Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers is the group’s main decision-making body. It is the supreme body responsible for implementing the guidelines laid down by the Summit. Ministerial sectoral meetings are held regularly, namely, the Meeting of Trade Ministers and the Meeting of Ministers of Culture.

The Council is composed of a member of Government from each ACP State or a government-designated representative. It outlines the terms and conditions for implementing the Group’s objectives as set out in its general policy and periodically checks to see whether these objectives have been attained.

The Council meets twice annually in ordinary sessions. It may also meet, when necessary, in a special session, on the advice of the President, after consultation with all the members of the Bureau.

Council Presidency

The Council of Ministers elects its Bureau – headed by a President – at the end of each of its ordinary sessions. A system of rotation has been established to ensure that representatives from the six ACP regions have the opportunity to preside over the Council.

The Bureau is composed of nine members:

  • Six regional representatives (one per region)
  • A President
  • The outgoing and incoming Presidents as full members.

The acts of the Council of Ministers may take the form of decisions, resolutions or recommendations.

Rules of Procedure of the Council of Ministers
Other ACP ministerial meetings:

The Council of Ministers convenes meetings of Ministers responsible for different areas included among the group’s objectives.

Ministerial Trade Committee (MTC)

The Ministerial Trade Committee is a task force of Trade Ministers (a total of 18, three per region) responsible for conducting, coordinating and monitoring certain trade negotiations.

Meeting of Ministers of Culture

The 1st meeting of ACP Ministers of Culture took place in Dakar (Senegal) in May 2003. At the end of the meeting, a declaration and plan of action were adopted with the primary aim of implementing a development strategy based on culture and cultural industries, as expressed by the Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government.
The process of setting up an ACP Cultural Foundation was also begun, and Haiti was selected as the venue for the 1st ACP Cultural Festival scheduled for summer 2004.

Dakar Plan of Action for the promotion of ACP cultures and cultural industries

Meeting of National and Regional Authorising Officers

These meetings are attended mainly by Ministers in charge of cooperation with the European Union.

Other meetings: Ministers of the Environment, Education, Science, etc.

The Summits

The Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government is the supreme organ of the Group. It defines the group’s general policy orientation.

Since 1997, Heads of State and Government of ACP member countries have been meeting regularly to lay down the broad guidelines for the general policy of the ACP Group and give the Council of Ministers instructions relating to its implementation.

The Summit is presided over by the Head of State or Government of the host country and organised by a Bureau comprising the President-in-Office, the outgoing President and the incoming President (if already designated).

Parliamentary Assembly

Signing of the Charter to create the ACP Consultative Assembly

On 15 April 2005, 27 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries signed the Charter, creating the ACP Consultative Assembly at an official Ceremony presided over by Mrs Sharon Hay-Webster, ACP Co-President of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, at the Conference Centre in Bamako. The Charter effectively brings the Assembly into existence, thereby providing an institutional framework for the work of the ACP Parliamentarians. The Assembly is not a new structure, but rather the formalisation and re-affirmation of the existing inter-parliamentary cooperation mechanism within the ACP Group, as provided for in Article 18 of the Georgetown Agreement.

ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly

The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly is one of the Joint Institutions provided for under Article 14 of the Cotonou Agreement.

Committee of Ambassadors

The Committee of Ambassadors is the second decision-making body of the ACP Group. It acts on behalf of the Council of Ministers between ministerial sessions.

It is composed of the Ambassadors, or one representative from every ACP State. The role of the Committee of Ambassadors consists of:

  • assisting the Council of Ministers in its functions and carrying out any mandate assigned; and
  • monitoring the implementation of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement with a view to achieving its stated objectives.

The Committee presents its activity report at every session of the Council of Ministers. There is a Bureau of the Committee of Ambassadors that coordinates the work of the Committee of Ambassadors. It is composed of nine members:

  • Four African representatives (one per region)
  • One representative from the Caribbean
  • One representative from the Pacific.
  • A Chairperson selected on the basis of a rotation among the four African regions, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, to ensure that the six regions have an equal opportunity to chair the Committee of Ambassadors.
  • the outgoing Chair and incoming Chair as full members.

The acts of the Committee of Ambassadors can take the form of decisions, resolutions or recommendations which are adopted on the basis of consensus among its members. The Committee has six technical Subcommittees which cover the following areas:

  • Political, social, humanitarian and cultural affairs
  • Trade and Commodity Protocols
  • Investment and the private sector
  • Sustainable development
  • Financing and development
  • Establishment and Finance