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(1) The European Community is committed, within the framework of 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 (hereinafter referred to as the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement), to supporting the ACP countries on their path to poverty reduction and to sustainable development, and recognises the importance of the commodity sectors and their related Protocols.

(2) The provisions of the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector established by Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 will be revised, taking into account the legislative proposals presented by the Commission to the Council.

(3) Under the Sugar Protocol, attached to Annex V to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement, some ACP countries rely on the EU market to export sugar. The reform will significantly alter their market conditions.

(4) The adjustment process of the Sugar Protocol countries to these new market conditions will be complex, considering the socioeconomic importance and the multifunctional role of the sugar sector and its significant degree of reliance on the EU market, for several of these States.

(5) In its Communication to the European Parliament and the Council on accomplishing a sustainable agricultural model for Europe through the reformed CAP — sugar sector reform, the Commission committed itself to supporting the adjustment process of Sugar Protocol countries, and set out the principles for its support proposals in the Staff Working Document on an Action Plan on accompanying measures for Sugar Protocol countries affected by the reform of the EU sugar regime. This Working Document was discussed with the Sugar Protocol countries.

(6) It is essential that Sugar Protocol countries receive support as quickly as possible to maximise the chances of successful adaptation to the new conditions, in full complementarity with existing assistance.

(7) It is therefore necessary to grant Sugar Protocol countries financial and technical assistance, including budget support where appropriate, additional to that provided for in the framework of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement, to enable them to adapt to the new market conditions, offering a broad range of support to take into account heterogeneity of situations between countries and within a country. This must include upgrading the competitiveness of their sugar cane sector, developing alternative economic activities, and coping, with the help of adequate resources, with the serious broader social, environmental and economic consequences of a reduction in the contribution of the sugar sector to their economies, or a combination of several of these.

(8) As this assistance should reflect the specific adjustment efforts required by each of these ACP suppliers as a consequence of the reform, objective criteria should be laid down to determine the extent of such assistance.

(9) Such assistance should be provided for a period of one year, with continued support to be made available until 2013, by means of the development part of the Development Cooperation and Economic Cooperation Instrument.

(10) Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to accompany the adaptation process of Sugar Protocol countries affected by the EU sugar reform, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale and effects of the proposed action, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve that objective.

(11) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission ,