on the commercial impact of the single market on the developing countries

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the resolution on the effects of the 1992 EEC Single Market on the ACP States adopted by the ACP-EEC Joint Assembly on 29 September 1989OJ No. C 45, 26.2.1990, p. 30 ,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Development and Cooperation (A3-0040/92),

A.having regard to the deep anxiety which has arisen in the developing countries with which the Community has concluded development agreements, in view of the completion of the EEC single market,

B.whereas the development of trading relations between the Community and these countries has not lived up to the hopes or to the objectives which the Community had set itself, particularly as regards the ACP states,

C.whereas trading cooperation remains decisive for the majority of these countries, for which the production and export of commodities is the main source of wealth,

D.recalling that the development of trade must not be an end in itself, that the implementation of export policies must not take place at the expense of the local population and that the development of transport systems has a serious impact on the natural equilibrium of our planet,

E.recalling that the development of trading relations between North and South has often taken place in a way which was predatory and unfair to the developing countries, and whereas this must be replaced by a policy aimed at developing local markets to meet the needs of the population and organizing trading relations with the developing countries in a way which benefits both sides,

1.Considers it vital that the completion of the EEC single market should not lead to measures which conflict with the Community's previous commitments to the developing countries;

2.Considers, therefore, that it is the Commission's responsibility to examine meticulously the various issues brought up by the Community's partners and, together with the latter, to seek the most appropriate solutions;

3.Considers, however, that, as far as the commercial field is concerned, the direct impact of the single market will be relatively limited and will not, in itself, represent a substantial change in relations between the Community and its partners;

4.Considers, on the other hand, that the profound changes which have come about in Europe and alterations in world trade patterns in the wake of GATT, which could totally deprive the poorest countries of their ability to protect their own economies, together with the development of integration processes at regional level, will significantly modify the Community's traditional trade patterns, and merit the greatest possible attention;

5.Calls on the Commission in view of the changes which have taken place in Central and Eastern Europe, to take measures likely to promote an increase in trading relations between these countries and the developing countries;

6.Recalls that the preferential rules governing trade between the Community and the ACP States have had no perceptible effect on the structure or volume of ACP-EEC trade, which still follows the colonial pattern;

7.Stresses that the Lomé Convention represents an original and unique example of partnership between the ACP members and the Community, and that it should be consolidated and developed, taking account of the very great needs of the ACP countries;

8.Recalls that the Commission, while stressing its conviction that new opportunities will be opened up to all of the Community's partners, believes there is a risk that increased competition within the single market will have most impact on the countries which are now the least competitive, this being particularly applicable to the least-developed countries;

9.Considers that, generally speaking, the level of development of the developing countries (and the tendency of their economies to look outwards to the detriment of local needs) is the decisive factor which will determine their capacity to respond to the dynamic created by the single market, and therefore takes the view that this represents a new challenge for Community development policy, particularly where the least-developed countries are concerned;

10.Takes the view that, like the European economies, the developing countries economies will be unable to develop without protective mechanisms to allow local markets to consolidate;

11.Calls upon the Commission to establish an effective mechanism to monitor the trade-diversion effects of the establishment of the single market on the less-developed countries;

12.Calls on the Commission to develop financial instruments which can be used to compensate the least-developed countries in the event of the single market causing them serious economic harm;

13.Considers that the European Community should help the developing countries and, in particular, the least-developed countries to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the single market:

-by providing them with any information of use to them, particularly with a view to identifying the most promising economic sectors,

-by helping these countries to develop those sectors of their economies which are best able to take advantage of new opportunities within the EEC,

-by supporting import promotion activities;

14.Considers that the harmonization of standards at EEC level poses certain worrying individual problems which the Community must settle as the need arises, in cooperation with its trading partners among the developing countries, by providing the latter with the means to adapt;

15.Takes the view that it is particularly vital to maintain the advantages granted to the banana-producing countries under the ACP-EEC conventions;

16.Urges at the same time these banana-producing countries to improve productivity and the quality of the fruit they produce in order to become more competitive in the future;

17.Considers that the choices faced by the EEC where its banana imports are concerned illustrate particularly clearly the contradictions between its development policy aims and its aims in the field of trade, the latter being set solely in the context of a free trade philosophy which takes no account of the diversity of production condition;

18.Stresses, in this connection, that if the Community were to abandon its commitments to protect small-scale ACP banana producers, the main beneficiaries would be large American companies which dominate what is known as the 'dollar-banana market';

19.Considers - to go beyond the above example - that the EEC should re-assess the aims and methods of its trade cooperation with its partners among the developing countries;

20.Notes that the usual arguments on the advantages of free trade generally mask the conditions of market domination, all too often at the expense of the developing countries, particularly the poorest ones;

21.Underlines the importance and urgency of identifying possible contradictions between EEC trade and environmental policies towards developing countries in order to arrive at a coherent cooperation policy;

22.Notes, moreover, as regards the completion of the single market, that the Community has taken over thirty years to bring about the conditions necessary for a genuine market and has done so thanks to time, restructuring and accompanying policies, including, of course, the necessary funding;

23.Considers, therefore, that making economic progress in the developing countries dependent on success on external markets, and doing so under conditions of unfettered, unorganized competition, entails a tremendous risk of failure, with the associated social and political consequences;

24.Notes, moreover, that the Community's main competitors, the United States and Japan, are organizing trading zones in neighbouring regions with the aid of huge investment, in contrast with the stagnation of Community trade with its closest partners bordering the Mediterranean and its most traditional partners in sub-Saharan Africa;

25.Considers that, in this context of regional integration, the EEC must not be the only party to let its relations with the developing countries flow with the tide on the various markets;

26.Recalls the first step towards the globalization of trade, taken five centuries ago following the discovery of the American continent, and points out that the main motive at the time was commercial profit at the expense of disadvantaged countries;

27.Considers, by contrast, that 1992 should mark the point at which the EEC starts to put into practice a genuine, practical determination to promote the development of trade with the developing countries, in the interests of both parties;

28.Considers that this cannot be achieved solely through the methods available at present, which - particularly within the framework of GATT - tend to organize rules which favour the parties with a dominant position on the market, particularly the EEC, the United States and Japan; remains convinced that easier access by the developing countries to the industrialized nations' markets must form a part of the GATT negotiations;

29.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the governments of the Member States.