The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the proposal for a Council decision (COM(2000) 732 - C5-0070/2001 ),

-  having regard to Article 187 of the EC Treaty,

-  having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, as amended by the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty of Amsterdam, in particular Part Four (Articles 182 to 188) and Article 299(3) thereof,

-  having regard to Declaration No 36 on the Overseas Countries and Territories adopted by the Heads of State or Government on 2 October 1997 and annexed to the Final Act of the Amsterdam Conference,

-  having regard to the Fourth Lomé Convention and in particular Title XII (Regional Cooperation) thereof and Annexes XXXII and XXXIV thereto(1) ,

-  having regard to the Cotonou Agreement and in particular Protocol No 1 thereto(2) ,

-  having regard to Council Decision 91/482/EEC of 25 July 1991 on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Community, as amended by Council Decision 97/803/EC of 24 November 1997 and extended by Council Decision 2000/169/EC of 25 February 2000 and Council Decision 2001/161/EC of 26 February 2001,

-  having regard to its resolution of 11 February 1999 on relations between Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs), the ACP States and the outermost regions of the European Union(3) ,

-  having regard to its position of 16 May 2001 on the proposal for a Council regulation on the conclusion of the Fourth Protocol laying down the conditions relating to fishing provided for in the Agreement on fisheries between the European Economic Community, on the one hand, and the Government of Denmark and the local Government of Greenland, on the other (COM(2000) 865 - C5-0028/2001 - 2000/0348(CNS) )(4) ,

-  having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Development and Cooperation (A5-0276/2001 ),

A.  whereas the OCTs are characterised by physical, geographical and demographic handicaps, such as their dispersed location, great distance from the European continent and small populations and the small size of their territories (with the exception of Greenland and the French Southern and Antarctic Territories); whereas these shared constraints pose a structural obstacle to their economic development;

B.  whereas the European Union and the OCTs maintain special relations, as set out in Part Four of the EC Treaty, and whereas the principles of solidarity and cooperation to which the OCTs are firmly committed were reaffirmed at the Nice European Council,

C.  whereas Declaration No 36 on the OCTs, annexed to the Final Act of the Treaty of Amsterdam, invites the Council to review the relevant arrangements with a fourfold objective, namely to promote the economic and social development of the OCTs more effectively, to develop economic relations between the OCTs and the European Union, to take greater account of the diversity and specific characteristics of the individual OCTs, including where the right of establishment is concerned, and to ensure that the effectiveness of the financial instrument is improved,

D.  whereas the OCTs help extend the European Union's influence globally and contribute to its wealth and cultural diversity, whereas they have chosen freely to maintain constitutional ties with the Member States with which they have links, and whereas the large majority of their nationals are therefore citizens of the Union, even though the OCTs are not part of Community territory,

E.  whereas integration of the OCTs into their geo-economic areas, in particular with the ACP States, has become increasingly necessary owing to the establishment of the Regional Economic Partnership Agreements (REPAs) introduced by the Cotonou Agreement,

F.  whereas the OCTs in fact wish to be involved more in taking decisions on amendments affecting them and to see a clearer distinction between them and the ACP States in terms of status as regards the European Development Fund (EDF), from which they all, with the exception of Greenland, receive funds,

G.  whereas the overriding importance accorded to per capita GNP as a criterion for determining the total funding granted to the OCTs does not adequately reflect the structural imbalances from which they suffer, although the share-out does allow for other criteria such as population size or use of the previous EDFs,

H.  whereas the weakness regarding commitments noted in respect of the eighth EDF is largely due to ignorance of the mechanisms relating to this financial instrument, stemming from the extreme complexity of external aid management procedures,

I.  whereas, in addition to the financial instrument, the commercial measures envisaged in this proposal are of great importance for the economic and social future of the OCTs,

J.  whereas there are real threats to the commercial achievements of the OCTs, given the harmonisation of Community rules and the globalisation of trade,

K.  whereas ACP-OCT and EU-OCT cumulation of origin and transhipment are crucial for the future of the OCTs and their European citizens, and whereas the quantities of goods from the OCTs are not such as to distort the Community's internal market,

1.  Recalls the historic ties between the European Union and the OCTs, which are associated with the Community but are not integrated into it as the outermost regions are;

2.  Considers that, in the context of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the OCTs should not simply be informed of the outcome of debates and hopes that the Assembly will be able, as a matter of course, to invite four members of OCT parliaments to attend its twice-yearly plenary sessions as observers, which would be warranted in view of the subjects addressed by the Assembly;

3.  Deplores the reduction in the overall budget for regional cooperation when, by 2008, the REPAs laid down in the Cotonou Agreement are due to take shape;

4.  Welcomes the establishment of a partnership bringing together the Commission, the local authorities of the OCTs and the Member States with which the OCTs are linked; notes that the Commission will chair and act as the secretariat of the working parties and the forum and consequently provide the necessary funding;

5.  Reiterates strongly its call for the establishment by 2007 of a development fund specifically for OCTs, and separate from the EDF, which would accommodate the wishes expressed on numerous occasions by the OCT local authorities and the European Parliament;

6.  Calls for the amount of aid payable to each OCT to be allocated not only on a per capita GNP basis but also on the basis of other objective criteria, such as population size and geographical constraints (as stipulated by the Commission for the allocation of funds between budgets A and B and reserve C); notes with regret that, as things stand, three OCTs out of 20 would be deprived of subsidies; calls, therefore, for a transitional period to be introduced for those three OCTs and for those whose allocations have been considerably reduced;

7.  Questions the appropriateness of setting reserve C at an exaggeratedly high level compared with previous periods, EUR 35 m, this reserve being intended to finance humanitarian and emergency aid for all the OCTs and, if necessary, additional support in the event of fluctuations in export earnings; calls for this reserve to be reassigned if required in order to release additional funds for the development of the OCTs; notes that the Council intends to make further allocations from reserve C in the light of the changing needs and performances of the OCTs;

8.  Welcomes the possibility the OCTs now have to adopt Single Programming Documents (SPDs) to set out their strategic guidelines, which should permit structured identification of the priorities laid down by OCT authorities in consultation with the Commission;

9.  Is pleased that the Commission is to have an overall evaluation made of the decision, at the latest two years before it expires, but regrets that such an impact study will be financed to the tune of EUR 2 m from the EDF budget, which will correspondingly reduce the appropriations that are strictly meant for cooperation and development;

10.  Calls firmly on the Commission and the Council to promote the training of local economic and social actors so that the opportunities offered by the association arrangements are further enhanced and may be better exploited by those concerned;

11.  Is pleased that civil society will be given a role in drawing up and implementing development strategies;

12.  Fears that, as a result of the pressures exerted both by the WTO and by the current harmonisation of rules within the European Union, the principle of specification, which prevails in the case of the OCTs, will be greatly watered down; calls, therefore, for the specific points contained in the proposal to be taken properly into account;

13.  Recalls that the proportion of EU imports that come from the OCTs is still very small and that, in any case, it could not be such as to seriously distort the Community market;

14.  Recalls that transhipment is an important policy instrument for the OCTs, owing to the transfer of funds it generates from the Community budget to the OCTs' budgets; calls, therefore, for the exceptional nature of transhipment authorisation to be removed;

15.  Calls for an early warning mechanism to be introduced so that the Commission consults the OCTs concerned where safeguard measures are planned in respect of imports of products from OCTs;

16.  Is pleased that, as regards the right of establishment, the need for prior approval is to be removed where derogations are adopted to support the most sensitive economic sectors and is to be replaced by simple notification;

17.  Notes that the guarantee of free, unlimited access to the Community market for products originating in the OCTs is a founding principle of the association arrangements and therefore regrets that tariff quotas have been imposed in respect of a number of products;

18.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the Committee of the Regions, the Economic and Social Committee, the governments of the Member States concerned and the elected bodies of the various local authorities of the OCTs.

(1) OJ L 229, 17.8.1991, p. 3. (2) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3. (3) OJ C 150, 28.5.1999, p. 439. (4) Texts Adopted, Item 14.