EU Trade Related Technical Assistance Available to ACP States

Transcription

1 EU Trade Related Technical Assistance Available to ACP States Programme to support the Integration of the ACP states in the Multilateral Trading System Its objective is to provide trade-related technical assistance to African, Caribbean and Pacific States, regions and non state actors. The priority areas of support are: o Multilateral Negotiations o Implementation of WTO Agreements and o Accession to the WTO ACP Governments including individual Ministries and Departments ACP Institutions and Regional Integration Organisations ACP Trade Associations or Chambers of Commerce through the respective Government or Regional Integration Organisation Other interested organisations (Institutes of Higher Education or Research etc.) if they associate with a Trade Association or Chamber of Commerce and submit through the respective Government or Regional Integration Organisation Programme Management Unit to Support the Integration of the ACP States into the Multilateral Trading System (MTS) Tél Fax Rue Archimède Brussels - Belgium

2 Capacity Building Programme in support of the preparation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) The purpose of the Capacity Building Programme is to ensure that the ACP States are well prepared to conduct the negotiations on EPAs. The Programme is managed by the Programme Management Unit (PMU), which is charged with organizing and contracting out activities such as: o Specific studies aimed at developing negotiating positions for ACP countries and regions, seminars, conferences, and workshops linked to the trade negotiations; o Training in negotiating techniques for ACP officials leading negotiating teams; o Technical Assistance to improve capacities in areas such as trade policy formulation, trade negotiations and negotiating techniques. o African, Caribbean, Pacific States governments; o ACP institutions and regional integration institutions; o ACP trade associations or chambers of commerce in association, where relevant, with other interested groups such as academic institutions, consumer groups etc. Project Management Unit 13a Avenue de Tervueren 1040 Brussels Tel : Fax :

3 The Trade.Com Facility Program The specific objective of the Trade.Com Facility Program is to improve the capacity of ACP countries and regional organisations to design and implement their own trade strategies and effectively participate in international trade negotiations. As a result, the ACP member states will also be able to formulate effective strategies for negotiation strategies on trade matters. o The regional or inter-regional organizations with a mandate for trade and regional integration. o The ministries, and related agencies and authorities, in charge of trade policy formulation and international trade negotiations. o The thematic or sectoral ministries and public services indirectly involved (agriculture, industry, finance and customs, justice, standard setting and certification bodies ) o Representative structures in charge of the dialogue between government and private sector. o Private sector consultants and other trade related service suppliers. o Civil society, research and training institutions and other non-state actors All stakeholders from private and public sector and intermediary organizations will benefit from the enhanced capacity of the ACP countries to defend their interests. Trade.Com Facility Programme, PMU 20, rue des Gaulois 1040 Brussels

4 Centre for Development of Enterprise The mission assigned to the CDE under the Cotonou Agreement is to contribute to poverty reduction by fostering wealth creation by lending support to the various types of operator that make up the private sector in the ACP countries; in this role it draws extensively on the capabilities of enterprises in EU countries. The Centre makes its facilities available to operators in the ACP private sector on the basis of: multiannual sectoral and regional programmes, integrated assistance to individual enterprises outside those programmes, applying rigorous selection criteria, helping to set up contacts between entrepreneurs in ACP and EU countries in the same sectors, trades or businesses. It lends support, in a variety of forms, to: the creation and development of ACP enterprises, intermediary institutions such as tradeand/or sector organizations, combining its operations with those of PRO INVEST and other EU and bilateral programmes, firms of consultants. It grants SMEs subsidies to meet part of the costs of support and advisory services (diagnostic analyses of businesses, feasibility studies etc.) before, during and after an investment. It does not finance the investment itself but may help enterprises to find suitable sources of funding and set up financial engineering. CDE 52 avenue Herrmann-Debroux 1160 Brussels, Belgium Tel : Fax : and

5 Pro Invest The Pro Invest objective is to promote investment and technology flows to enterprises operating within key sectors in the ACP States. This will be achieved through a two dimensional approach: to support intermediary organizations and professional associations and to develop inter-enterprise partnerships. Eligible Intermediary Organizations ACP and EU intermediaries which include: o ACP and EU Intermediary Organizations such as national or regional private sector organizations, chambers of commerce and industry, professional associations; o ACP and EU Investment Promotion Agencies and other semi-public institutions dealing with Investment promotion; o ACP Financial Institutions with investment promotion-related activities; o ACP associations of consultants Eligible Companies ACP enterprises from the formal sector and EU SMEs (although larger companies and consortia are not excluded from the Programme) in need of assistance in: o formulating and preparing projects; o identifying foreign investors and sources of financial, technology and marketing assistance, and co-operation; o technical assistance; o acquiring investment related information and services. To be eligible to Pro Invest, an ACP enterprise must meet the following criteria: o belong to the formal sector, and have its head office in an ACP State signatory of the Lome 4 Convention (registered in an ACP country and conforms to local business regulations); o have a sound financial, technical and economical position ;

6 o conform with the international code of good conduct with respect to work and environmental issues ; o be situated above one of the minimum size thresholds: turnover over or equal to: Euros ;Investment over or equal to: Euros. Pro Invest Management Unit Centre for the Development of Enterprise (CDE) Avenue Herrmann-Debroux 52 B-1160 Brussels Belgium Ph: + (32 2) /51 Fax: + (32 2) SEM International Associates Limited 4th Floor, Trust Towers, Farrar Avenue P.O.Box CT2069 Accra, Ghana Tél.: /5 Fax: proinvest@semfinancial.com Contact : Sam Mensah and/or Ebenezer A. Barnes

7 Strengthening Fishery Products Health Conditions in ACP/OCT Countries The general objective is to make the best use of ACP fish resources by strengthening their production and external marketing capacities (Cotonou Agreement Article 34.3). The aim is to facilitate access for local fishery products to the global market by durably strengthening health surveillance systems for export and production conditions in all beneficiary countries. It should be stressed that fish products from small-scale fisheries are taken into account in a significant way; this can be seen further on in the description of activities Any ACP country with fishing and fishery products export activities can be a beneficiary of the project. Since all ACP countries are represented by the ACP Secretariat, an official request for support is not needed, but an informal declaration of interest, with information on the situation of the country, may accelerate the implementation of action. The type of operation differs from one beneficiary to another. By distinguishing between - on the one hand - services such as advice and training, and infrastructure such as equipment and works and - on the other hand - the Competent Authority, laboratories, enterprises and the small-scale fishing sector, the types of operation can be presented as in the table below:

8 Type of operation Beneficiary Advice and training Equipment CA Yes Yes No Laboratories Yes Yes No Enterprises Yes No No Small-scale fishing Yes Yes Yes Infrastructure The Competent Authority is the interface for the project in a given country. Its endorsement is required for all operations of which it is not the direct beneficiary, i.e. those for laboratories, enterprises and small-scale fishing PMU - Strengthening Fishery Products Health Conditions in ACP/OCT Countries c/o CDE 52 av. Herrmann Debroux B-1160 Bruxelles Belgium Tel. : Fax :

9 Pesticides Initiative Programme The PIP intends to respond to applications from private companies in the ACP fresh fruit and vegetable export sector to the European Union. They are confronted with strengthening of European buyers' requirements in terms of food safety (pesticide residues) and traceability. The PIP programme became operational on 11 July 2001, based on a fiveyear funding contract in the amount of 28,807,000. COLEACP set up a Management Unit in Brussels. For the Programme's strategic orientation, COLEACP takes into account the recommendations of the Consultative Committee composed of representatives of the sector and technical and regulatory experts. The ACP Group of States, the European Commission and the COLEACP Board of Directors are also represented in the Committee PIP works with private companies in the ACP fruit and vegetable sector, helping them to adapt their agricultural practices and to produce wholesome fruit and vegetables. PIP support takes different forms: advice and assistance for setting up sanitary quality and traceability systems, certification preaudits, technical training and so on. COLEACP-PIP Rue du Trône, 98 (box 3) B-1050 Brussels Belgium Fax:

10 EU ACP Microfinance Framework Programme The Microfinance Framework Programme was launched to help the poor in ACP countries get better access to appropriate financial products and services. The Programme is taking a three pronged approach to improve the effectiveness of microfinance operations in ACP countries: by strengthening the capacity of microfinance actors; supporting microfinance ratings and improving efficiencies and transparency in the microfinance market. m