Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 74: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the European Union cotton regime is consistent with good development aid principles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25242/06]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The EU in recent years has taken a number of important actions to achieve fairer conditions in the international cotton trade, which has been marked by a prolonged decline in prices over the last decade.

The actions include improved access to EU markets for cotton-exporting Least Developed Countries (LDCs) following the Union's 2001 Everything But Arms Initiative. Furthermore, in April 2004, under the Irish Presidency, the Agriculture and Fisheries Council agreed on a substantial reform of its own regime of domestic subsidies in cotton. This decision greatly reduced the trade distorting impact of the EU's cotton support arrangements, and thus helped to improve coherence within the EU's development policy. It paved the way for the adoption by the General Affairs and External Relations Council, later in April 2004, of a proposal for an EU-Africa Partnership in support of cotton sector development, and subsequently the establishment of an EU-Africa Partnership on Cotton at the Forum on Cotton held in Paris on 5-6 July 2004.

The Paris Forum saw agreement on an Action Plan on cotton with seven major areas of focus, including international trade and development of national and regional strategies. The Action Plan, which is implemented through a number of coordination forums and mechanisms, is a cornerstone in the EU-Africa Partnership on Cotton. It has helped to improve the organisation of the African cotton sector and has also led to an intensification of EU development assistance to the cotton sector. Implementation of the Partnership can be expected to receive a significant stimulus over the next year, as EU funding becomes available for operational projects and programmes.

Within the WTO negotiations, the EU is fully committed to deliver on the agreements reached with the LDCs on the cotton issue. Earlier this month, the Union, following consultations with its African partners, tabled a proposal on cotton at the WTO aimed at enhancing trade opportunities for cotton exporting countries.