Policy recommendations

  • The European Union should allow ACP countries to maintain their sovereignty and policy space in relation to the appropriate use of their own natural resources. They should be able to use investment regulations, tariff barriers and export restrictions to promote equitable, local and sustainable economic development.
  • The European Commission through its development policy should stimulate resource-rich developing countries to implement their own industrial policies, to protect their infant industries by using legitimate barriers to trade, and by introducing environmental measures. This should allow resource-rich developing countries to move up the value chain, so that the added value to (semi) processed products will remain in the country of origin and would thus stimulate economic development.
  • Within its development budget the EU should allocate sufficient resources to the building of energy and environmental infrastructure to enable developing countries to stimulate economic development.
  • The EU should use its political and economic power to set clear rules in relation to the extraction of raw materials. Like suggested in the February 2011 RMI update an EU code of conduct for EU companies operating in third countries should be developed and measures should be taken to enforce such a code of conduct.
  • In order to provide for more transparency in the supply chain and to minimize the role of European companies in fuelling conflicts over resources, the EU should implement Country by Country reporting, following the US example of the Dodd Frank Act.
  • Within the EPA negotiations the EU should be more flexible as suggested in the RMI update and make sure developing countries can demonstrate the use of export taxes as a policy tool and therefore keep using them.
  • In all policy initiatives and actions elaborated on the basis of the strategy laid down in the Raw Materials Initiative that affect developing countries, DG Development should be closely involved, and ACP partner countries and civil society organisations should be consulted.

 

 

Case: Raw Materials Initiative

15-11-2010 Fair Politics at the European Development Days

The European Development Days will take place in Brussels on December 6th and 7th. In cooperation with the Belgian platform on Natural Resources and more NGOs active in the field of raw materials, Fair Politics is organising a side event. The topic is policy coherence toward the good governance of natural resources and its contribution to sustainable development. How to change the European Raw Materials strategy in order to fulfill the goals of internal and external sustainable development. Paul Collier (University of Oxford) will be among the speakers, as well as Claude Kabemba (Southern Africa Resource Watch). There will also be representatives of the European Commission and the Belgium Presidency. Fair Politics is inviting everybody who is interested to visit this event.

For registration and more information click here.