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Cook Islands To Prepare For EU Assistance

Government Of The Cook Islands

10 November 2000

This story is reproduced by kind permission of the Government of the Cook Islands at http://www.cook-islands.gov.ck

The Cook Islands has been told by the European Union (EU) to start working on project development now even though it may take up to two years before the financial mechanisms for aid assistance are kick-started under the new Cotonou Agreement.

At a briefing session in Kiribati last weekend, a delegation from the EU provided an outline of the financial instruments of the agreement and how the benefits will extend to the Cook Islands and the other new Pacific member states of the Africa Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Group.

The Cook Islands will get about $2 million Euro Dollars over a five year period under one of the financial instruments administered under the Agreement. Other instruments include multilateral assistance under the Pacific's Regional Programme, an investment bank facility, private sector access to a European Business Assistance Scheme, and the Center for Industrial Development and Enterprise Development.

Delegation leader Friedrich Hamburger also described to the Prime Minister Dr. Maoate and representatives from the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Marshall Islands, and Palau, how the agreement will progress over the immediate future.

Mr. Hamburger, who is Director of the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Pacific Directorate of the European Commission, said the Agreement will need to be ratified by two thirds of the ACP Group and all members of the EU before it came into force.

The Director's experience told him that the process of ratification might take as long as two years and certainly until the end of 2001 at least. However, he encouraged the six new member countries to immediately begin strategic preparation on project development because tentative decisions could be made on financing in advance.

Preliminary planning should include a description of needs in terms of the country's political, social, and economic conditions, government's priorities and goals, and the target areas for EU funding.

EU funded projects, he said, must have ownership by the population and be scheduled under a work programme that describes each project.

The strategic preparation must be forwarded to Brussels to allow plenty of time for the process of negotiation, consultation and fine-tuning.

On the EU's part, Mr. Hamburger said the process of establishing diplomatic relations with the new members was continuing and that the consideration of accreditation and member representation in Brussels should now get underway.

During the session, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the EU delegates for the inclusion of the Cook Islands and other states under the new Agreement.

"I am grateful that a beginning has already been set in place and we will follow the necessary steps."

There will be a workshop for the Cook Islands and other members later this month in Tonga on how the EU's financial instruments will work, the establishment of country strategies, and programme procedures. The workshop for National Authorising Officers is expected to involve the participation of one Government official and a private sector individual.

The Cook Islands joined the ACP Group under the Cotonou Agreement last July, paving the way for financial aid from the European Union.

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