EU cancels 2009 Fiji sugar assistance

Updated May 18, 2009 15:40:18

The European Union has confirmed it will not be paying a subsidised price for this year's Fijian sugar crop worth over $US30 million per year to Fiji. It's the second year in a row Fiji has missed out on the payments, because of the refusal of the military backed interim government to allow the country to return to democratic rule. In early 2007 the EU found the overthrow in December 2006 of Fiji's democratically elected government, and the allegations of human rights abuses, breached the Cotonau Agreement.

Under that agreement, sugar produced by developing countries in Africa, the Carribbean and the Pacific, the ACP group of countries, are given subsidised and preferential access to European markets. In response, Fiji's sugar industry allocation for last year's crop was suspended, and the interim government was told then the same would happen this year if elections were not held in March 2009.

Presenter: Campbell Cooney
Speaker: Stefan Stantejsky, Suva-based spokesman for the European Commission Delegation for the Pacific

STANTEJSKY: The allocation for sugar, they total 24 million Euro, has been cancelled for 2009 because of their present political situation and because their government, the Fiji Government, has not yet decided on holding elections this year.

COONEY: The last time I think I reported this issue, there was a delegation of EU parliamentarians in Fiji in December and they certainly raised concerns about this. Has discussions been held with the interim government about this in between that time?

STANTEJSKY: Yes, as far as I know, there has been discussion. There is actually you know the Contonau Agreement, there is Article 96, complications going on.

COONEY: It should not come as no real surprise should it though, and this was very much highlighted back in 2007, that there were clear steps accepted that they were expected by the EC in relation to this and none of them have been met?

STANTEJSKY: Yeah, that's true. I mean the EC council decision is from 1st October, 2007, and within this decision, it's lined-out what the European Commission was requesting from the Fiji Government or the steps that had to undertaken and as it has not been achieved until now the statement by Commissioner Louis Michelle was done and the statement was actually, the statement was brought to the government officials in Fiji today.

COONEY: So they have been made aware of this as well?

STANTEJSKY: Yes, exactly.

COONEY: Okay.

STANTEJSKY: We wanted them to be aware straight away and not to get the information by the media.