditions under which agricultural products from ACP countries access the Community market and to reconcile the pressing needs of the ACP countries and the interests of the Mediterranean Member States. It adapts the benefits granted to the ACP countries for three different categories of products that are protected to a greater or lesser extent: 1) products for which the ACP states do not enjoy any preference: 10% reduction in customs duties/levies; 2) products subject to tariff quotas or reference amounts: in general, conversion of quotas into ceilings and elimination of reference amounts; 3) products subject to timetables: 10% reduction in customs duties outside the current timetables. Derogations are laid down for each category of products. 8^th EDF: although the amount of the financial contribution was discussed, a final figure was not agreed. France stated clearly, however, that the 7^th EDF should be updated (ECU 12 billion, including EIB loans), taking account of two parameters: 1) in the past the resources of the European Development Fund had always been increased by 21.5% to cover at least inflation (which would give ECU 14.6 billion for the 8^th EDF); 2) the European Union had been enlarged to include three new prosperous Member States.