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The acp-eu-trade.org newsletter -- No. 13/September 2007 
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In this issue:
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I. Focus on…: Monitoring Economic Partnership Agreements
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II. EPA Negotiations Update
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III. News: Highlights of the Month
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VI. Selection from www.acp-eu-trade.org Library
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V. Resources from Recent Events
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VI. Upcoming Events

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Dear readers,

Welcome to this new issue of the acp-eu-trade.org Newsletter!

ACP-EU stakeholders are encouraged to participate in the various services provided via this website with the aim to exchange relevant information, build up trade negotiating capacity and facilitate networking activities. We therefore invite our readers to take an active role in www.acp-eu-trade.org by:

We appreciate any feedback on this newsletter and look forward to your reactions. You may send your comments to acpeutrade@ecdpm.org.

Enjoy your reading!

Editors: Davina Makhan ( dm@ecdpm.org ) and Corinna Braun-Munzinger ( cbm@ecdpm.org )

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I. Focus On...
Monitoring Economic Partnership Agreements
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The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) currently negotiated by the ACP and the EU 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 prospects of the EPAs are fulfilled, close monitoring of the implementation and impact of these new partnership agreements will be of prime importance.

The idea of monitoring the effective implementation of EPAs is not new. Already in 2003, Heads of State and Government of the African Union, meeting in Maputo , Mozambique , directed the AU Commission to work towards the establishment of a joint AU/EU Monitoring Mechanism.

In January 2005 the European Commission proposed to establish a new mechanism to monitor the development impact of EPAs, which was supported by the ACP group. At a meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council in November 2005, EU Member States have committed to “establish and implement an improved monitoring mechanism against development objectives within the EPA process” .

More recently, the Sustainability Impact Assessment carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the European Commission recommends to establish a permanent multi-stakeholder institutional mechanism to monitor the implementation of EPAs. The need for effective monitoring of EPAs has again been underlined by the Council of the European Union. At its meeting on 15 May 2007 the Council reaffirmed “that review clauses as well as mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing implementation and development impacts will be a key part of the EPAs”, which “will be an integral function of the EPA institutions”. In July ESA parliamentarians have demanded to be involved in EPA monitoring.

To establish a credible monitoring mechanism, decisions need to be taken on who should carry out the monitoring, the substance of monitoring and on how to ensure an effective feed-back of the results of the assessment into the policy-making process of EPA implementation, including the design of accompanying measures and adjustment support. Several approaches have been explored to put in place an effective mechanism to monitor the implementation and the impact of EPAs. Questions raised in this context include the definition of what should be monitored, as well as ways and means to ensure that the objectives of the EPAs and the over-arching development goal are effectively met. One possible solution may be to use benchmarks as points of reference for assessing the progress of EPA implementation towards the development goal they should serve. The development benchmark approach could thus provide an important analytical tool for the development-focused monitoring of the EPA implementation. 

This “Focus on…” aims to provide an overview of different sources of information on monitoring EPAs.

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ECDPM resources
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ECDPM works to inform and facilitate the monitoring process in a joint project with the German Development Institute (DIE). Publications and resources from workshops on this topic can be accessed via www.ecdpm.org/trade/epamonitoring .

Key documents:
* Monitoring EPAs: A methodological overview
S. Bilal, F. Rampa, F. Jerosch and D. Makhan, InBrief 18, ECDPM, April 2007
EN FR
* Designing a monitoring instrument for EPAs: Methodological Issues
S. Bilal and F. Rampa, GTZ trade Matters, 2006

Forthcoming publications – available when published on www.acp-eu-trade.org :
* From Legal Commitments to Practice: Monitoring Economic Partnership Agreements
S. Bilal, F. Jerosch, N. Keijzer , C. Loquai and F. Rampa ( forthcoming in September 2007 )
* Monitoring EPAs: Inputs to the negotiations and beyond
Joint Report by ECDPM and DIE

Shorter articles published in Trade Negotiations Insights:
* Monitoring EPAs, the need to engage
S. Bilal and F. Rampa, Trade Negotiations Insights, Vol.6, No.5, September 2007, ECDPM and ICTSD EN FR
* The case for Development Benchmarks
H. A. Ahmed, Trade Negotiations Insights, Vol.6, No.5, September 2007, ECDPM and ICTSD
EN FR
* EU-ACP Sustainability Impact Assessment of the Economic Partnership Agreements: Twelve Summary Recommendations
S. Richardson , Trade Negotiations Insight, Vol.6, No.3, May - June 2007, ECDPM and ICTSD
EN FR
* Benchmarks for a Pro-Development Monitoring of EPA Negotiations
ICTSD and APRODEV, Trade Negotiations Insights, Vol.4, No.4, July-August 2005, ECDPM and ICTSD EN FR

Workshop reports:
ECDPM has been involved in the organisation of several workshops with the participation of different stakeholders, discussing specific expectations and ideas towards a monitoring mechanism. You find reports of these workshops below:

*EPA Development Benchmarks & Monitoring
Workshop organised by CUTS NRC, ECDPM and FES in cooperation with APRODEV, 23-24 April 2007, Nairobi
- Workshop report by ECDPM
- Workshop report by M. Juma and A. Wauye , CUTS NRC
- Workshop report in APRODEV Newsletter, EU NEWS, ISSUE 3, 4 May 2007

*A Monitoring Process for the implementation of EPAs - What recommendations for a way forward?
Second Consultative Workshop organized by ECDPM and DIE, 14 June 2007 , Brussels
- Summary report by ECDPM/DIE

*A Monitoring Process for the implementation of EPAs
First Consultative workshop organized by ECDPM and DIE, 21 February 2007 , Brussels
- Summary report by ECDPM/DIE


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Resources from other organisations
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On the results of the Sustainability Impact Assessment of EPAs carried out for the European Commission:
* Sustainability Impact Assessment of the EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreements – key findings, recommendations and lessons learned
PricewaterhouseCoopers, May 2007 EN FR

On the development benchmark approach:
* Making EPAs Development Friendly
M. Gasiorek et al., CARIS Briefing Paper No. 2, April 2007, Centre for the Analysis of Regional Integration at Sussex
* The EPAs and Sustainable Development: Benchmarks for Pro-development Monitoring of the Negotiations
ICTSD and APRODEV, May 2005

On the Sussex framework:
The Sussex Framework is an analytical tool for an ex-ante impact assessment of preferential trade agreements such as EPAs. It has been developed as an alternative to standard simulation models used in economics, with the aim of minimizing the level of expertise and the complexity of data required for its application.
* Assessing Preferential Trade Agreements using the Sussex Framework
D. Evans et al., CARIS Briefing Paper No. 1, February 2007, Centre for the Analysis of Regional Integration at Sussex

On conceptual and methodological issues in designing a system of indicators of regional integration that could be applied to EPA monitoring:
* Indicators of Regional Integration: Methodological Issues
P. De Lombaerde and L. Van Langenhove, IIIS Discussion Paper No. 64, March 2005, Institute for International Integration Studies

On monitoring gender specific impacts of trade:
* Gender Indicators for Monitoring Trade Agreements
I. van Staveren, WIDE Briefing Paper, February 2007

On monitoring Aid for Trade at the WTO:
Following up on the report by the Aid for Trade Task Force, the WTO Director-General outlined a concept on monitoring Aid for Trade in his report to the General Council meeting on 14 December 2006:
* Follow-up to the Aid-for-Trade Task Force Recommendations (WT/AFT/1), WTO Monitoring and Evaluation
Report by the Director-General, 12 December 2006

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Political declarations on EPA monitoring
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* Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) Parliamentarians
Meeting on Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations between ESA and the EU, 6-7 July 2007, Addis Ababa
Eastern and Southern African (ESA) parliamentarians called for ESA and EC parliamentarians to be involved in the monitoring of EPA negotiations and implementation in order to ensure a positive development impact of the agreement. Parliamentarians demanded the creation of a ESA/EC joint parliamentarian forum in order to fulfill this task.
--> see draft declaration of the meeting

* General Affairs and External Relations Council of the European Union
15 May 2007
EU ministers reaffirmed that mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing implementation and development impacts will be a key part of the EPAs.
--> see Council Conclusions on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), paragraph 15

* General Affairs and External Relations Council of the European Union
21-22 November 2005
In the context of the EU strategy for Africa , EU ministers decided to establish and implement an improved monitoring mechanism against development objectives within the EPA process.
--> see Council Conclusions on an EU Strategy for Africa , paragraph 32

* ACP Council of Ministers
21-22 June 2005
AU ministers called on the Commission to agree jointly with the ACP on the modalities of the monitoring mechanism proposed by the EC.
--> see Declaration on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), paragraph 17

* European Commission
20 January 2005
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson proposed to establish in partnership with the ACP a new review mechanism to monitor EPA-related assistance provided by the EC, seeking the support and agreement of ACP ministers for this approach.
--> see speech to the Civil Society Dialogue Group, Brussels

* Assembly of the African Union
10 - 12 July 2003
The Heads of State and Government of the African Union meeting in Maputo , Mozambique , directed the AU Commission to work towards the establishment of a joint AU/EU Monitoring Mechanism, with the aim of monitoring the entire process of the EPAs, facilitating the implementation of regional integration programs and ensuring coherence of regional integration with AU priorities and objectives.
--> see Declaration on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Negotiations



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II. EPA Negotiations Update
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By Melissa Julian
This section elaborates on the EPA Update provided in the latest issue of the two-monthly “Trade Negotiations Insights From Doha to Cotonou”. To read it in full, visit our E-Newsletter section on www.acp-eu-trade.org, and select Trade Negotiations Insights - Longer version of the EPA Negotiations Update, or click here

September 2007

Summary
*ACP EPA Negotiators Meet to Assess Progress in Regional EPA Negotiations
*ACP Discuss EPA Rules of Origin
*EU Proposes to Eliminate ACP Sugar Protocol When EPAs in Force
*EU Seeks to Avoid New Banana War
*African Ambassadors Retreat on EPAs
*African Ministers in Charge of Integration Meet
*African Union Executive Council and Summit Discuss EPAs
*Central Africa (CEMAC)
*West Africa (ECOWAS)
*Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)
*Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA)
*EAC agree that the EAC explores the possibility of negotiating an EPA with the EU
*Caribbean (CARIFORUM)
*Pacific

ACP EPA Negotiators Meet to Assess Progress in Regional EPA Negotiations

The ACP Technical Follow-up Group on EPA negotiations (comprised of regional EPA negotiators) met on 10–12 July. Delegates noted progress made in all regions in the negotiations, but also that there remain fundamental divergence of views with the EU in several key areas. These include:
-The inclusion of trade-related issues in EPAs
-The schedule for tariff liberalisation
-Rules of origin
-Signatories to the agreement
-EU EPA accompanying measures and financial commitments to cover adjustment and implementation costs.
[click here to read more]

ACP Discuss EPA Rules of Origin

The Group of Experts on Rules of Origin met from 9-10 July. They agreed that there was insufficient time to conclude comprehensive negotiations on rules of origin and therefore to focus on transitional arrangements that improve upon the Cotonou rules of origin.
They agreed on a draft model protocol as a good basis on which regions can add to serve as a tool for negotiations at regional level.
They agreed to hold a meeting in the autumn to consider the differences among the protocols presented by the regions and an updated template containing the product specific rules of origin from the regions.

EU Proposes to Eliminate ACP Sugar Protocol When EPAs in Force

A letter from the EC Trade and Development Commissioners in the 25 July Guyana Chronicle newspaper informs that the EU has proposed to end the EU-ACP Sugar Protocol because EPAs will provide tariff and quota free access for sugar, and all exports, from the ACP countries. The EC remains committed to safeguarding the benefits the Sugar Protocol offers to the extent possible within each regional EPA ensuring ACP preferential treatment in the EU market through eliminating all tariffs on sugar between now and 2015 and removing all restrictions on sugar imports.
[click here to read more]

EU Seeks to Avoid New Banana War

Press reports of 30 July indicate that in a bid to halt WTO litigation, the EC has proposed two options for cutting the banana tariff on Latin American banana imports which the latter argues is too high and discriminates against them. ACP producers, whose bananas enter the EU free of duty, inside an annual quota of 775,000 tons, are concerned that a cut in tariff will lead to cheaper Latin American bananas swamping the EU market.
[click here to read more]

African Ambassadors Retreat on EPAs

The African Union Commission and the Economic Commission for Africa hosted a retreat on EPAs for the African Ambassadors in Brussels (25-26 August).
[click here to read more]

African Ministers in Charge of Integration Meet

The Second Conference of African Ministers in charge of Integration was held in Kigali , Rwanda , from 26-27 July to consider how to strengthen Regional Economic Communities to harmonise and rationalise policies and programmes with a view to accelerating the economic and political integration of the African continent.
[click here to read more]

African Union Executive Council and Summit Discuss EPAs

Heads of Government at the African Union Summit on 3 July adopted a protocol to be signed by the African Unon and RECs on relations between the African regional economic communities and the African Union with a view to furthering economic integration.

The 28-29 June AU Executive Council preceding the Summit adopted a decision expressing concern at the slow progress in the EPA Negotiations on the development aspects, such as additional resources for meeting adjustment costs and building and strengthening of the production and supply capacities.
[click here to read more]

Central Africa (CEMAC)

A meeting of the EC-CEMAC Ministerial Trade Committee (CEMAC Trade Ministers and EC Trade and Development Commissioners), enlarged to include CEMAC National Authorising Officers and the Regional Authorising Officer, was held on 14-15 July in Sao Tome & Principe. The meeting reconfirmed the will to conclude EPAs by the year end deadline and gave orientations to technical negotiators to conclude negotiations in October.
In September, CEMAC aims to table its first list of products for tariff dismantlement. Indications are…
[click here to read more]

West Africa (ECOWAS)

The West Africa-EC Joint Meetings of Technical and Senior Officials scheduled to be held on 24-27 July were postponed to 3-7 September at ECOWAS' request to allow the region to continue work on their market access offer to the EU. EC officials were concerned that this delay means a regional consolidated offer may not be tabled in an already busy September schedule and negotiators risk not having sufficient time to examine this and proposals on the EPA text and accompanying measures ahead of the scheduled meeting of Joint EPA Chief Negotiators on 5th October which must agree the necessary political accords to conclude EPA negotiations in time for the year end deadline. The EC continues…
[click here to read more]

Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)

A meeting of SADC EPA Group's experts and Trade Ministers was held from 18-19 August to monitor progress in the SADC EPA negotiations and review the SADC Group's EPA mandate. We'll endeavour to report on the outcome in the next issue.
There have been two sets of internal SADC meetings to discuss…
[click here to read more]

Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA)

The ESA Regional Negotiating Forum on EPAs was held at Le Morne, Mauritius from 1-3 August preceded by dedicated ESA sessions on market access and agriculture, services, trade related issues, agriculture, fisheries and development. Decisions taken by the RNF will be put forward to ESA Ministers for final, formal approval ahead of the next EPA negotiating round with the EC in September.
With regard to market access,…
[click here to read more]

EAC agree that the EAC explores the possibility of negotiating an EPA with the EU
An East African Community (EAC) Summit on 20 August in Arusha, Tanzania, preceded by a meeting of Trade Ministers, agreed that the EAC (Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya) should explore the possibility of negotiating an EPA with the EU.
Considering the limited time left for EPA negotiations,…
[click here to read more]

Caribbean (CARIFORUM)

In August, the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery launched a series of consultative missions to CARIFORUM countries to exchange views with Ministers and Senior Officials on the CRNM-drafted draft CARIFORUM EPA market access offer to the EC. This in preparation for the 5-6 September CARIFORUM Trade Ministerial meeting which will discuss, and perhaps approve, a market access offer to the EC. Despite intensive consultations over the past months,…
[click here to read more]

Pacific

Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Deputy Secretary, Peter Forau, who on 31 July said in a speech to PACP Trade Ministers that based on the outcome of EPA negotiations to date he was pessimistic that EPAs can be concluded by the deadline. “Little movement in the negotiations has been made in the key areas of interest to the PACPs such as in rules of origin, fisheries, investment, services including the Temporary Movement of Natural Persons and development assistance”, he said. “Given this rather…
[click here to read more]




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III. News: Highlights of the Month
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*TNI/Eclairage goes monthly!

The joint ECDPM and ICTSD publication Trade Negotiations Insights (TNI) / Eclairage sur les négocations is now published on a monthly basis. See the current issue:

Trade Negotiations Insight, Vol.6, No. 5, September 2007

• EPAS: There is no Plan B - An interview with Peter Mandelson
• Monitoring EPAs: the need to engage
• Sink or Swim? EU investments in ACP fisheries
• The case for Development Benchmarks
• In focus: Trade in services - A threat to intra-regional trade
• In focus: Trade in services - A recipe for sustainable development
• EU, Pacific clash over EPA funds
• Pacific, EU aid dispute: the link between aid and EPAs
• WTO Roundup
• EPA Negotiations Update
• Calendar & resources


Eclairage sur les négociations, Vol.6 No.5, Septembre 2007

• APE : Il n’y a pas de Plan B - Un entretien avec Peter Mandelson
• Suivi des APE: nécessité de s’engager
• Grillé? Le secteur de la pêche et les investissements européens
• Arguments en faveur des Seuils de développement
• Focus : Commerce des services - Une menace pour le commerce intra-régional
• Focus : Commerce des services - Une recette pour le developpement durable
• L’UE et le Pacifique s’accrochent sur le financement des APE
• Conflit sur l’aide entre le Pacifique et l’UE : Le lien entre l’aide et les APE
• Aperçu sur l’OMC
• Le point sur les négociations APE
• Calendrier & publications

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From our news section:
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*16.09.07 - ESA and ESA-EC discussions that are taking place. Rwanda

*EU about to come out with rules of origin documents, see emerging documents (not yet publicly available)

*Report on EPA negotiations
African Union , 4 September 2007
Prepared by the Department of Trade and Industry, in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Africa
This report was considered at the retreat, of the Group of African Ambassadors to the ACP and the European Union and the African regional groups negotiating EPAs, held on 25-26 August 2007. The retreat recommended this report to the meeting of senior officials to be held in October 2007 in Cotonou, Benin.

*EPA focus for Centre for the Development of Enterprise Work Programme 2008, assisting ACP enterprises to improve their competitiveness

*EU Council Group discussing EPAs and Sugar Protocol denunciation
Article 133 Committee (Deputy Members)
Date : Friday, 14 September 2007 (10h00) (morning only)
--> see also: *Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION denouncing on behalf of the Community Protocol 3 on ACP sugar, document number 12086/07, 23 July 2007 (not yet publicly available)

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From ACP and EU news providers:
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* Deadlock - Caribbean slow in making decision for Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)
Dionne Rose, Jamaica Gleaner, 24 September 2007
The Caribbean region is making slow progress in completing negotiations for the economic partnership agreement (EPA). […] The recently concluded technical trade ministers meeting held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad , on Friday, did not yield much progress. According to Dr. Richard Bernal, head of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery, the outlook for making progress in the negotiations was not good. "The reason for that is that the region had postponed make decisions, which would enable it to do the following: one, make a credible and coherent market- access offer; two, to improve our initial offer on services," said Ambassador Bernal.

* East Africa : How to Safeguard Food Security in EPAs
Rosalia Omungo, Nairobi , Inter Press Service ( Johannesburg ), 21 September 2007
Government leaders and exporters in east Africa are adamant that certain products be excluded from the economic partnership agreements (EPAs) to prevent detrimental effects on the livelihoods of the majority of people in the region. […]The WTO granted the EU a special exemption that allows it to continue giving ACP exporters preferential access to its markets until December 2007. But what will happen to products essential to livelihoods or vulnerable to foreign competition when the deadline has expired? This is especially of concern, given the hefty subsidies that European farmers receive while east African producers toil without government support. European products are therefore artificially cheap and can be dumped on African markets while east African products are too costly to export.

* South Africa : Davies Defends Approach to EU Trade Talks
Business Day/allAfrica.com, 21 September 2007
SA "felt very strongly" about the exclusion of so-called new-generation issues from the negotiations between the European Union (EU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) over an economic partnership agreement, Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Rob Davies said yesterday. SA is unlikely to budge on this issue, despite EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson suggesting recently that SA was acting as a stumbling block to the successful finalisation of the talks. […] However, Davies insisted SA was not out to wreck the negotiations. It wanted to conclude the process by the December deadline and believed this could be done if there was a "realistic agenda limited to the trade in goods".
--> See also : * Mandelson slams SA's 'deeply negative' role in crunch trade talks
Terence Creamer, Engineering News, 12 September 2007
Europe 's trade commissioner Peter Mandelson has described as “deeply negative” the role that South Africa is playing in the European Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations related to the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the deadline for which is now looming. […] It was agreed earlier this year (but after a long delay) that South Africa, which had its own free-trade agreement with the EU, should participate in the EPA talks in the interest of regional harmonisation. But ever since, frustration has mounted on both sides.

* Namibia : Economic Partnership Agreements - No Plan B?
Catherine Sasman, New Era, Windhoek , Namibia , 20 September 2007
[Trade Negotiations] Insights (September 2007 edition), the European Union Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, said the EU would not engage in an alternative strategy concerning African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) trade relations with Europe at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), stressing that there is definitely "no Plan B" for EU trade relations with the ACP. New Era spoke to trade analyst, Wallie Roux , wherein he responds in his personal capacity to Mandelson's assertions.

*East Africa : Alarm As States Fail to Agree On EU Trade Talks
Brian Adero, East African Standard, Nairobi , 19 September 2007
The East African community partners might not sign a trade deal with the European Union (EU) after sharp differences emerged during a technical experts meeting in Arusha last week.
--> See also : * Europe cautions Africa to end trade impasse
Allan Odhiambo, Business Daily, 13 September 2007
Mr Mandelson said though negotiations with ACP countries were on course, concern was rising over progress in a number of regions including East Africa where issues of regional groupings and the platform of negotiating the new EPA remain unresolved. […]
Mr Mandelson's plea came as senior Government officials from the East African Community (EAC) arrived in Arusha for a two-day meeting meant to make a final decision on what platform would be used to sign a new EPA with the EU. “We hope to reach a common ground on EPA. We are optimistic something tangible will come out of it,” said Mr David Nalo, the Trade permanent secretary.

* Kenya : Flower Industry May Wilt If EPA Deadline is Missed
Rosalia Omungo, Inter Press Service, Johannesburg , 19 September 2007
Failure to conclude an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) by the end-of-year deadline will have serious implications for Kenyan exporters, including those in the booming horticultural industry.
--> See also : * East Africa : Measures in Place to Protect Exports to EU
The Nation/allAfrica.com, 24 August 2007
Comesa has moved to quell uncertainties on whether Africa would meet a December 31 deadline for signing of a new trade agreement with the European Union. The 19-country trading bloc, mandated to drive the negotiation on behalf of east and southern Africa under eastern and southern Africa , said transitional measures would be worked out if the deadline was missed. "We assure the business community that we are aware of the challenge, but we will ensure trade with the European Union is not disrupted," said Comesa secretary general Erastus Mwencha at a news conference Thursday. […] Mr Mwencha said that Trade and Industry minister, Mukhisa Kituyi had written to the European Commission on transitional measures, to avoid any disruption before the EPAs come into force.

* Botswana : Beef Exports Under Threat
Kabo Mokgoabone, Mmegi/The reporter, Gaborone, 19 September 2007
Trade experts were yesterday worried that if a deal is not made on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) by December 31, the country could face serious repercussions.

* Africa : Look Out for Your Interests, AU Warns Members
Francis Ayieko, East African/allAfrica.com, 18 September 2007
Barely three months to the conclusion of the Economic Partnership Agreements between African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the European Union, the African Union is cautioning member states against signing the trade deal if it undermines development on the continent.
In a report prepared by the Department of Trade and Industry in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Africa , the AU has challenged African leaders and negotiators to examine the proposed EPAs and ensure that only those that "effectively" support the socio-economic development of Africa are concluded. […]
The report will be presented to the meeting of senior officials of regional negotiating forums to be held in Cotonou , Benin , next month to determine the position of the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) negotiating bloc vis-a-vis that of the European Union.
--> see also From our news section *AU report on EPA negotiations

* Forum awaits word on trade issues
Fiji Broadcasting Corporation, 17 September 2007
Pacific Islands Forum Deputy Secretary General Peter Forau says the Forum is still awaiting responses on a number of trade issues raised with the European Union. ACP ministers had met in Vanuatu recently to discuss the progress in the ACP- EU trade negotiations for a partnership agreement. […] Forau said the Forum Secretariat is now carrying on with the preparatory work for its member countries including Fiji , to meet the deadline for the conclusion of discussions on December 31st, 2007 .

* Trade: ‘EU Stands Between Poor and Poor'
David Cronin, Terraviva Europe, 17 September 2007
Caribbean governments have alleged that the European Union is trying to prevent them from signing trade deals with other poor countries on their own terms. […]
While the Caribbean has signalled its willingness to accept the Dec. 31 deadline, its negotiator with the EU, Jamaican official Junior Lodge, has identified a number of major issues that still have to be resolved. […] Under the EPA proposals it has put forward, the Commission seeks that any trade concession which the Caribbean grants to a country enjoying more than a 1 percent share of world merchandise exports -- such as China, Turkey, India and Brazil -- must be automatically conferred on the EU, too.

* EU and ACP Ministers discuss changes to EU sugar regime
European Commission, 14 September 2007
On September 12, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel and EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel met with ministers from key sugar producing countries in the African, Caribbean and Pacific region to discuss upcoming changes in the EU's sugar import regime.
See also:
--> From the EC:
* Background on the EU proposal to denounce the Sugar Protocol and market access for ACP sugar under EPAs
European Commission, 14 September 2007
* Sugar and EPAs: Background
European Commission, 13 September 2007
--> From the ACP:
* Keep guaranteed sugar prices until 2015, ACP tells EU
Miranda La Rose, Starbroek News, 20 September 2007
* Dark days ahead for sugar cane farmers
Robert Matau, The Fiji Times, 17 September 2007
* Sugar under threat - EU has new arrangement for new market
David Jessop , Jamaica Gleaner, 16 September 2007
* EC adopting measures intended to kill Sugar Protocol
CaribbeanPressReleases.com, 14 September 2007
Call for the press conference held in line with the Ministerial meeting
* ACP states insist on need for EU sugar deal
Reuters, 14 September 2007

* EPAs: Where We Are
Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM), RNM Update 0712, 14 September 2007
Officially, the summer recess is over in most corners of the negotiation arena, and it's back to business.  While much has been accomplished in the CARIFORUM- EU EPA negotiations there are still some challenges that must be resolved. …

* Africa : Govts Should Get Involved in EPAs Negotiations
Ghanaian Chronicle/allAfrica.com, 12 September 2007
For many ACP countries, negotiations are largely the preserve of technical negotiators based in very weak regional institutions, where the EU often pays staff. In the West Africa Region, the regional negotiating structure of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Secretariat is so weak that civil society and governments have expressed serious concerns about its management capabilities.

* Mandelson urges final push in EPA talks
European Commission, 11 September 2007
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson urged ACP governments to join a final burst of negotiations to successfully complete Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations by the end of 2007. He warned that there would be no legal basis for the extension of existing preferential trade terms between the EU and the 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries if the two sides do not initial new Economic Partnership Agreements before the end of 2007. In the absence of such agreements, Mandelson said, the EU and the ACP would have no legal alternative but to switch to the EU Generalised System of Preferences which would mean less-generous tariff preferences for many ACP countries.
--> direct link to Mandelson's remarks to the European Parliament Committee on International Trade, 11 September 2007
--> see also press reports on the Commissioner's remarks:
* UE : pas d'accord commercial avec les ACP en vue
Challenges.fr, 11 septembre 2007
Peter Mandelson reproche aux pays africains de bloquer la révision des liens commerciaux entre l'UE et la zone Afrique, Caraïbes, Pacifique.
* EU flexes trade muscles
BBCCaribbean.com, 12 September 2007

* Ecuador takes a steady position with respect to the banana conflict with the EU
Jahir Lombana, Fresh Plaza , 10 September 2007
Mr. Eduardo Ledesma, Executive Director at the Association of Banana Exporters from Ecuador (AEBE), reaffirmed the position of Ecuador on the demand against the EU in the framework of the WTO. […] However, as he also announced, bilateral negotiations continue and proposals by the EU are being analyzed by the corresponding authorities in Ecuador.

* Marc Maes: L'Union européenne ne va pas augmenter les droits de douane
Priscille G. Moadougou, Quotidien Mutations, 6 September 2007
Le représentant de la coupole des Ong de développement en Flandre (Belgique) pense que la non signature des Ape au 31 décembre 2007 ne saurait s'assimiler à un séisme. […] « Si les Ape ne sont pas signes d ici le 31 décembre 2007, nous ne sommes pas surs que quelque chose va se passer le 1er janvier 2008. Les choses continueront normalement. Sur le plan politique, il est impossible que l'Union européenne augmente les droits de douane sur les exportations d un groupe de pays dans lequel on retrouve la plupart des pays les moins avances. Une telle décision ira a l encontre de la politique de libéralisation que la commission veut promouvoir. »

* “EU money will not right EPA wrongs”
Third World Network Africa , Press Release, 6 September, 2007
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have condemned the European Union for abusing the December deadline to put unjustifiable pressure on African governments to concede to its terms in the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). They also cautioned African governments not to buy into the EU's false claims . […] Contrary to European Union claims, African countries do not need to sign EPAs to maintain their current market access levels to the European market. We proposed that African countries can adopt the General System of Preference plus (GSP+) which will enable them to have access to EU market at levels similar to what they enjoy today, and this can even be improved.
--> Version française : “Les fonds de l'UE ne peuvent pas redresser les torts des APE”
Third World Network Africa, Communiqué de presse, 6 Septembre, 2007
Les organisations de la Société Civile Africaine ont condamné l'Union Européenne pour son abus de la date butoir de Décembre 2007 pour exercer une pression injustifiable sur les gouvernements africains afin qu'ils conviennent des conditions des Accords de Partenariat Economique (APE). Elles ont également invité les gouvernements africains à prendre garde de ne pas croire aux fausses prétentions de l'UE. […] Contrairement aux prétentions de l'UE, les pays africains n'ont pas besoin de signer les APE pour maintenir leur niveau actuel d'accès au marché européen. Nous proposons que les pays africains peuvent adopter le Système Généralisé de Préférences Plus (SGP+) qui leur permettra d'avoir accès au marché de l'UE à un niveau similaire voire amélioré par rapport à ce dont ils bénéficient actuellement.
--> see also the EC press release reacting to criticism on EPAs:
* Economic Partnership Agreements: tackling the myths in Ghana
Delegation of the European Commission to Ghana , 6 September 2007
[…] We can't extend the existing system – the only legal alternative to EPA that we have is called the Generalised System of Preferences or "GSP". This offers much less generous market access, unless a country is classed as "Least Developed" by the United Nations - which Ghana is not. One myth currently doing the rounds is that Ghana qualifies for a special arrangement called "GSP+". This, sadly, is not true as access to GSP+ depends on conditions linked to ratifying key international conventions on human rights and development. Not only has Ghana yet to complete these ratifications but there is a waiting list of countries that already have and the process is a lengthy one, with disruptive effects on existing shipping and contract arrangements . […] It is essential that there is strong debate over EPAs–the European Union welcome the many voices raised in Accra and elsewhere. But to suggest that Economic Partnership Agreements are a danger to African development is misleading and wrong. The EPAs are not a threat to development; they are an opportunity not to miss and a valuable tool to achieve development.

* Economic Partnership Agreement: How many Ghanaians know about it?
Hannah Asomaning, Accra Daily Mail, 4 September 2007
A number of people GNA spoke, including the educated working class, had not heard about the EPA before or what it stood for. […] This is a wake up call for Ghanaians to be interested in development cooperation. The decisions taken by the European Union at any point in time go a long way to affect "you" as an individual and "us" as a nation. How do we deal with this? To quote Archbishop Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, Metropolitan Catholic Archbishop of Accra , the media must exist to form, inform and transform. Yes. But civil society also has a role to play in making this a possibility. We cannot sit idle and let Europe form, inform and transform Africa in their own way. Let's get involved.

* Kenya: ESA Fails to Agree On Development Assistance Issues - ESA discussing EPA development benchmarks
Allan Odhiambo, Business Daily/allAfrica.com, 3 September 2007
Key elements of the development assistance programme still not agreed between EC and ESA with only three months to the December deadline, a status report on the talks indicates. The report indicates that though text on the development assistance agenda has been prepared, the parties remain divided over its vitality with the EU insisting that it should be removed from the EPA forum. African states have however insisted on its inclusion on grounds that it will open a window for them to benefit from technical assistance schemes that are critical growth in the various sectors of their economies.
ESA member states have however resolved to forge ahead with preparation of benchmarks on development that will form the basis of negotiations with the EU once consensus is reached. Establishment of development benchmarks is expected to dominate proceedings this week when negotiators under the ESA platform meet in Bujumbura , Burundi as part of efforts to fast track talks ahead of the expiry of current EPA with the EU by December 31.

* Ghana : Parliament Urged Not to Ratify the EPAs in Its Current State As Deadline Draws Nearer
Joseph Coomson, Ghanaian Chronicle, 31 August 2007
As the December 31st deadline for the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) approaches slowly but surely, the youth wings of political parties in Ghana have called on the Ghanaian Parliament not to ratify the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) if it is signed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission in its current state. However, they stressed that a favourable EPAs that will enable Ghana build its capacity and effectively trade with the European Union would suffice. […] They demanded an extension of the negotiation timetable beyond the deadline of 31st December.

*SADC customs union is on slow track - South Africa Finance Minister says SADC Custom Union target unlikely
Donwald Pressly, Business report, 30 August 2007
The 2010 target for creating a Southern African Development Community (SADC) customs union was unlikely to be achieved, finance minister Trevor Manuel told members of the national assembly portfolio committee yesterday.

* Pacific Countries Express Deep Concern At EU Trade Deal Proposal
Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Press Statement, 28 August 2007
Regional trade officials and legal experts who attended the Pacific ACP (PACP) Legal Technical Working Group (TWG) Meeting in Nadi, Fiji, from 23-25 August, have expressed their disappointment and deep concern at the draft text proposed by the European Commission (EC) for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) covering trade in goods, trade in services, fisheries, investment and development cooperation. […]
The TWG reviewed the draft EC text in detail. It observed that the text contained explicit provisions setting out the Commission's demands while reflecting almost none of the key written proposals of the PACP group nor the positions put forward and key interests expressed by PACP Ministers and Officials during discussions that had been taking place between the two sides by the region over the last two years.
The EC's draft EPA legal text was clearly a slightly modified version of a separate text drafted primarily for consideration by one of the African ACP regions in their EPA negotiations. While the draft EC text has a number of provisions which might appear to make sense in an African context, the PACP trade and legal experts considered that the EC's draft proposal did not reflect the realities of the small, vulnerable economies of the Pacific Islands.
Faced with the 31 December deadline, the TWG expressed concern that, unless there was significant negotiating progress made in the coming months, the region could well be forced to make a choice between accepting the EC's text or face devastating increases in tariffs for important export products such as canned tuna which would result in substantial job losses for PACP countries.
At the same time, however, the TWG recalled the commitment of PACP Trade Ministers to intensify EPA negotiations and endorsed a detailed programme of meetings with the EC in the few months leading up to the December 31st deadline.
--> See also : *Draft EU-Pacific EPA
“The document was clearly cut and pasted from the proposal made to West Africa , despite previous assurances that the Pacific's unique circumstances would be taken into account.” […]
quoting Barry Coates, Oxfam New Zealand 's Executive Director, in Oxfam New Zealand press release: * EU trade negotiations threaten Pacific industries and livelihoods
Oxfam New Zealand , 31 August 2007
--> See also : * Pacific wants outstanding issues dealt with before signing EPAs with EU
Radio New Zealand International, 4 September 2007
The Pacific will not sign any Economic Partnership Agreements, or EPAs, with the European Union unless some outstanding issues are resolved. The lead negotiator for the Pacific, Hans Joachim Keil, says they are still holding discussions over the EPAs, which are due to be signed at the end of the year. He says the Pacific wants rules of origin relaxed in terms of the production of goods but the EU is finding that difficult to accept. There is also little progress over a proposal for a limited quota of people from the Pacific to be given access to work in the EU. […]
Mr Keil says a further meeting will be held in Brussels between Pacific ministers and the EU in early October.
-->* Trade: PNG could be the weak link - Fears growing islands may end up with bad EPA
Samisoni Pareti, Islands Business, September 2007
Fears are growing that the Pacific may end up signing a bad economic partnership agreement (EPA) simply because of Papua New Guinea 's desire to protect its canned tuna industry. The concerns were further heightened when the European Union released its draft text of an EPA it needs to conclude with the Pacific members of ACP by December 31. […]
One of its most “offensive” clauses as far as the Pacific is concerned is the proposed Most Favoured Nation status. This means that Europe is demanding that any concessions granted by the region to Australia and New Zealand in PACER (Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations) must be extended to EU members automatically. […]
Signing the EPA will trigger negotiations on PACER automatically, so a bad EPA will mean a bad PACER. And because of PNG's desire to protect its tuna industry and the jobs of some 3000 people, the chances of PNG forcing the rest of the Pacific to sign the EPA is quite real.
--> *Solomons concerned over delay in getting regional trade deal with EU
Radio New Zealand International, 3 September 2007
The Solomon Islands foreign minister, Patteson Oti, has expressed concern over the delay to conclude the Economic Partnership Agreement, or EPA, between Pacific countries of the ACP and the European Union.

* ESA Ready to Sign Partial EPA With the EU
e-comesa Newsletter 119, 24 August 2007
The Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region is ready to sign a partial Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union by the end of this year 2007. The sixteen member bloc is currently negotiating an EPA with the EU as a bloc to protect their developing agricultural and industry sectors. COMESA Secretary General Mr Erastus Mwencha revealed this during a media brie­fing in Nairobi Kenya on 23rd August 2007 that the move will be necessary in order to avoid disruption of the ESA-EU negotiations. He reiterated that it is clear the negotiations will not be fully concluded by December 31 as had been earlier envisaged.

* Fresh Scramble for Africa 's Riches
Catherine Sasman, New Era, 21 August 2007
Both the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the fast-tracked Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) seem to reflect less a genuine desire in fairer trade for the true benefits of African economies, than securing access to relevant markets.
The two instruments also mainly support the exploitation of natural resources in the interest of the European Union (EU) and the USA , said Executive Director of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, Dr Henning Melber. “It is not in the interest of Africa to enter in the current EPA negotiations,” maintained Melber.

* Govt confident of EPA economic benefits for SD - Swaziland Trade Principal Secretary highlights SADC EPA Services differences
Teetee Zwane, The Swazi Observer, 22 August 2007
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Principal Secretary Clifford Mamba said the liberalisation of trade in services had been extensively discussed at the SADC-EPA fora and Swaziland was actively engaging with member States to carve the best way forward in this regard. […]
Mamba said even though some SADC member States were unwilling to engage in the EPA negotiations, Swaziland felt it important to do so and was, therefore, robustly involved as well as respectfully aggressive in the talks. He said South Africa , for one, was reluctant because it wanted to protect its market which includes Swaziland , however, adding that the Kingdom cannot be held captive by that country thus the need to actively engage in the negotiations.

* EAC summit agrees on fasttracking common market
August 21, 2007
The sixth extraordinary summit of the East African Community (EAC) on Monday agreed to speed up the establishment of the regional common market before moving on to the envisaged political federation.
Presidents from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda and the second vice president from Burundi decided that there is need to move expeditiously toward establishing a common market and a monetary union by 2012 before moving on to the political federation.

 

See also acp-eu-trade.org's News section, updated every week!

 

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IV. Selection from www.acp-eu-trade.org's Library
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*Aid for Trade: Twenty lessons from existing aid schemes
D. Fonseca-Martí and F. Rampa , ECDPM-South Centre, ECDPM Discussion Paper 80
To make concrete proposals for moving forward with AFT, donors and recipients have to take stock of existing programmes and identify financing gaps and needs for improvements of delivery mechanisms. Therefore, the current study aims to inform the ongoing debates by highlighting lessons learnt from existing trade-related aid schemes. These lessons are informed by an exploration of the European Commission (EC) trade-related assistance (TRA) (in the framework of ACP-EU relations) as a significant example of regional and bilateral schemes, as well as the multi-agency Integrated Framework (IF) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Trade Integration Mechanism (TIM) as major multilateral aid schemes.
www.ecdpm.org/dp80

*Accords de partenariat économique : Présentation, analyse, points de vue
Grain de sel, Revue de l'Inter-réseaux, Numéro spécial n° 39 - juin - août 2007

* Trade and Development Report 2007 - Regional cooperation for development
UNCTAD, September 2007
The Trade and Development Report 2007, subtitled "Regional cooperation for development", recommends that developing countries should strengthen regional cooperation with other developing countries, but proceed carefully with regard to North-South bilateral or regional preferential trade agreements.

*Africa's Regional Integration Arrangements: History and Challenges
ECDPM Discussion Paper 74, September 2007
From the dawn of the independence era, virtually all African countries have embraced regionalism. Today, there are more regional organisations in Africa than in any other continent and most African countries are members of more than one regional integration initiative. At the same time, it is widely recognised that many initiatives did not live up to expectations. Why did these initiatives only produce limited results so far? Were the
challenges and constraints simply too formidable? The underlying reasons for the disappointing record need to be thoroughly examined and understood if African integration initiatives are to realise their potential.

*Technical analysis of the problems resulting from liberalisation of services in EU- ACP Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)
Myriam Vander Stichele, Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) Briefing Paper, August 2007
During 2006-7, the EU has proposed a similar model of text, or ‘template', across the six different EPA negotiating regions, with the Title “Establishment, Trade in Services and E-Commerce”. The Title links transborder services trade and movement of services people, with “establishment” which covers foreign direct investment by services companies (mode 3 in GATS) as well as non-services companies. This briefing focuses on the services aspects and explains how the EU proposals would :
- fail to meet ACP countries' development needs and concerns;
- restrict ACP countries' capacities to control and select foreign service providers;
- limit ACP ability to regulate their service sectors to their own benefit;
- require extra regulatory duties that may be too burdensome to achieve.

*Why Inclusion of Services in the EPAs is Problematic: Legal and Development Implications
South Centre Policy Brief No. 10, August 2007
The outcome of Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations will change a decades-old reciprocal trading regime between the European Union and African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) countries. This Policy Brief analyses legal and development implications for Eastern and Southern African (ESA) countries in negotiating trade in services under the EPAs. It concludes that ESA countries should focus on developing domestic capacity to provide universal access to basic services, develop export capacity in niche sectors, design and improve regulatory capacity and mainstream intra-regional trade.

*Poverty Looms: How 50 years of EU-ACP co-operation is threatened by new Trade Agreements
Trócaire Briefing Paper, August 2007
This briefing paper seeks to draw attention to how the EC is undermining the long respected principle of partnership between the EU and ACP and how using its economic and political power to force its own vision of EPAs onto the ACP threatens to undermine sustainable development in many of the world's poorest countries, including all Irish Aid's priority programme countries in Africa. The second part of the paper explains how urgent the situation now is and considers what Ireland should do to ensure the EU delivers on its commitments to the ACP.

* Economic Partnership Agreements: Does Preferential Access of Non-LDC African Countries Increase?
World Bank Trade Note 32, July 2007
While negotiations [on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)] have advanced to the third phase in most of the regions, progress has been glacial and no agreements as of this writing have been signed. One key issue for non-Least Developed Countries (non-LDCs) is the impact that alternatives to an EPA would have on market access and preferences in the EU.

* The EU-Mexico free trade agreement seven years on. A warning to the global South
Rodolfo Aguirre Reveles, Manuel Pérez Rocha L., Transnational Institute , June 2007
The EU-Mexico Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has served as a model for Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (IPPAs) between the EU and Latin American countries and regions since it came into force in 2000. This paper outlines the impact of the EU-Mexico FTA seven years on. It argues that instead of the promised economic and social benefits, the treaty has:
* left the Mexican state unable to implement policies to promote local small and medium size companies
* left the finance sector at the mercy of EU capital
* across various economic sectors benefited European transnational corporations to the detriment of Mexican industries
The authors argue that the EU-Mexico Agreement should not be used as a template for other agreements of this type. Rather, it should serve as a warning to countries in the global South.



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V. Resources from Recent Events
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* Event: Informal Meeting of EU Ministers for Development, Funchal, Madeira , Portugal
Date: 21-22 September 2007
Resources:
--> Programme
--> Introductory note
--> Who's Who

* Event: EPAs: A threat to development? Public hearing organised by the GUE/NGL Group, European Parliament, Brussels
Date: 18 September 2007
Resources:
--> Programme EN FR

* Event: ACP Special Ministerial Consultations on Sugar Meeting
Date: 12-14 September
Resources: --> see our section News: Highlights of the month

* Event: Meeting of the Bureau of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels , Belgium
Date: 11-12 September 2007
Resources:
--> Agenda
--> Meeting documents
The three Standing Committees met on 12 and 13 September 2007. The state of play of EPA negotiations was discussed at the Committee on Economic Development, Finance and Trade:
--> Meeting documents EN FR
--> Agenda EN FR

* Event: Conference on “Multilateralising Regionalism”
Sponsored and organized by WTO — HEI Co-organized by the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), Geneva , Switzerland
Date: 10-12 September 2007
The explosion of regional agreements in many parts of the world over the last decade and a half raises important questions about what this trend means for multilateral trade relations in an increasingly globalized world. There is much literature that seeks to explain and understand what motivates regionalism. But little has been written about the consequences for future trade relations of a continued splintering of trading arrangements into dozens of often overlapping and potentially inconsistent agreements. Is there a point at which this process finds its own saturation level? Or will the political and economic costs of increasing fragmentation lead to a reversal of regionalism?
Resources:
--> Dedicated page on WTO website, with programme and links to papers

* Event: Sensitisation workshop for Zambian Members of Parliament on EPA
Date: 25 - 26 August 2007
A sensitisation workshop for Zambian Members of Parliament on EPA was organised by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) on behalf of the East and Southern Africa (ESA) configuration. It was held at the COMESA Centre in Lusaka , Zambia . […] The workshop was sponsored by the Commonwealth Secretariat “Hub and Spoke” project based at COMESA Secretariat. […]
[The then COMESA Acting Secretary General, Sindiso Ngwenya] emphasised the importance of involving MPs in the assessment of progress on the EPA since they will in the long run make the ultimate decision during the adoption of EPA's legal instruments in parliament.
Mr Ngwenya pointed out that it was fundamental that the MPs contribute towards the shaping of the arrangements as early as possible with a view to providing direction.
Resources:
--> e-comesa Newsletter 120, will be available at http://www.comesa.int/COMESA%20Newsletter/

* Event: Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern African development Community (SADC), Lusaka , Zambia
Date: 16-17 August, 2007
Resources:
--> Communiqué 

* Peoples Summit against the SADC EPA in Lusaka , Zambia
Date: 15-16 August 2007
Civil society meeting parallel to the SADC Heads of State summit.
Resources:
--> Statement that has been endorsed also by the SADC Civil Society Forum, Lusaka 14-16 August 2007

 

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VI. Upcoming Events
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* EPA global day of action
Date: 27 September 2007
September 27, 2007 marks 5 years since EPAs negotiations have been launched. The Stop EPAs coalition has designated this day as a global day for campaigning on EPAs. Close to 200 organizations, international and national, from more than 40 countries will be marking this day with actions, mass mobilizations, seminars, lobby actions and media work.
Resources:
--> Full list of participating organizations, as well as national plans can be found on the epa2007 coalition website

* Aid For Trade Regional Review for Africa , Dar es Salaam , Tanzania
Date: 1-2 October 2007
The purpose of this event is to highlight the African dimension of Aid for Trade, and to encourage governments, donors and the private sector to address specific challenges for the region, to prioritize AFT needs, and to move towards shared solutions to trade-related challenges. Two other regional reviews already took place in the course of September for Latin America and the Caribbean in Lima , Peru , and for Asia and the Pacific, in Manila , Philippines . The regional reviews will feed in the global review which will take place in Geneva on the 20-21 November 2007.
Resources:
--> Official website of the conference
--> Programme
--> WTO webpage on Aid For Trade Regional Reviews 2007
--> To meet the challenges of development and participation in the trading system, the focus should be on countries' own visions, financing and the role of the private sector, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy told an aid-for-trade conference in Manila on 19 September 2007.
See Pascal Lamy's speech at the Aid for Trade conference in Manila , Philippines , 19 September 2007

* EU General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC), Luxembourg
Date: 15 – 16 October 2007
Including a meeting of EU ministers in charge of development cooperation

* Rural Development Briefing on “Advancing African Agriculture”, Brussels
Date: 17 October 2007
As part of a series of Rural Development Briefings organised in Brussels by CTA, the EC-DG Development, the EU Presidency, ACP Secretariat, Euforic, and IPS, the next briefing will take place on 17th October 2007 . It will focus on the recently adopted EC Communication on “Advancing African Agriculture”. This briefing will have two panels:
- the first panel will look at the key areas underlined in the EC Communication by bringing together different perspectives of various stakeholders
- the second will examine the way forward in terms of coordination, cooperation and implementation.
Around 80 participants will attend the briefing. These will include ACP-EU policy makers, representatives of EU Member States, civil society groups, European research networks, researchers and development practitioners, and international organizations based in Brussels . For further information, please contact boto@cta.int
Resources:
--> CTA Brussels office

* ACP Trade Ministers meeting, Cotonou, Benin
Date: 22-26 October 2007
All-ACP negotiators and Trade Ministers meeting to examine the state of play of the EPA negotiations

  

Check our website for more events and resources!  http://www.acp-eu-trade.org

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