The European Parliament,

1.   having regard to the partnership agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) of the one part and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000(1) as amended in Luxembourg on 24 June 2005 (the Cotonou Agreement), and particularly Annex Ia concerning the multiannual framework of cooperation under the Cotonou Agreement,

2.   having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament entitled 'Towards the full integration of co-operation with ACP countries in the EU budget', of 8 October 2003 (COM(2003)0590),

3.   having regard to the Presidency Conclusions of the Brussels European Council of 15 and 16 December 2005, particularly Point 70 and Annex II concerning the respective contributions of Member States to the ACP countries,

4.   having regard to its resolutions of 1 April 2004 on Budgetisation of the European Development Fund(2), of 8 June 2005 on Policy Challenges and Budgetary Means of the enlarged Union 2007-2013(3), and of 17 November 2005 on a development strategy for Africa(4),

5.   having regard to the commitments given by Member States in 2005, particularly:

6.   having regard to Rule 108(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.   whereas Annex 1a to the Cotonou Agreement states that 'For this new period, the European Union shall maintain its aid effort to ACP States at least at the same level as that of the 9th European Development Fund (EDF), not including balances; to this shall be added, based on Community estimates, the effects of inflation, growth within the European Union, and enlargement to 10 new Member States in 2004',

B.   whereas, whilst the Commission had initially calculated an amount of EUR 24 948 million for the 10th EDF for the period 2008-2013 (6 years), the European Council, during its meeting in Brussels on 15-16 December 2005, agreed on an amount of just EUR 22 682 million,

C.   whereas this reduction of EUR 2 000 million violates the commitments of the Union with regard to Annex 1a of the Cotonou Agreement and does not reflect the numerous political pledges given in 2005 for a substantial increase of development aid,

D.   whereas the ACP countries would not have given their assent to the Cotonou Agreement without the inclusion of Annex 1a concerning financing, and there is therefore a need for the EU Member States to stand by their commitments,

E.   whereas some clarification is required before the European Parliament can give its assent to the Cotonou Agreement,

F.   whereas the budgetisation of the EDF is neither a miracle cure for all problems nor an obstacle to the effectiveness of the EU-ACP partnership,

G.   whereas it is legitimate to consider reforming the EDF 40 years after its creation and the current system has been unable to resolve the problems relating to both the time needed to release funds and the accumulation of unused appropriations (EUR 11 000 million),

H.   whereas the enlargement of the EU to include Romania and Bulgaria is scheduled for 2007,

I.   whereas East Timor acceded to the Cotonou Agreement on 15 December 2005,

J.   having regard to the concern expressed by the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) concerning their exclusion from the 10th EDF and the uncertainty as regards cooperation between the OCTs and the EU,

K.   whereas the primary objectives of the Cotonou Agreement are the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and the progressive integration of ACP countries into the world economy; whereas all ACP countries and EU Member States are committed to the achievement of the MDGs,

L.   whereas political dialogue is of increased importance in the Cotonou Agreement and development must support respect for human rights, democratic principles and good governance, as well as sustainable development,

1.  Regrets that the overall amount for the 10th EDF decided by the European Council is below the original calculation of the Commission;

2.  Regrets that the plethora of political commitments made in 2005 in support of substantial increases in ODA have not been translated into a substantial increase in the contributions of Member States to the EDF; underlines that the proposed amount for the 10th EDF would amount to only 0.028% of Member States' GDP;

3.  Deplores the fact that, on the one hand, Member States have made commitments to increase development aid but on the other hand, if the level of the 10th EDF remains at that fixed by the European Council, the overall levels of ODA managed by the Commission will fall from 19% to just 14% by 2015, making this a de facto re-nationalisation of development policy;

4.  Calls on the Member States to consider significantly raising their contributions to the 10th EDF;

5.  Calls on the Council and the Commission to clarify how the development dimension of the Economic Partnership Agreements, currently under negotiation, will be financed;

6.  Urges the Council to provide new money for 'aid for trade' programmes and insists that such programmes should not shift resources already earmarked for other development initiatives, such as the MDGs;

7.  Calls on the Council to ensure that the contributions of Romania and Bulgaria to the 10th EDF will be additional once they have acceded to the EU;

8.  Calls on the Council to take into account the accession of East Timor to the Cotonou Agreement and the fact that aid directed to this new country should clearly be additional in the light of the formula described in Annex 1a to the Cotonou Agreement;

9.  Calls on the Council and the Commission to clarify as soon as possible the question of future financing of cooperation with OCTs;

10.  Calls on the Council and Commission to clarify the future financing of the African Union, including what level of financing should come from the MEDA programme;

11.  Recalls that all EDF expenditure must satisfy the ODA eligibility criteria, as defined by the OECD's Development Assistance Committee;

12.  Calls on the Commission to take the lead in ensuring coordination between the Member States in order to enhance the effectiveness of both EU and bilateral development funding;

13.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Governments of the EU Member States and of the ACP countries.

(1) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p.3. (2) OJ C 103 E, 29.4.2004, p. 833. (3) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0224. (4) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0445. (5) In comparison with 2004 levels, this amounts to a doubling of aid.