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Brussels, 13 May 2005

24TH MEETING OF ACP-EU ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INTEREST GROUPS

Brussels, 28-30 June 2005

REPORT (ACP Member)

on

Regional integration and sustainable development

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Rapporteur: Mr Kiriro

Member of the ACP-EU Follow-up Committee of the EESC

President of Eastern African Farmers Federation (EAFF)

Vice Patron of Kenya Federation of Agricultural Producers (KENFAP)

Vice President – International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP)

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DI CESE 102/2003 rev. 4 EN/O

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BACKGROUND

Since 1998, the European Economic and Social Committee under the ACP-EU partnership has adopted a strategy that facilitates closer contacts with the ACP countries. This has been done through regional seminars and the representation of non-state actors in the European Economic and Social Committee as interest groups. The committee has also very consistently advocated a greater degree of participation by civil society representatives to ensure a genuine ownership of development by society.

The Cotonou agreement is very clear on the definition of the partners under the agreement. These being states, the private sector, the economic and social partners and civil society organisations. The agreement is unique in that it recognises the essential role that can be played by non-state actors in the sustainable development process.

The ACP-EU Follow-up Committee has been holding seminars in the regions to enhance the status of non-state actors in line with the existing plan of action. Through declarations and a programme of activities covering year 2002 to 2004 i.e.,

Follow-up to the implementation of the provision of the Cotonou agreement

Monitoring negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)

Development of the consultative function in ACP countries

Developing the dimension of regional integration and sustainable development

Enhancing relations with the political authorities in the partnership.

The ACP-EU economic and social interest groups have given emphasis to the component of the action plan during the regional seminars. It is for this reason that the seminars involve the highest level of government in countries where they are held. The agenda of the seminar is also broad-based to be able to include issues of interest to non-state actors and to other interest groups. The seminars have also facilitated the formation of consultative groups of non-state actors. In Kenya for example after the 4th Regional Seminar held on 14 February 2002 we were able to form and launch a Forum for Social and Economic Development Partners (FOSEDEP).

After the seminar in Nairobi, the Private Sector of Kenya has also completed the formation of a consultation forum with a Chief Executive, a board and membership organizations in the name of the “Kenya Private Sector Alliance” (KEPSA).

INTRODUCTION

The ACP-EU economic and social interest groups have also recognised the on-going progress of integration starting with the European Union and other trading blocks of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The on-going process of integration is of interest to non-state actors and it is for this reason that the 5th Regional Seminar at Yaounde, Cameroon on 21-23 May 2003 among other issues focused on regional integration and sustainable development. The discussions in Yaoundé and other regional seminars are covered in detail by this paper.

The need for regional integration was evident in West Africa and was deliberated upon at Yaoundé. Leaders of the region have tried for a long time now to bring the people of the region together. The desire to come together is based on the understanding that the small states of the region constitute very small and weak economic blocks and it is only by coming together that they can enlarge or expand their markets and provide better environment, more opportunities in trade for their people and eventually, be able to engage in international trade from a position of strength.

The process of integration through trade in the region should be faster because it is now possible to borrow from the experiences of Europe which started the process of integration from the early 1950s and through a series of meetings, negotiations, disagreements and compromises have eventually established a European economic and political block. The initiators of the process were few but were determined to see Europe united. We now have the European Union. Other countries of Europe have joined in including the former Eastern European countries. For this process to succeed, it called for unlimited patience, tolerance, compromise and understanding by the people and government of Europe. They all had a clear vision of where they wanted to go and worked their way through all barriers to achieve their goal.

As regards integration of West African nations the need to integrate is clear and what is required is to remove known problems slowing this process.

The West African countries have been going through reforms under Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) prescribed from the World Bank and the international monitory funds. These reforms have had very negative impact on the economies of this region. The reforms have destroyed what these countries depend on to trade: the agricultural sector.

The countries of the region are also subject to globalisation and international trade liberalisation. Under this current trading environment there is need for a high degree of interdependence among countries and regions through increased sub-regional and international trade and capital-flows. Through globalisation the role of government has not only changed but is drastically reduced most of it taken up by global governance bodies and agreements e.g. WTO. Under liberalisation even in West Africa we see less government regulation and more role for markets which gain strength. Even with the on-going new rounds of multilateral trade negotiation, there is scepticism with which many developing countries of this region now look at the potential benefits and costs of free trade. This is mainly because the benefits accruing following the previous Uruguay Rounds (UR) and the Lomé Convention were limited and below their expectation.

OBSERVATIONS

During the deliberations a number of observations regarding regional integration were made i.e.:

There is need for regional integration through sustainable trade, the question is on how to get there.

Through the ages the people of the region have interacted through trade and what needs to happen in West Africa is not new.

Concerns of proper diagnosis of issues pertaining to regional integration might not have been adequate. This has probably led to minimum progress in integration protocols that regional governments have put in place.

It was also observed that there cannot be integration without first and foremost integrating the people of the region through free movement, compatible currencies and taxes.

To achieve human integration such obstacles as:

-poor infrastructure

-communications

-conflicts must be overcome.

The ECOWAS secretariat has been trying and have even addressed some of these problems. ECOWAS through support from EU through the 9th EDF fund has put up roads inland and along the coastlines to link member states. They have reformed the telecommunications systems of the region and more is being done in this direction. ECOWAS has addressed barriers that limit human movement such as visa requirements and passports. Governments of the region have made commitments through ECOWAS to address these issues but progress by governments is slow. Governments need to take their commitment on regional integration more seriously. ECOWAS acknowledge that they could do more if resources were made available and if government were committed.

Economic inequalities in regional states are also a barrier to integration. Some of the states due to their level of development are unable to compete in the regional trade and therefore feel scared to be fully integrated. There is therefore a need to address the problems of the weak states during the process of integration.

For proper integration the regional leaders must first and foremost put the basics right. More free trade among the people of the region is key to regional integration. Through free trade, people of the region will be able to establish relationships among themselves, friendship, values, ideas, religious beliefs, trust and eventually economic empowerment. The modern barriers in place currently have limited the people of the region in the exchange of goods and services.

It is not possible to achieve a reasonable level of integration without total reform of societies at the national and regional level. Integration will not be possible without the full participation of the CSO, private sector and states. The states should facilitate integration, the private sector should create wealth by mobilizing resources and doing business more professionally. The CSOs should be agencies of change. They should pressure governments to facilitate faster integration.

Interferences from outside the region has also slowed integration. The dumping of products from developed countries have made it difficult for the region to industrialise. Access to international markets due to barriers such as subsidies and unreasonable standards have made it difficult for the region to benefit from liberalisation.

The question of Pan Africanism was revisited. The question was whether the principles underlying Pan Africanism are clearly well understood. Should integration be tackled from the regional or African level through African Union. Are there clear strategies to address integrations from a larger scale. It was however noted that the African Union acknowledges the importance of existing regional trading blocks such as ECOWAS, COMESA and will use them as focal points towards unification of Africa.

It was also observed that as we considered integration of the regional government and people, it is important that cross cutting issues such as poverty, hunger, gender, diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB are addressed. It will not be possible to improve trade in the region without rehabilitating agriculture. It is only when agriculture performs that real economic growth and rural development can be achieved.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The deliberations of the regional seminars to date, have been thorough and have come up with a number of important recommendations such as:

Patience and understanding during the process

A thorough self examination of national governments is important to enhance integration

Integration of people of the region is crucial to regional integration. All blocks/barriers limiting human integration such as visas, currencies and others should be removed

The regional governments should improve infrastructure to facilitate the movement of people, goods and services and ensure improvements in all forms of communications

The issue of regional security should be paramount within states and interstates of the region

A culture of integration should be cultivated and entrenched in the youth through education and interactive activities

The regional leaders should address problems of hunger and poverty in the region because trade within the region will not thrive as long as people are victims of such basic but very worrying problems

Regional leaders should consider trade as the most important tool of integration and support their people in making available tradeable goods in the market.

The participants observed that globalisation and liberalisation were unstoppable movements and that regional leaders need to strategise and reduce its negative effects on the people of the region. The trend makes regional integration even more crucial. The regional leader should promote trade in the region and as mentioned earlier all barriers to free trade should be removed. Democracy and social dialogue are very important for peace and it is in this regard that the non-state actors and civil society organizations should be involved. Integration of the region will not be possible without the involvement of non-state actors. The governments of the region should borrow a leaf from the European Union (EU) on integration and out of it they will realise that integration is a long-term process requiring patience, compromise and understanding. The process that led to unification of Europe just a few years ago started in 1957. For regional integration to succeed, states of the region must show commitment to all the regional protocols agreed on for purposes of integration and especially those within ECOWAS. This is not only an important institution for integration of West Africa but eventually for Africa as a whole. The governments of Africa have decided to use regional trading blocks such as ECOWAS, COMESA, SADC to fulfil their dream of an African Union.

PARTICIPATORY APPROACH

During all the regional seminars held so far, the issue of the structure of Non-State Actors as defined in the Cotonou Partnership Agreement has been raised. Act. 6 of the Cotonou Partnership Agreements defines Non-state Actors as comprising of:

  • Private Sector
  • Economic and Social Partners e.g. Trade Unions
  • Civil society, including farmers.

To be able to facilitate sustainable development those different forms of non-state actors will have to be consulted and also participate in development activities. The European Union and the European Commission have been using the provisions within the Cotonou Agreement to facilitate development.

The major challenge emanating from the Cotonou Agreement is for the partners to put in place structures that can facilitate and promote the consultative function and social dialogue. Although there exists some form of legal non-state actors in most ACP countries and especially the historical and traditional ones such as the trade unions and employers federations, harmony to facilitate both horizontal and vertical consultations on issues of national importance such as development, governance etc. has been lacking. The presentation by Mr. Meyer in Fiji on the “Participatory Approach: the promotion of the consultative function and social dialogue was an important eye opener to the Fiji participants during the regional seminar. The important role the non-state actors are expected to play in the national, social-economic policies was also raised, but for the non-state actors to be involved and eventually influence policy, they have to be structured in a manner that facilitates the process.

The question of how to organize the non-state actors for purposes of consultation and social dialogue was important at the Fiji seminar and even in the previous seminars.

Since the signing of the Cotonou agreements by states, non-state actors in ACP countries have tried in their own way and understanding to organize consultative forums. Some countries put gathered momentum after the regional seminars. In case of Fiji, a non-state actors forum was formed in May of 2001 in the name of Fiji Forum of Non-State Actors – on the implementation of the Cotonou Agreement (FFONSA-CA). However for efficient utilization of resources and to be able to be all inclusive, it has all along been recommended that a formation of three levels of consultation would be ideal i.e.

  • A social and economic partners forum (Employers/Trade Unions).
  • A business forum (Domestic Private Sector)
  • An NGO forum (a variety)

Kenya has taken this format in putting up forums i.e.

  • A social and Economic Partners
  • The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA)
  • The NGO- Council.

In Kenya, the Farmers Organization, Chamber of Commerce, National Council of Women, the informal sector, Transport Association and others formed a forum in the name of Forum for Social and Economic Development Partners of Kenya (FOSEDEP) and decided to belong to the category of Social and Economic Partners.

In Fiji and it seems to be the case in most ACP countries, the traditional social and economic organizations such as trade unions and employer have a problem relating with up coming non-state actors forums and many of them have expressed their desire to maintain their own identity. The governments of ACP countries have very reluctantly and cautiously involved the trade unions. The absence of government in Fiji in a seminar that was organized by trade unions was visible. The participants at the seminar announced the problem and raised fears and concerns on whether the government had the will to work with non-state actors.

For the non-state actors to play their role as laid down in article 4 of the Cotonou i.e. consultation and involvement in the implementation of projects and programmes, they will require capacity on information and financial resources to be able to organize themselves, strengthen their representation role and establish consultative mechanisms or forums. This very important support has not been forthcoming either through the states or the European Commission. This is one area the European Economic and Social Committee would have to seriously address.

The European Commission and especially through the heads of delegations has openly supported the important role played by the regional seminars. The seminars have not only disseminated important information on the Cotonou Agreement but have also stimulated debate and dialogue between ACP-EU Economic and Social Partners. The seminars have also provided a meeting point for all the partners i.e. States, the European Commission and the Non-State Actors. The Commission has implemented reforms within itself to enhance consultation and to consolidate the participatory development approach where all partners would feature prominently. The new programme models and working methods provide new and more systematic entry points for in-country dialogues with non-state actors.