Whereas a draft of this Order has been laid before Parliament in accordance with section 1(3) of the European Communities Act 1972(1) and has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament:

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred on Her by section 1(3) of the European Communities Act 1972 or otherwise in Her Majesty vested, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:

1.  This Order may be cited as the European Communities (Definition of Treaties) (Partnership Agreement between the Members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the European Community and its Member States (The Cotonou Agreement)) Order 2001. It shall come into force, in respect of each treaty specified in the Schedule to this Order, on the date on which the treaty enters into force for the United Kingdom. These dates will be notified in the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes.

2.  The treaties specified in the Schedule to this Order are to be regarded as Community Treaties as defined in Section 1(2) of the European Communities Act 1972.

A.K.Galloway
Clerk of the Privy Council

SCHEDULE

1.  The Partnership Agreement between the Members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000(2).

2.  The Partnership Agreement between the Members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the European Community and its Member States (The Cotonou Agreement)—Internal Agreement on the Financing and Administration of Community Aid, signed at Brussels on 18 September 2000(3).

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order declares the Partnership Agreement between the Members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the European Community and its Member States (The Cotonou Agreement), signed on 23 June 2000, and the related Internal Financing Agreement, to be Community Treaties as defined in section 1(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. Like its predecessor, the Fourth ACP-EEC Convention of Lome, the Cotonou Agreement covers trade, political and development co-operation. Its central objective is the reduction and eventual eradication of poverty. It contains, inter alia, a commitment to human rights, democratic principles, the rule of law and good governance, outlines new WTO-compatible frameworks for trade, including the establishment of regional economic partnerships, confirms the EU commitment to provide duty free market access for some products from Least Developed Countries, and sets out a framework for long-term development assistance. The principal effect of declaring these agreements to be Community Treaties as so defined is to bring into play, in relation to them, the provisions of section 2 of the European Communities Act 1972 which provide for the implementation of treaties so specified.


(1)
1972 c. 68.

(2)
Cm 5192.

(3)
Cm 5194.