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The acp-eu-trade.org newsletter -- No. 11/June 2007
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In this issue:
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Focus on…:
Article 37.4 Review of the EPA negotiations
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News: Highlights of the Month
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Selection from www.acp-eu-trade.org Library
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Resources from Recent Events
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Focus On...
Article 37.4 Review of the EPA negotiations
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According to Article 37.4 of the Cotonou Agreement, parties negotiating an EPA are to regularly assess the progress of the negotiations. The article also mandated the partners to undertake a formal and comprehensive review of the negotiations during 2006, in order to identify the outstanding issues and challenges and to make suggestions on the way forward. However, it was not until the end of May 2007, at the last Joint Council of ACP-EU Ministers, and a few months before the end-of-year deadline for the conclusion of the EPAs negotiations that the review was completed.
First, there were divergences amongst the parties as to which should be the approach to conduct the review. Whereas the EU was in favour of a more formal assessment by the negotiators, the ACP as well as the European Parliament and a few EU Member States wanted a more transparent and open process that would include all stakeholders, both at national and regional level. The May 2006 Council of ACP Ministers further advocated for an “all-ACP” review to be concluded before the start of the joint exercise.
In July 2006, the ACP and EU agreed that the review would include the structure, process and substance of the negotiations and assess what progress has been achieved on both trade and development issues (including regional integration, flexible and asymmetric approaches to trade liberalisation, capacity building, safeguard measures, etc). The review exercise was also to assess the measures that are required to support the timely completion of negotiations before January 1st, 2008, and identify the ratification procedures that are necessary for the effective implementation of EPAs in each region.
Little progress was achieved in this respect over the second half of 2006 and most of the internal reviews became available early this year. All ACP regions conducted an internal assessment of the EPA negotiations, except for the Caribbean and Central Africa. In some regions, civil society organisations also contributed to the review exercise and a continental review was conducted at the request of the ACP secretariat in Africa.
Overall, the joint reviews endorsed by the ACP-EU Joint Council of Ministers are rather descriptive of the process of the negotiations. Despite the numerous constraints identified in the internal and independent reviews, and while the ACP have declared to have sought assurance from the EU that their concerns and interests were not overtaken by the need to meet deadlines, the joint review documents seem to have put more emphasis on the importance of concluding the EPAs by the end of this year.
Latest developments:
*25-05-2007: The ACP-EC Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels assessed the state of ongoing negotiations on EPAs and endorsed a joint review of the negotiations, as required by Article 37(4) of the Cotonou Agreement, based on six regional reviews for all EPA regions.
->
For an introduction and an overview to the Article 37.4 of the Cotonou Agreement of the EPA negotiations see the Main results of the ACP-EC Joint Council of Ministers: trade and financial issues
-> The ACP Group expressed its political will to conclude the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) on time, on condition that ACP concerns and interests are addressed by its principal partner, the European Union. See the official press release covering the 85th ACP Council of Ministers.
EN FR
*Preliminary Overview of On-going Article 37(4) Reviews of the EPA Negotiations
This is an incomplete draft. ECDPM has been trying to follow the review process in all ACP regions. Based on the incomplete information gathered so far, this draft paper provides a region-by-region outline of the EPA review(s) process. ECDPM is currently updating this document and will soon publish a more comprehensive overview of the Article 37(4) reviews.
Other documents:
*See the paragraph II on the Preparation and implementation of Article 37.4 Comprehensive review of EPAs of the Decision no.2/LXXXIII/06 of the 83rd session of the ACP Council of Ministers held in Port Moresby, from 28th to 31st of May 2006
EN FR
*Joint ACP-EU declaration on the Review of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) negotiations
Brussels, 29 July 2006, ACP/61/045/06 - ACP-CE 2117/06
EN FR
*Mid-Term Review of the Negotiation of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between CARIFORUM and the EU: Implications for Agriculture and Farmers of the Windward Islands
WINFA - 9 November 2006
This report undertakes a Mid-Term Review of the negotiations for an EPA between CARIFORUM and the EU with specific emphasis on the likely implications of the EPA for Farmers of the Windward Islands, i.e., Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Dominica. In addition the report provides an assessment of the breakdown in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations since July 2006 and its likely further implications for the Windward Islands’ agriculture in the context of EPA negotiations. Specifically, it explores whether the EC may attempt to raise its level of ambition in Agriculture Market Access in anticipation of a protracted delay or permanent failure of the DDA.
*Resolution on the review of negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)
Adopted by the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on 23 November 2006 in Bridgetown (Barbados)
EN FR
*Report on the review of the negotiations of the West Africa - EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) consistent with Article 37.4 of the Cotonou Agreement
Proposal by West Africa, November 2006
This report has been prepared in collaboration with the States of the WA region, in execution of that provision of Article 37.4 of the Cotonou Agreement, and focuses on the following points: - context of the negotiations between the WA region and the EU; - status of the negotiations; - measures required for the conclusion of the negotiations; - measures required for the execution of the Agreement.
EN FR
*Evaluation à mi-parcours des négociations de l'APE entre l'Afrique de l'Ouest et l'Union européenne au titre de l'Article 37.4 de l'Accord de Cotonou - Contribution du ROPPA
Réunion du Comité Ministériel de Suivi (CMS) 28-30 Novembre 2006 – Abuja
-> Résumé du rapport Complet et principales conclusions
-> Rapport complet
*A Review Of The Negotiation Of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAS) Between The European Union & SADC And The Implication for Small Scale Farmers
D. P. Chiwandamira, Report, 29 November 2006
*Midterm review of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)
According to the terms of article 37.4 of the Cotonou Agreement - Independant contribution of the regional networks of farmers' organisations - Synthesis of the regional assessments - Working document - 10 December 2006
EN FR
*Article 37(4) Review of the Pacific ACP region EPA Negotiations
Provision of technical support to assist the Pacific ACP Region in the Review of EPA Negotiations: Draft Interim Report submitted to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, January 2007. Prepared by Francesco Rampa, ECDPM
* Cotonou Agreement Article 37.4 Review of Pacific - EC Negotiation of an Economic Partnership Agreement
Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat-European Commission Joint Review, 5 June 2007
This report reviews the Pacific – European Commission (EC) negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in accordance with Article 37(4) of the Cotonou Agreement .
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News: Highlights of the Month
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From our news section:
* 18-06-2007: Réunions des hauts fonctionnaires ouest-africains
Les techniciens vont débattre du calendrier et du texte lui-même et cela en prélude d'une rencontre des négociateurs prévue pour le mois de juillet prochain. L'agriculture étant un secteur sensible dans la sous-région, le président de la Commission de la CEDEAO, Dr Ibn Chambass a appelé à la vigilance. Parlant des difficultés qui minent l'intégration dans la sous-région (notamment les blocages à la libre circulation des personnes et des biens), le Dr Ibn Chambass a eu cette réaction : «Il est temps qu'on arrête de parler de ce que nous savons que nous devons faire. Il faut le faire tout simplement».
* 15-06-2007: EC expects to complete impact assessment and make proposal on ROO in the second half of 2007.
Discussions with Member States could take place in the autumn and the new rules could be introduced in 2008.
From ACP and EU news providers:
* A New Colonialism? EU Trade Demands and ACP Countries
Sir Ronald Sanders, Special to Huntington News Network, 16 June 2007
The European Union (EU) has been pushing African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to conclude Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) by the end of the year, claiming that preferences which they now enjoy will not be approved by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) come next year.
Now, at last, some government representatives in Africa and the Caribbean are refusing to be pushed, recognising that the terms of the proposed EPAs could make their countries worse off than if they relinquished the preferences. […]in as much as the EU countries may not want to hear it, and they would strenuously deny it, these EPAs could well be the start of a new era of colonialism in which the economies of ACP countries are held in thrall to European companies.
*L’opposition des Africains aux APE dérange
David Cronin, IPS, 14 juin 2007
Quand des activistes européens estiment qu'un accord de libre-échange ferait du tort aux pauvres, ils rencontrent comme d'habitude une réaction froide de la part des fonctionnaires à Bruxelles. Toutefois, personne ne tente de les bâillonner.
Par contre, quand un analyste économique namibien a insinué que l'Union européenne (UE) essayait de forcer les gouvernements d'Afrique australe à signer un Accord de partenariat économique (APE) avant qu'ils n'aient la possibilité d'analyser ses conséquences, il s'est vu licencié.
*Africans Speak Out Against EPAs as Unwelcome
David Cronin, IPS, 8 June 2007
When European campaigners suggest that a free trade deal could harm the poor, they typically encounter a frosty reaction from civil servants in Brussels. Still, no one tries to muzzle them.
Yet when a Namibian trade analyst insinuated that the European Union was trying to browbeat southern African governments into signing an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) before they had a chance to analyse its consequences, he found himself out of a job.
*Commission denies having African trade critic sacked
Eurostep Weekly, Regular News Update, No 466, 11 June 2007
The head of the European Commission’s office in Namibia has denied that her officials sought to silence one of the country’s most outspoken opponents of a planned free trade deal between Africa and the EU.
Wallie Roux, a trade analyst with the Namibian meat exporting firm Meatco, was suspended from his job last month after arguing that the EU was trying to browbeat his government into signing an Economic Partnership Agreement by the end of this year.
*The Private sector Trade team of Barbados joins calls for slower EPA talks
Nation News.com, Barbados, 11 June 2007
The Barbados Private Sector Trade Team (PSTT) has added its voice to the chorus calling for a slowdown in this region's economic partnership agreement (EPA) negotiations with the European Union (EU). Carlos Wharton, trade consultant with the private sector research arm, revealed last Wednesday they had made the recommendation to Government even as Caribbean Forum countries (CARIFORUM: CARICOM and the DominicanRepublic) embark on the final few months of negotiations. "We submitted recently a document to Government identifying issues that we think need to be covered when we're saying "development".
*Southern Africa: Rwanda Pulls Out of ECCAS and stops attempt to join SADC
Edwin Musoni, allafrica.com, 8 June 2007
Rwanda has withdrawn its membership from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and stopped its attempt to join the Southern African Development Community (SADC) following consultations made by a regional community taskforce. This withdrawal is an attempt to reduce Rwanda’s integration engagements to fewer regional blocs as overlapping membership in many regional economic communities is a major concern for regional integration efforts. Rwanda will remain a member of the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern African States (COMESA) and CEPGL, an economic community bringing together Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.
*Central Africa: Not ready to negotiate trade with Europe
David Cronin, All Africa, 07 June 2007
Central Africa seems an unlikely candidate for a free trade deal with the European Union.
Some studies have touched on how the Central African side is at a distinct disadvantage in the negotiations. PricewaterhouseCoopers, the consulting firm, has undertaken a "sustainability impact" assessment on EPA proposals, at the request of the European Commission. It concluded -- perhaps euphemistically -- that as countries like the DRC are still emerging from conflict, they are not in a strong negotiating position.
* EU-ACP determined to meet end-of-year deadline for EPAs
Bridges Weekly Digest, Vol 11, number 20, 6 June 2007
Leaders from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states have vowed once again to work to finalise a set of free trade agreements with the EU before a critical end-of-year deadline, although many issues in the negotiations remain unresolved. Meeting in Brussels from 22-24 May, the ACP ministers expressed their commitment to moving forward with the economic partnership agreement (EPA) negotiations, provided the EU heed their calls to include a number of specific concessions in the deals on issues such as adjustment aid and rules of origin.
*South Africa: EPAs Can Succeed If Negotiated in Good Faith
Nkululeko Khumalo, Business Day, Johannesburg, 4 June 2007
[…] Some pragmatic steps must be taken by both parties if a truly development friendly EPA agreement is to emerge within this year. The EU must provide enough policy space for ACP countries to establish the proper institutional mechanisms that are required to make services trade promote sustainable development. And EPAs should have a development and cooperation chapter that provides a framework where the EU and ACP states work together to redress regulatory weaknesses. The EU should render to its ACP partners sufficient financial support needed to address the supply side constraints, and structural and institutional challenges that prevent the latter from fully benefiting from market access opportunities. African regions must not totally shy away from making commitments on new generation issues. In the light of the short remaining negotiating period ACP countries should negotiate agreements that not only reaffirm their current WTO commitments on these issues, but commit them to future negotiations with the EU in the context of EPAs. Finally, it is clear from the issues outlined above that mutually beneficial EPAs are possible provided both parties negotiate in good faith.
*ACP–EU trade liberalization - Equal partners?
Evert-jan Quak, The Broker, Issue 2, June 2007
The Economic Partnership Agreements between the European Union and 77 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries will not cause markets in the South to be swamped with European imports, as opponents suggest. But they will result in dramatic reductions in government revenues.
*Organisations paysannes et APE : « Pas la charrue avant les bœufs ! »
Le Faso.net, 31 mai 2007
La Confédération paysanne du Faso (CPF), en collaboration avec le Réseau des organisations paysannes et des producteurs agricoles de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (ROPPA), a rencontré la presse hier 30 mai 2007 à Ouagadougou.
Objectif : exprimer leurs préoccupations sur, entre autres sujets, l’intégration régionale et les négociations relatives aux Accords de partenariats économiques (APE) inscrits à l’agenda d’une réunion de la CEDEAO qui a lieu actuellement dans notre capitale.
*EPAs could be signed by December
The Statesman Online, Ghana News Agency, 29 May 2007
Despite the unpreparedness of West African governments to negotiate the Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union, there are clear indications that the EPAs will be signed by the December 31, 2007 deadline, Tetteh Hormeku, Head of Programmes at Third World Network, has said.
* EPA Controversy Continues
Orengoh, Paul, in tralac EPA page, 29 May 2007
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has warned that COMESA states will lose up to $241 million annually if the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) is endorsed.
* Pending EU agreements put West Africa at risk
IPS, 27 May 2007
The European Union and West Africa could scarcely be more different in terms of wealth, yet a pending trade agreement risks making the disparity even greater.
Whereas the EU accounts for 30 percent of global gross domestic product, all five of the lowest ranking countries in the United Nations Human Development Index are in West Africa: Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso, Mali, Sierra Leone and Niger.
These gaps notwithstanding, the EU's executive arm, the European Commission, has galled anti-poverty activists by seeking to negotiate a free trade deal -- known as an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) -- with West Africa that would require both sides to behave as if they were equals.
*EU's ex-colonies deny being rushed into trade deals
Reuters Africa, 26 May 2007
Europe's former colonies do not agree with European anti-poverty campaigners who say poor nations are being forced into new trade deals with the European Union, an African minister said on Friday.
* Will EU break promise to poor?
By Carlos Correa, Financial Times, 25 May 2005
From Mr Carlos Correa and others.
Sir, The relationship between Europe and its former colonies in among the African, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) countries has always involved a promise: that Europe would be an ally in their struggle against poverty and efforts to develop.
That promise is in danger of being broken. In its economic partnership agreement (EPA) negotiations with the ACP, the European Union seems to have forgotten the development dimension and pursues an agenda that reflects primarily the interest of the EU alone. This pattern is painfully evident in the EU's pursuit of new and higher standards for intellectual property and other trade-related areas.
*UGANDA:More Time Needed for EPA Negotiations
Alexis Okeowo, in Kampala, IPS, 24 May 2007
Uganda has made little progress in its economic partnership agreement (EPA) negotiations with the European Union (EU), as government and the private sector say that they need more time before committing to a deal.
*Caribbean objects to EU governance language in EPAs
Caribbean Regional Negotiation Machinery Update, 24 May 2007
Under the agenda of engendering greater cooperation between the ACP and Europe, the European Commission (EC), in its strategies, have proposed the inclusion of the governance agenda, including tax governance, in the Agreement. However, at this time, the Caribbean has objected to the language and substance of the EC proposal especially in regard to agreement on mandatory information exchange. Unless this CARIFORUM position, which is mandated by the Heads of Government, is changed, the OECD agenda can not be adopted within the EPA between the Caribbean and the EU. Mindful of the importance of this sector, discerning Caribbean Governments will never agree to the inclusion of any measures, principles or standards that will fundamentally jeopardize their offshore financial services industries or any other sensitive sector.
*Canning the Pacific
Nilesh Goundar, Greenpeace Press Release on Fisheries and EPAs, 23 May 2007
Fish is to the Pacific what oil is to the Middle East. This week, May 14-18, Pacific Trade Ministers and officials meet in Nadi to discuss their trade options with the EU. Whilst agreements over trade in agriculture, tourism and finance are on the table, the burning question is: can the Pacific strike a better deal with the EU on our greatest natural asset – our tuna fisheries?
* Economic Partnership Agreements: MEPs call for less onerous conditions imposed on ACP countries
European Parliament press service, 23 May 2007
The EU needs to reach new trade agreements with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries - known as Economic Partnership Agreements - by 1 January 2008. These would replace the current system of generalised preferences, which is incompatible with WTO rules. Given the delay in the talks and the lack of readiness on the part of the ACP countries. MEPs call in a report, adopted by 550 votes in favour to 59 against with 59 abstentions, for the Commission to make the conditions for the agreements less onerous for these countries.
-> See also our Resources from recent events section for more documents from the Parliament’s session on EPAs
* Accords de partenariat économique : davantage de souplesse pour les pays ACP
Service de presse du Parlement européen, 23 mai 2007
L'UE doit conclure avec les pays d'Afrique, des Caraïbes et du Pacifique (ACP) de nouveaux accords commerciaux - dits Accords de partenariat économique (APE) - avant le 1er janvier 2008 qui remplaceront l'actuel système de préférences généralisées, incompatible avec les règles de l'OMC. Le retard pris dans la négociation de ces accords et le manque de préparation des pays ACP ont amené les députés à demander à la Commission d'alléger les conditions de signature de ces accords pour ces pays.
-> Voir la section « resources from recent events » ci-dessous pour les documents issus de la session du Parlement européen.
*EU is yet to act on trade proposals
Benson Kathuri, The Standard, Kenya, 22 May 2007
The European Union has not responded to trade proposals presented by 15 Eastern and Southern African (ESA) countries last September. The recommendations put forward are expected to guide the countries to negotiate for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU under the auspices of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Secretary General, Mr Erastus Mwencha, said the draft provided critical proposals that would provide the much-needed push to reach a deal before the December deadline. The 15 countries are Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. DRC has opted out of the deal. The pact is expected to replace the existing Cotonou agreement agreed in Benin seven years ago, which expires in December this year. The recommendations cover outstanding issues, notably market access and development component that threatens to derail negotiations that would otherwise determine how the two trading blocks conduct future business.
*Joint PACP Ministers, NAOs and RAOs set out minumum requirements for EPA with EU
Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Press release, 18 May 2007
The Joint Meeting of Pacific ACP Trade Ministers National Authorising Officers (NAOs) and the Regional Authorising Officer (RAO) in Nadi, Fiji, on 17-18 May has set out the minimum requirements for any Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU). The Meeting agreed that market access under the EPA would only be beneficial if accompanied by improved Rules of Origin that recognised the smallness and isolation of the PACPS. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, and Technical Barriers to Trade were also highlighted as important part of market access and a sufficient transition period be built into the EPA to enable Pacific ACP States to prepare and implement the new trade arrangements under EPA. On the way forward in the EPA negotiations, the meeting agreed the Regional Negotiating Machinery be flexible and to allow for effective participation of all PACPS over the remaining six months before the deadline for the negotiations, which is the end of 2007.
Pacific Magazine, 14 May 2007
This has prompted the region to prepare a “red line” paper, reflecting “the region’s positions and expectations as regards our minimum requirements from an EPA, and therefore serve as non-compromising positions in areas of interest to our members.” Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Deputy Secretary General, Peter Forau says “the basic negotiating position of the Pacific ACP states … is that ‘nothing is agreed until everything is agreed’, that is, that PACP requirements must be met across the range of issues in the negotiations before an EPA can be signed.”
And he says Pacific countries which feel unable to make significant commitments to any component of the treaty must be able to sign up and participate in that component at a later date.
Among the Pacific ACP states positions [click here to read more]
*Pact Set to Cost Comesa Sh17 Billion, NGOs Say
Benson Kathuri, The East African Standard, Nairobi, 16 May 2007
Member states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) stands to lose about Sh16.9 billion annually by signing a new trade pact with the European Union (EU). A joint report by three non-government organisations further claims that the EU would earn more than $1,152 (Sh80.6 billion) through increased export to Comesa trading bloc if the proposed pact sails through.
*Namibia meat sector confident on EPA timely conclusion
Christof Maletsky, The Namibian, 14 May 2007
NAMIBIA'S meat sector says it is confident that a new trade agreement will be in place by the end of this year to avoid the country losing out on its lucrative European market.
Speaking on behalf of the Namibian meat sector on Friday, Trade Advisor to the Agricultural Forum Jurgen Hoffmann said they intended to "drive the negotiations to finalise them by the end of 2007" but even if they failed to hit the target, they would get the European Union to agree to use the current agreement until a new one was reached. The statement from the meat industry came after an economist at Meatco, Wallie Roux, said Namibia needed to be cautious with the pace at which EU wanted the negotiations concluded. "If you are unwise enough to rush for a deadline without looking at the content of the agreement, then you are signing away your life," Roux, a researcher with Meatco, said on another platform. Roux in the meantime been suspended by Meatco.
*EAC President consulting members on forming EPA negotiating bloc
Felly Kimenyi, The New Times, Rwanda, Kigali, 13 May 2007
The chairman of the council of ministers for the East African Community (EAC), Eriya Kategaya, met President Paul Kagame to brief him on the on-going talks between the regional bloc and the European Union.
"We are visiting all EAC member states trying to see how the community can form a special cooperation with the European Union especially in the areas of trade and development," said Kategaya, who was flanked by the EAC Secretary General Amb. Juma Mwapacha. The team has already been in Tanzania and Kenya and we will be heading to Burundi after Rwanda.
*ESA not to blame for delayed EPA
E-COMESA Newsletter, Issue 100, 14 May 2007
COMESA Secretary General Mr Erastus Mwencha says the East and Southern Africa (ESA) configuration is not to blame for the delayed conclusion of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU). Mr Mwencha put the record straight at the opening of the 11th Regional Negotiation Forum (RNF) meeting taking place at the Hilton Hotel Nairobi Kenya.
“It is now clear that time is not on our side. We are all aware that the deadline for the negotiations is fast approaching, whilst on the other hand there is so much yet to be done. But it is not our (ESA) fault. We are not to blame for this delay because we submitted our text a long time ago and negotiations are based on that text,” Mwencha added.
He recommended that [click here to read more]
*EU-Africa trade negotiations deadline looming
Citizen.co.za, 11 May 2007
Africa could lose billions of dollars in trade and development opportunities, because negotiations with Europe are running two years behind. The economic partnership agreement negotiations are supposed to be concluded by the end of this year, and there can be no extension to protect existing terms of trade. Half of the 47 African countries negotiating the EPAs say they cannot finish by December. The hitch is their insistence on including development assistance, while the European Union’s view is the agreements are about development through trade. EPAs being negotiated with Caribbean and Pacific countries have not been delayed. “The way we see this development dimension is not the same as the EU sees it,” says Southern African Development Community chief negotiator Banny Molosiwa. She, and an adviser to the 15-member East and Southern African group, Moses Tekere, believe they will have to continue talking into 2008. Molosiwa said SADC has undertaken to complete a deal on trade, but needs more time on the development issues. EU chief negotiator Karl Falkenberg told SADC in Gaborone that while the ultimate aim was a free trade area between the EU and Africa, immediate reciprocity was not expected. “There need be no fear of EU goods invading Africa. We will negotiate according to the needs of the member states,” he said. Falkenberg said failure would be detrimental to everyone.
*Afrique : Les industriels africains s’opposent à la conclusion des APE
Jean Eric Adingra, Le Patriote, Abidjan, 10 mai 2007
La nouvelle est officielle. L’Association industrielle africaine (AIA) qui regroupe des industriels majeurs opérant en Afrique, vient de rejeter les projets d’accords de partenariat économique (APE). L’AIA qui milite pour la mise en place d’un environnement permettant un renforcement de l’industrie africaine et de sa capacité à contribuer au développement du continent, a fait part, dans une lettre en date du 24 avril 2007, de son opposition à la conclusion des APE sur les bases proposées par l’Union européenne.
http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=8252
See also AIA’s position paper :
EN FR
*COMESA Ministers of Finance endorse CET, COMESA Fund and Aid for Trade Approach
e-COMESA newsletter, Issue 98, 4 May 2007
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Selection from www.acp-eu-trade.org's Library
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*Monitoring Economic Partnership Agreements: A methodological overview
In Brief No. 18, ECDPM, April 2007
The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states and the European Union(EU) countries have agreed to negotiate new WTO compatible Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).These agreements should not be an end in themselves, but be first and foremost instruments for development, as provided for by the Cotonou Partnership Agreement. While these new free trade arrangements offer new development opportunities, they also pose considerable challenges for the ACP. To ensure that the development dimension of the EPAs is fulfilled, close monitoring will be of prime importance, of both the negotiation and the implementation of these new partnership agreements. This InBrief presents a preliminary overview of some methodological issues linked to the design of a monitoring mechanism for the EPAs.
http://www.ecdpm.org/inbrief18
*Le suivi des Accords de Partenariat Economiques. Une question de méthode
En Bref no.18, ECDPM, avril 2007
Les États d’Afrique, des Caraïbes et du Pacifique (ACP) et les pays membres de l’Union européenne (UE) ont convenu de négocier des accords de partenariat économique (APE) compatibles avec les règles de l’OMC. Comme le prévoit l’Accord de partenariat ACP-UE, ces accords doivent être avant tout des instruments de développement et non une fin en soi. S’ils offrent d’intéressantes perspectives nouvelles de développement, ces accords commerciaux placent aussi les pays ACP face à d’énormes challenges. Pour que ces APE aient bel et bien une dimension de développement, il est indispensable qu’ils fassent l’objet d’un suivi attentif au niveau des négociations et de la mise en œuvre. Cet EnBref présente certaines des questions de méthodologie liées à l’élaboration d’un mécanisme de suivi des APE.
http://www.ecdpm.org/inbrief18fr
*Negotiating Economic Partnership Agreements: Agriculture
In Brief 13C, ECDPM, April 2007
In view of its socio-economic importance for the ACP countries and the share of trade between the ACP and the EU for which it accounts, agriculture is a key sector in the EPA negotiations. The scope of these negotiations is also to be seen in the broader context of the agricultural negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) (section 1). At present, agricultural trade between the ACP countries and the EU is already facing many challenges, ranging from the erosion of ACP trade preferences on the EU market to the establishment of standards and to supply-side constraints within the ACP countries. These are described in section 2, stressing the issues specific to the least-developed countries (LDCs), areas of agreement and disagreement between the LDC and non-LDC ACP countries, and links between the EPA and WTO negotiations as regards these issues. In section 3, EPA issues are examined from the point of view of the EU, specifying a possible negotiating strategy based on the free trade agreements (FTAs) which it has previously signed. This analysis is then used to pinpoint various negotiating options for the ACP countries, including the development dimension of EPAs (section 4); by way of conclusion, the provisions that could be adopted to construct an “ideal” EPA are then discussed (section 5).
http://www.ecdpm.org/inbrief13c
*La négociation d'Accords de Partenariat Economiques: Enjeux Agricoles
En Bref 13C, ECDPM, avril 2007
Vu son importance socio-économique pour les pays ACP et sa part dans le commerce entre les ACP et l’UE, l’agriculture constitue un secteur clé dans les négociations APE. Les négociations APE sur l’agriculture sont de surcroît à replacer dans un contexte plus large qui est, entre autres, celui des négociations agricoles à l’Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC) et de la réforme de la politique agricole commune (PAC) de l’UE (section 1). À l’heure actuelle, le commerce agricole entre les pays ACP et l’UE fait déjà face à de multiples enjeux, qui vont de l’érosion des préférences commerciales des ACP sur le marché de l’UE, au développement des normes et aux contraintes de production internes aux pays ACP. Ils sont décrits en section 2, qui souligne les enjeux spécifiques aux pays les moins avancés (PMA), les points de consensus et de divergence entre pays ACP PMA et non PMA, et les liens entre les négociations APE et OMC sur ces enjeux. La section 3 présente les enjeux des APE du côté de l’UE, en précisant sa stratégie possible de négociation sur la base des accords de libre-échange (ALE) qu’elle a précédemment signés. À partir de ces analyses, différentes options de négociation pour les pays ACP, y compris sur la dimension développement des APE, sont identifiées (section 4) ; de même que, en conclusion, les dispositions qui pourraient être prises en compte pour construire un APE « favorable » à agriculture ACP (section 5).
http://www.ecdpm.org/inbrief13cfr
*The potential impact of the Aid for Trade initiative
Sheila Page, UNCTAD, G-24 Discussion Paper Series, No 45, April 2007
The Aid for Trade initiative was revolutionary in the acceptance by international consensus of a role for the World Trade Organization (WTO) in aid and of the limitations of trade. [...]Aid for Trade emerged as an issue within the Doha Round, first driven by the need to find benefits for all countries in the negotiation, and thus “as a complement, not a substitute” for the Round. By the time the Round stalled, it had acquired sufficient support from the aid community as well as the trade community to go forward independently of the Round. When it was part of the negotiations, there was pressure to define a new structure for trade aid, outside normal aid mechanisms and parallel to those for other international concerns such as health or the environment. Without the need to secure developing countries’ support for a trade settlement, however, there is now a risk that it will be absorbed into normal country aid programmes, and be governed by the wishes of the international financial institutions...
*The end of current EU preferences for Namibia: Economic and social impacts
Mareike Meyn, ODI - Project Briefing - May 2007
Key Points ODI research on Namibia indicates that the loss of current EU preferences is likely to have negative economic and social effects. Namibia’s major agricultural exports to the EU would be put in a less favourable position than those of its major competitors – all of which are more advanced economies. The EU could avoid this situation if it has the political will.
*Analysis of the economic and social effects of Namibia's loss of current preference to the European Union
ODI- May 2007
This report provides a technical analysis of the costs that would be incurred by Namibia if its exports to the EU were subject to the tariffs applicable under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) and the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff rather than those that apply at the present time. The report does not imply that this will happen, that it should happen, or that the GSP/MFN are alternatives to the status quo for those countries that do not join Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).However, since the European Commission (EC) announced that GSP is the only alternative to EPAs there is the need to analyse what are the economic and social implications of GSP compared to Cotonou. The report concludes that application of the Standard GSP regime (and MFN for meat exports) does not fulfil the commitment made by the EU in Article 37.6 of the Cotonou Agreement. It would result in the EU taxing Namibian exports, generating revenue that compares unfavourably with aspects of Union-level aid, and [...]
*Partnership under pressure. An assessment of the European Commission's conduct in the EPA negotiations
ActionAid, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Tearfund, Traidcraft, May 2007
This report shows that the European Commission (EC) is negotiating EPAs with the ACP in a way that fundamentally breaks the letter and spirit of the Cotonou Agreement. From the start of negotiations, the EC and ACP’s vision of what a future ACP-EU trade agreement should look like have been very different. Particularly in the areas of trade liberalisation, the Singapore issues (investment, public procurement and competition policy) and development, the approach of the EC and ACP are poles apart.
*West Africa EPA Negotiations: Preliminary Comments on the EC "Draft EPA Text for West Africa"
Analytical Note, South Centre, May 2007
On 04 April 2007, the European Commission has proposed a draft text for the negotiation of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPAs) between governments of the European Union and of West Africa. The draft constitutes an unilateral proposal by the European Community and has not been agreed to by West Africa. This note comments on a selection of the most salient aspects of that text and its implications for West African countries.
Find more publications from the South Centre on EPAs at www.southcentre.org
*Economic Partnership Agreements: Building or shattering African regional integration?
Report by Traidcraft (UK), SEATINI (Uganda) and EcoNews (Kenya), May 2007
The report, says African countries stand to lose far more than they would gain from EPAs. It's a conclusion supported by research from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa which estimates losses of up to 22% in the growth of regional trade across Africa if a standard EPA is applied.
*Economic Partnership Agreements: What happens in 2008?
By Chris Stevens, ODI Briefing Paper 23, June 2007
he terms on which the EU and the Africa Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states trade with each other are established in the Cotonou Agreement 2000, which specifies that a new regime must be agreed by end-2007, a date that coincides with the expiry of a World Trade Organization (WTO) waiver for the current regime. This Briefing Paper, which builds upon substantial ODI work, identifies the best way forward.
*EU-Africa Trade relations: the Political Economy of Economic Partnership Agreements
by Peter Draper, Jan Tumlir Policy Essays, No.2, June 2007, ECIPE
The essential argument is that whilst a broad agenda is appropriate, excepting intellectual property rights, government procurement and environment, the details are important and, when the agenda is considered in its totality, for most African governments it is overwhelming. Therefore the case is made for a sequenced negotiating agenda, securing goods market access first then progressively reviewing and negotiating the regulatory issues.
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Resources from Recent Events
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* Event: A Workshop on EPA Development Benchmarks and Monitoring
Date: April 23-24, 2007, Nairobi
Organised by CUTS, ECDPM and FES in cooperation with APRODEV.
Resources:
->www.ecdpm.org/trade/epamonitoring
-> Business Unusual: Benchmarking for Pro-Development Monitoring of the Negotiation and Implementation of an ESA-EU Economic Partnership Agreements
-> Workshop Report on Day 2
* Event: Seminar of ACP-EU Economic and Social Interest Groups
Date : 14-16 May 2007
The European Economic and Social Committee, representing the economic and social components of organised civil society in the European Union, held the 9th Regional Seminar of ACP-EU economic and social interest groups in Bridgetown, Barbados, in accordance with the mandate conferred on it by the Cotonou Agreement. Under the aegis of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, this meeting brought together delegates from the economic and social interest groups of the countries of CARIFORUM, ACP and European members of the ACP-EU Follow-up Committee and of the European Economic and Social Committee. Representatives of EU and ACP institutions, Economic and Social Councils, the diplomatic corps, international and regional socio-professional organisations and representatives from wider civil society from Barbados also attended.
Resources:
-> Programme, Decription, Press release, Final Declaration and Speeches available in EN and FR here
-> Involvement of non-state actors in Caribbean region lauded
-> ACP regional exporters worse off without EPA
-> EU ready to partner ACP states
-> EU and Caribbean Economic and Social Interest Groups call for a positive conclusion of the Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations EN FR
*Event: General Affairs and External Relations Council
Date: 15 May 2007
Resources:
-> Press Information Note
-> Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) - Conclusions of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council EN FR
-> Aid for Trade - Conclusions of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council EN FR
See also:
-> Note from Spanish delegation to the Council on the Negotiation of the Economic Partnership Agreements with the ACP countries, 4 May 2007
-> Joint European Letter to Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul raising EPA concerns before the May 14-15 EU General Affairs Council by EPA07
-> EU agrees to open markets to ex-colonies
Ingrid Melander, Brussels, Reuters, 15 May 2007
European Union countries agreed on Tuesday to open up their wealthy markets fully to imports from former colonies with phased-in access for rice and sugar, but put off a decision on when to open the banana market.
-> The May 15th EU Council Conclusions on EPAs: Getting to grips with the "devil in the detail", European Research Office, Background Briefing, 31 May 2007
*Event: Malian farmers workshop on the West Africa EPA, Bamako, Mali.
Date: 15-17 May 2007
Resources:
->Held in, from 15 to 17 May between Malian farmers organizations, NGOs and representatives of the government. They have planned a large mobilization campaign the whole month of June ending with marches in the whole country the first week of July and culminating with a march in Bamako at the end of the week.
-> Report (available in French only)
-> Declaration
*Event: 85th ACP Council of Ministers
Date : May 22-24, 2007
-> The 85th ACP Council of Ministers met in Brussels from 22 to 24 May 2007 under the chairmanship of Mohlabi K. Tsekoa, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations of the Kingdom of Lesotho. The ACP Group expressed its political will to conclude the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) on time, on condition that ACP concerns and interests are addressed by its principal partner, the European Union. It was clear at the outset that the EPA would be the issue of great prominence in this year’s calendar of meetings. Ministerial spokespersons from the six EPA regions of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific apprised Council of the state of play of the EPA negotiations in their respective regions. All regions were at different stages of progress, and are committed to the EPA that is integral to the ACP-EU Cotonou Partnership Agreement. The ACP have not been oblivious to possible consequences of the EPAs, and therefore sought assurance from the EU that their concerns and interests - such as the need to safeguard and enhance market access - were not overtaken by the need to meet deadlines.
Resources:
-> ACP Ministers met in Brussels to discuss trade and the future of the Group
EN FR
-> Decisions and Resolutions of the 85th session of the ACP Council of Ministers
*Event: Joint EU-ACP Council of Ministers
Date: 24-25 May 2007
Resources:
-> EC Press Release: Economic Partnership Agreements to top agenda at EU-ACP Ministerial, 24 May 2007
-> Ministers are running out of opportunities to stop unfair trade deals between the EU and ACP
Oxfam International, Press release, 25 May 2007
As Ministers from Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) meet their European counterparts in Brussels today to review ongoing trade negotiations civil society organisations from around the world are calling for the EU's partnership with the ACP to become exactly that: a partnership for development, not a free trade time bomb.
With the deadline for negotiations at the end of the year drawing closer, today's EU-ACP Ministerial meeting provides one of the last opportunities for Ministers to re-orientate talks so that they promote rather than undermine development. Civil society groups are concerned that current proposals threaten to undermine poverty reduction and destroy livelihoods. The EU's dogged insistence on including liberalisation that goes far beyond what is being negotiated at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as well as commitments in areas which developing countries have rejected at the WTO makes proposed Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) likely to have a devastating effect on ACP economies.
-> EC Press Release: ACP-EU Council of Ministers: positive discussion on EPAs
Brussels, 25 May 2007
-> Peter Mandelson’s opening statement
-> Main results of the ACP-EC Joint Council of Ministers: trade and financial issues
*Event: European Parliament – Committee on International Trade
Date: 23 May 2007
Resources:
-> Remarks by Peter Mandelson, Strasbourg, 22 May 2007
-> EU's Mandelson denies pressuring ex-colonies on trade
-> European Parliament resolution of 23 May 2007 on Economic Partnership Agreements
2005/2246(INI) - EP: non-legislative resolution
EN FR
The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report by Robert STURDY (EPP-ED, UK) on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with third countries, by 550 votes in favour to 59 against with 59 abstentions, and called for the Commission to make the conditions for the agreements less onerous for these countries. The report makes a number of recommendations: simplified, liberalised and more flexible rules of origin, full duty-free, quota-free market access for the ACP, workable safeguards, dispute settlement and monitoring mechanisms with transparent provisions and a real power to act in the event of changes caused by EPAs having a harmful effect on sectors of ACP economies. These positive aspects need to be correctly framed in negotiations.
-> European Parliament Report on EPAs
EN FR
The aim of this report has been to be constructive, realistic and balanced.[...]Negotiations of EPAs have been characterised by mistrust and disagreement about how trade should be made a "development tool". Mistakes have been made in approaches to, and the undertaking of, negotiations which are wide ranging and ambitious in their scope. The voices of those who will be affected by EPAs have not always been adequately heard nor the impacts of EPAs on ACP countries fully quantified.
-> European Parliament resolution of 23 May 2007 on the EU's Aid for Trade
2006/2236(INI)- EP: non-legislative resolution
EN FR
The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report by David MARTIN (PES, UK) on the EU's Aid for Trade (AfT). The report was adopted by 598 votes in favour to 33 against with 32 abstentions. Members pointed out that over the past 40 years, the share of world trade of the least developed countries (LDCs) has declined from 1.9% to less than 1% despite the expansion, over recent years, of bilateral duty free and quota free access schemes for their products (of which the Community's 'Everything But Arms' scheme is the largest. Parliament felt that Aid for Trade is needed to enable all developing countries, particularly LDCs to integrate better into the multilateral trading system and to use trade more effectively in promoting the overarching objective of poverty eradication in the context of sustainable development.
-> Report on the EU's Aid for Trade
EN FR
This report has endeavoured to be ambitious yet realistic in its assessment and in the demands made of the EU in relation to its aid for trade (AfT). The report reiterates the highly convincing rationale for more and improved AfT, and seeks to make a positive contribution to shaping the way that the Commission and Member States’ AfT is delivered and scrutinised. Importantly the report calls for extensive and ongoing European Parliament involvement. The Parliament has been involved with pushing the AfT agenda for some time, and introduced a new budget line specifically targeted at AfT activities into the 2007 budget approved by the European Parliament last December.
*Event: Regional Dialogue on the Economic Partnership Agreements, Intellectual Property and Sustainable Development for the ECOWAS Countries
Date: 30-31 May 2007
Dialogue organised by ICTSD in partnership with ENDA and QUNO - Saly (Dakar), Senegal
Resources:
-> The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), in collaboration with Environmental Development Action in the Third World / Environnement et Développement du Tiers Monde (ENDA), the Quakers United Nations Office (QUNO) and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), have organised a Regional Dialogue on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), Intellectual Property and Sustainable Development for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The Dialogue will be held in Saly, Senegal on the 30rd and 31th of May, 2007. Participants will include members of the ECOWAS as well as Mauritania.
-> Also available in French: Les APE, les Droits de Proprièté intellectuelle, l'Innovation et le Développement Durable en Afrique de l'Ouest
->Full description of the meeting, programme, list of participants and related documentation in both french and English here
* Event: ESA EPA Information seminar
Date: May 31, 2007, Lusaka, Zambia
Resources:
Trade negotiators called on civil society representatives to step forward and help steer the design of new trade rules at a seminar organised by the European Union (EU) and the Eastern Southern Africa (ESA) region. It was thereby sought to give participants a chance to express their views at a crucial stage of negotiations and get an insight into the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) being set up by the two regions.
-> Progress and status of ESA-EC EPA Negotiations, COMESA Secretariat
-> EPAs: The Development Component, EC Delegation in Lusaka, Zambia.
-> EU Now Reaches Out to Civil Society On EPAs,
The East African, Nairobi, 22 May 2007
*Event: The Private Sector and Aid for Trade
Date: 3-5 June 2007
organised by ICTSD and ITC, Montreux, Switzerland
Resources:
-> Documents
-> Description
-> Programme
-> Participants
*Event: European Commission Central African regional workshop on Sustainable Development and regional trade agreements, Libreville, Gabon
Date: 6-8 June 2007
Resources:
-> PricewaterhouseCoopers and ECDPM with support from GRET organised a two day workshop in Libreville, Gabon, on 6-8 June 2007 to discuss how Sustainable Development should be integrated into the CEMAC-EU Economic Partnership Agreements.
*Event: Consultations on Monitoring the Caribbean-EU Economic Partnership Agreement
Date: 8 June 2007, Jamaica
Organised by ICTSD and APRODEV
-> Although the EPA process appears to have been conceived with sustainable development goals in mind, progress in the negotiations has yet to reflect this ambition. This situation has generated concern among various political actors and civil society organizations in the ACP and Europe who have repeatedly called for the EPAs not to renege on their development promise. It has also heightened awareness about the need to develop monitoring mechanisms to measure the progress of the EPAs in the context of sustainable development As a contribution to the ongoing discussions on sustainable development aspects of the EPAs, the consultations will provide an opportunity to review the most recent analysis on the issue by Dr. Patsy LEWIS and Dr. Jessica BYRON and to explore options for addressing the outstanding development issues of particular interest to the Caribbean countries. The roundtable will convene renowned experts as well as key policy makers and negotiators from the region for an open and frank discussion.
Resources:
-> Formulating Sustainable Development Benchmarks for an EU-CARIFORUM EPA: Caribbean perspectives by Jessica Byron and Patsy Lewis
-> Programme
-> Participants
* Event: Second Africa-Europe Business Forum, Accra, Ghana
Date: June 21-22, 2007
The Commission of the African Union has the pleasure to announce that the Second EU-Africa Business Forum is scheduled to take place in Accra, Ghana, on 21-22 June, 2007, in Committee Hall 2 of Accra's International Conference Centre. This is an annual event, jointly organised by the AU Commission and the European Commission.
Resources :
-> Concept Note
-> Draft agenda
* Upcoming event: 13th ACP-EU session to take place in Wiesbaden
Date: June 23-28, 2007
Resources:
-> The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) holds its 13th session from 23 to 28 June in Wiesbaden, Germany. On the agenda will be the economic partnership agreements between the two groups of countries as well as the situations in Darfur and Zimbabwe.
EN FR
-> Composition and working methods EN
FR
-> 13th session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly: agenda EN FR
-> ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly web site EN FR
-> EP report on the work of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in 2006 (Cornillet report) EN FR
* Upcoming event: Pan-African Stop EPAs peoples’ Forum, Accra, Ghana
Date: 29-30 June 2007
Organised by Africa Trade Network and Economic Justice Network of Ghana
The event coincides with the 2007 Summit of the African Union (AU) which also takes place on those dates, and commemorates the 50th Anniversary of Ghana’s Independence.
The 2-day event will include panel discussions, teach-ins, media and publicity outreach, signature collection, a mass rally, and a public demonstration. There will also be thematic workshops across the range of EPA-specific subjects as well as socio-economic issues such as: “Is Africa Hungry for Trade? The EPAs and Food Security”; “Undermining Africa – EPAs, Natural Resource Plunder and the New Scramble for Africa”; “Giving Your More to Receive Your Less – EPAs and the Politics of Aid”
The Local Host Organisation – the Economic Justice Network (EJN) expects hundreds of participants from acr! oss Africa and especially from the West Africa region and from within Ghana. The EJN has emerged as the organizing centre of national “Stop EPA’ activity in Ghana and includes networks and organizations such as FoodSpan, Oxfam in Ghana, the Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition, TWN Africa, the General Agricultural Workers’ Union, the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, the African Child Campaign, the Women’s Manifesto Coalition and the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT).
* Upcoming event: Portuguese Presidency of the European Union
Date: 1st of July 2007 – 31st of December 2007
Resources:
-> The website of the Portuguese presidency EN FR
-> On the 27th of June, the Prime-Minister, José Sócrates, will present the Priorities for the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU at the Portuguese Parliament, in Lisbon.
Check our website for more events and resources! http://www.acp-eu-trade.org
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Copyright: ECDPM 2007