• [Titelseite]
  
• [Summary]
  
• Acknowledgements
  
• Table of Contents
  
• Abbreviations
  

1. Introduction

2. History of political relations between the Pacific and Europe

3. Constraints on economic development

• 3.1 Size of market and scale of operations
  
• 3.2 Mobilisation of land resources
  
• 3.3 Proneness to natural disaster and external shocks
  
• 3.4 Law and order
  
• 3.5 Poor skill development and relatively low levels of educational attainment
  
• 3.6 Constraints imposed by the impact of macroeconomic policy
  

4. Impact of the Lomé Convention

• 4.1 Aid
  
• 4.2 Trade preference and the perpetuation of the colonial economies
  

5. The restructuring of EU aid

• The future of pacific ACP relations with the EU – an afterthought
  

References

About the Author

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Arbeitspapiere zur EU-Entwicklungspolitik

Working papers on EU-Development Policy
Documents de travail sur la politique du développement de l’UE

1

Roman Grynberg

The Pacific ACP States and
the End of the Lomé Convention

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Arbeitspapiere zur EU-Entwicklungspolitik

The series „Working papers on EU-Development Policy" takes up topical problems in European development policy. It is intended to provide a forum for discussing political options for creating European development policy and the dialogue between North and South. Its objective is to contribute to a better understanding in pursuing a coordinated and coherent European development policy as agreed under the terms of the Maastricht treaty.

ISSN 1432-9824
ISBN 3-86077-593-6

The series appears at irregular intervals. It may be ordered free of charge from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, D-53170 Bonn/Germany.

Copyright 1996 by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Godesberger Allee 149, 53175 Bonn

Layout: PAPYRUS – Schreib- und Büroservice
Printed in Germany 1996

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[Summary]

Roman Grynberg
The Pacific ACP States and the End of the Lome Convention

The evolution of the EU-Pacific relationship has been accompanied by the growing importance of EU support to the economic development of Pacific ACP countries. Relations between the EU and the Pacific have been relatively uncontroversial. At the same time, trade preferences and technical assistance have conditioned the economies of the region, making them increasingly dependent on the continuation of Lomé based economic ties with Europe. The EU, for example, is the second largest donor to the region.

The Pacific countries face a number of constraints to economic development. These include relatively small markets and poor economies of scale, inadequate mobilisation of the land resources, proneness to natural disaster and other external shocks, low skill levels and a difficult macroeconomic environment. Lomé has helped in overcoming these constraints, but at the price of increased dependency. On the one hand, trade provisions, though creating some distortions (and potentially dangerous industrial specialisation) have nevertheless brought a modest prosperity. On the other hand, the loss of Lomé trade preferences will cause major difficulties local economies from sugar to tuna fishing.

Therefore, the abandoning of the region by the EU together with major cuts on other aid sources creates the potential for disaster among the economies of the Pacific. Yet this seems increasingly inevitable, as Europe is neither interested in the resources of the region nor moved by pity for its poor. As such, the states of the region will have to become increasingly self-reliant, whether they like it or not.

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Acknowledgements

This paper was prepared for the seminar on „The Future of Lomé" organised by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Brussels on the 10-11 June 1996 and for the Conference on the „Future EU-ACP Relations beyond Lomé IV" organised by the European Center for Development Policy Management in Maastricht on 12-14 June 1996.

We would like to thank the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) in Maastricht for its support during the preparation of these studies and for its continuous and constructive co-operation on a wide range of development issues.

Finally, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those who helped move these studies through the publication process. The successful completion of this project would not have been possible without their dedication and effort.

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Table of Contents

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Abbreviations