EC EPA Flash News, 06 October 2010
From 27 September to 1st October 2010 European Union and Southern African Development Community (SADC) EPA Group negotiators met in Johannesburg (South Africa) to discuss the way forward with a view of concluding a regional comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
Talks at technical and Senior Officials' level addressed trade in goods, including rules of origin, the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) clause, infant industry, export taxes, and other specific issues of concern for some SADC EPA Group countries, such as fisheries for Namibia.
Further discussions on services, investment, competition, intellectual property rights (IPR) etc. were held to establish the extent to which they will be covered in this agreement.
Next negotiation round is scheduled for the week of 8- 12 November in the SADC EPA Group region, to be followed by another round in early December, still in the region.
The SADC EPA Group includes Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland. In 2007, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia and Mozambique initialled an interim EPA with the EU, subsequently signed by Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique in 2009.
Author(s): European Commission