logo



****************************************************************************
The acp-eu-trade.org newsletter -- No. 18/May 2008 
****************************************************************************

In this issue:
= = = = = = =


I. Trade Negotiations Insights Vol.7, No.4
---
II. News: Highlights
---
III. Selection from the acp-eu-trade.org Library
---
IV. Resources from Recent Events
---
V. Upcoming Events

= = = = = = =

 

Dear readers,

Welcome to the May issue of the acp-eu-trade.org newsletter!

This newsletter provides you with a selection of press articles, highlights some new documents in the acp-eu-trade.org library and gives access to resources from recent events.

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 and Nicolas Mombrial (nm@ecdpm.org)

---
I. Trade Negotiations Insights Vol.7, No.4
---
The May 2008 issue of Trade Negotiations Insights (TNI), a joint monthly publication by ICTSD and ECDPM, is now available online at: www.ictsd.org/tni/index.htm and www.acp-eu-trade.org/tni

Trade Negotiations Insights , Vol. 7, No. 4, May 2008
• Bridging the divide: the SADC EPA
• Partnership or power play? EPAs fail the development tests
• In Focus: Building an EPA services deal: an important tool for services development in the Comoros
• EPA stocktaking: urgency for a development contest
• MFN in the Cariforum EPA is no threat to South-South trade
• ECOWAS CET: the imperatives of Nigeria's fifth band
• WTO Roundup
• EPA Negotiations Update
• Calendar and Resources

Eclairage sur les Négociations , Vol.7, No.4, mai 2008
• Combler l’écart : l'APE de la SADC
• Partenariat ou jeu de pouvoir ? Les APE ratent le test du développement
• Focus : Élaboration d'un APE sur les services : un outil important pour le développement des services dans les Comores
• Inventaire des APE : urgence d'un test du développement
• La clause NPF de l'APE du Cariforum n'est pas une menace pour le commerce Sud-Sud
• Le TEC de la CEDEAO : les impératifs de la cinquième bande du Nigeria
• Aperçu sur l'OMC
• Le point sur les APE
• Calendrier et publications

---
II. News: Highlights
---

From ACP and EU news providers:

** All-ACP **

* EP wants a more responsive GSP system
EP press services, 27 May 2008
The EP wants to make the GSP system more responsive to the interests of beneficiary countries, especially Least Developed Countries. MEPs also want the European Parliament to be better informed in a report adopted this Tuesday. According to the report drafted by Helmut Markov (Gue/NGl, DE), chair of the Trade Committee, the Commission shall provide developing countries and especially LDCs with adequate technical assistance for building the institutional and regulatory capacity required to reap the benefits of international trade and the GSP. In terms of Parliament's information, the report asks the Commission to prepare an impact assessment study of the effects of the GSP covering the period from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2009 . The study shall be transmitted to the Committee, the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee by 1 March 2010 . At the time of the conclusion of the Doha Round, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament, examining the impact of the negotiations on the GSP and considering the measures to be adopted to ensure the effectiveness of these preferences.

* France seeks greater flexibility with Africa
David Conin, Inter Press Service, 24 May 2008
The European Commission has been arguing that ACP countries must remove at least 80 percent of the tariffs they levy on imports within a 15-year period as a result of EPAs that are currently being negotiated. While the Commission has been undertaking the negotiations on behalf of all 27 EU countries, France is now seeking that the trade liberalisation it is demanding should be less extensive, and phased in over a longer timeframe. French government officials recently contacted the Commission's Brussels headquarters, requesting that it display greater understanding for Africa 's concerns than it has to date. France, has argued that the unrest sparked by soaring food prices in many poor countries highlights why particular attention should be paid to food and agricultural issues in the EPAs. The French have also asked that assistance should be given to help Africa build up the capacity of its agriculture by training farmers and boosting their access to credit, and by providing irrigation to drought-prone land.

* EU to appeal against WTO ruling on bananas
Reuters, 20 May 2008
The European Commission said on Tuesday it would appeal against a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling that found EU banana import regulations broke international trade rules by favouring Europe 's former colonies. "Our view on the decision issued yesterday is that it sets a bad precedent in that it is irrelevant given that our ... preferences have been abolished since the beginning of this year," the Commission's trade spokesman Peter Power told a news briefing, referring to a trade case filed by the United States .
"It indeed encourages WTO challenges by member states which are not affected by particular decisions, and it is our intention to appeal this particular decision," he said.
The WTO ruling, published on Monday, followed a similar verdict a month ago in a case brought against the European Union by the world's largest banana exporter, Ecuador .

* Africa's trade unions want EU trade agreements scrapped
Leigh Phillips, EU Observer, 5 May 2008
By Africa's trade unions called on their governments to nullify the interim trade agreements they have signed with the European Union, saying they leave African nations "weak" within the global market. "We join the call for the nullification of the interim EPAs and for appropriate time to be given for negotiating new trade relations between Africa and Europe that take account of Africa 's genuine needs for development and regional integration," said International Trade Union Confederation-Africa (ITUC-Africa) secretary general Kwasi Adu-Amankwah on Thursday (1 May), according to a report by AFP.

* French President assigns MP to assess EPAs. Report due 15 June. (link in French)
Kady Tangar, Grioo.com, 29 April 2008
The French President asked Nicolas Sarkozy, Christiane Taubira, a French Member of Parliament from Guyana to deliver a report on the EPA by mid June. The aim of the report is to think about the means of making the EPA an asset for the partnership between the EU and the ACP. She will have to analyse the several misunderstanding and doubts that still exist in several countries concerning the aims of the EPA negotiations and then to reflect on: what can be the levers that the EU has to encourage the ACP to pursue the negotiations in order to reach full and regional EPA.? How to ensure that these agreements support the current regional integration dynamism? And how to ensure that the French overseas territories take the most out of this new economic and commercial deal.
* Nicolas Sarkozy charge Christiane Taubira d'une mission sur les APE
Kady Tangar, Grioo.com, 29 avril 2008
Réfléchir aux moyens de faire des Accords de partenariats économiques (APE) "un atout du partenariat" entre l'Union européenne et les pays d'Afrique, des Caraïbes et du Pacifique (ACP). C'est la nouvelle mission que le président de la République Nicolas Sarkozy a confié au députée PS guyanaise Christine Taubira.

* Conflicting views over EPAs in French government
Hilaire Avril, Inter Press Service, 24 April 2008
As it prepares to assume the presidency of the European Union in July one of the main issues on France 's agenda will be the economic partnership agreements (EPAs). But with less than three months to go, France 's official position concerning EPAs is still surprisingly unclear. Officially, it is the European Commission sitting in Brussels which holds the mandate to negotiate EPAs with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries on behalf of all members of the European Union (EU). It's therefore very hard to figure out what the government's position is, as it hides behind the European Commission. The current government has indeed not voiced its official stance on a single occasion. The matter is complicated by the fact that several French ministries (foreign affairs, agriculture, and trade) are competent to address the issue of EPAs, and they appear to have conflicting views. The fact that French media largely ignores these issues does not help in shaping public opinion

* L'UE s'engage dans une offensive de charme pour les APE
David Cronin, IPS, 23 avril 2008
Soumise à de vives critiques au sujet des négociations des Accords de partenariat économique (APE) avec l'Afrique, la Commission européenne semble ces derniers temps vouloir quelque peu redorer son image dans le cadre de ces discussions commerciales. Elle a, par exemple, lancé un site Internet qui met en lumière des commentaires favorables à propos des APE négociés avec les pays les plus pauvres, après que plusieurs responsables européens ont réalisé à quel point la commission avait été attaquée de toutes parts, que ce soit par des militants de la lutte contre la pauvreté, par des entreprises, des agriculteurs ou plusieurs gouvernements africains.

 

** Caribbean **

* Call for region to urgently prepare for EPA
Caribbean360.com, 21 May 2008
Jamaica 's Prime Minister Bruce Golding is calling on regional countries to move with greater urgency in preparation for the signing of the EPA with the EU in July. He stressed that countries in the region needed to move swiftly to ensure their readiness to capitalise on the opportunities presented under the new trade deal. The Jamaica leader also urged his European counterparts to consider the issue of differential treatment for the poorer countries of the region, under the EPA.

* EPA to be signed in July
CRNM, 13 May 2008
The EPA between CARIFORUM and the EC will be signed in July this year. The decision was taken at the 26TH Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development in Antigua and Barbuda on 10 May. This timeframe differs from that which was previously projected. CRNM Director-General, Ambassador Dr. Richard L. Bernal emphasized that the rescheduling of the timeframe is not cause for alarm but has been occasioned by the requirement for a legal review of the document by both contracting parties and the time for the EC to translate the agreement into the official languages of the Community. An exact date still has to be found. Sources indicate that it should be between 15-24th July.

* Bernal defends the EPA
John Mayer , Jamaica Gleaner, 13 May 2008
Ambassador Dr. Richard L. Bernal, Director-General of the Caribbean Regional Negotiation Machinery responded to critics of the EPA, stressing the difference between the Caribbean and the African countries: “The Caribbean, unlike its African partners in the ACP , had no cushion against open competition for the European Union's (EU) 450-million market other than a replacement trade agreement”. Not finalising the EPA would have presented certain danger for the Caribbean .

* Bernal resigning as head of Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery
Rickey Singh , Trinidad and Tobago Express, 30 April 2008
Ambassador Dr. Richard L. Bernal has tendered his resignation as Director-General of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery with effect from 30th June, 2008 . He will assume the post of Alternate Executive Director for the Caribbean at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington , DC . Chosen successor is Henry Gill. A smooth transition is, therefore, expected when Bernal demits office by June 30 to join the IDB.

 

** West Africa **

* La CEDEAO pourrait être amenée à signer les APE en juin prochain
Ouestaf.com news, 18 May 2008
Des sources proches de l'organisation sous-régionale ont confié à Ouestafnews que la CEDEAO pourrait être amenée à signer les APE en juin prochain, nouvelle date butoir fixée par l'Union européenne pour finaliser les négociations, ceci alors que la mobilisation populaire et la forte médiatisation qui avaient précédé la date butoir de décembre 2007 semblent avoir baissé.

* La CEDEAO a prévu d'adopter, au plus tard au mois de juin 2008, l'offre d'accès au marché
Intelink.info, 15 May 2008
Le chef de la Délégation de l'UE au Mali, M. Diacomo Durazzo, a affirmé que "La CEDEAO a prévu d'adopter, au plus tard au mois de juin 2008, l'offre d'accès au marché. C'est un objectif ambitieux que je tiens à saluer très sincèrement. Il s'agit-là de la dernière étape pour pouvoir relancer le processus de négociation de l'APE à partir du mois de juillet"

* Normalisation du secteur agro-industriel- L'UE investit 9,1 milliards en Afrique de l'Ouest
Paule Kadja Traore, allafrica.com, 9 May 2008
Plus de 9 milliards de francs Cfa ont été investis par l'Union européenne pour permettre aux pays membres de l'UEMOA d'atteindre les normes internationales, et faire face au défi de la mondialisation. L'annonce a été faite le 8 Mai, par le chef de cabinet du ministre des Mines, de l'Industrie et des PME du Senegal lors du lancement officiel du programme de qualité de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. Le lancement du programme qualité de l'UEMOA est présenté comme l'une des mesures d'accompagnement de l'APE par les responsables. Il devrait contribuer à la restructuration et à la mise à niveau des industries du secteur agro-alimentaire de la région notamment au regard de la mise en conformité des réglementations internationales sur les obstacles techniques au commerce et les mesures sanitaires et phytosanitaires

* EU Trade Commissioner discusses EPAs with UEMOA President
European Commission, 8 May 2008
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has met Soumaïla Cissé, President of the Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union. They discussed the state of play of in the EPA negotiations between the EU and West Africa and responses to the recent rise in world food prices. President Cissé recalled that Heads of States of West Africa had mandated their negotiators to secure an Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU by mid 2009 at the latest.

 

** Central Africa **

* Central Africa-EU partnership agreements: Information and sensitization Seminar was organised in Douala on May 2-3
Gemnda Buinda, Cameroon radio television, 9 May 2008
State and non-state actors in Cameroon have been updated on the state of the on-going negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) during a seminar in Douala on May 2-3 by the Central African Support Programm (PAIRAC) with the support of CEMAC and ECCAS.

 

** ESA **

* Malawi - Aid will not be conditional upon signing of EPAs
Inter Press Services, 16 May 2008
The European Commission (EC) has assured Malawi that the country will continue receiving cooperation aid even if it does not sign an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union. The EU's head of delegation to Malawi, Alessandro Mariani assured Malawi that the EU will go ahead to finance the country with up to 451 million euros, even if the country does not append its signature to the EPAs, reiterating an EC press statement issued on April 18 that declared that aid from the European Development Fund (EDF) will not be tied to the EPAs.

* European Commission Calls for Participation in COMESA Fund
e-COMESA Newsletter, 16 May 2008
European Commission has reiterated the strong support they have provided to the COMESA Fund under the Adjustment Facility component, where they have pumped in 78 million Euros. This agreement was signed in November 2007. EC Premier Conseiller in Mauritius Tranquilli Franco told the COMESA Fund consultative Meeting held on 5th May in Port Louis that attention must be drawn to the fact that so far, only four COMESA Member States have contributed financially to the COMESA Fund, meaning these are the only ones that can benefit from it. The main purpose of the meeting was to brainstorm on how to adapt the proposed model of the CIF and the Adjustment Facility, in order to meet the requirements of cooperating partners and private sector investors (Infrastructure Facility).

* ESA and EC Hold Technical Negotiations on EPAs
e-COMESA Newsletter, 9 May 2008
For the first time in 2008 following the initialing of the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in November 2007, the ESA region and the European Commission held, at the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka , a session of comprehensive technical negotiations on a full EPA.. These negotiations followed the decision of the Joint ESA-EC Ministerial meeting held in March 2008 which directed that both parties should engage in negotiations on outstanding issues in the Interim EPA as well as issues covered in the rendezvous clause of the Interim EPA with a view to concluding a full- all inclusive comprehensive and development oriented EPA by December 2008.

* Parliamentarians Want Interim EPAs Revoked
Charles Kazooba, the EastAfrican, 6 May 2008
Parliamentarians are pressurising Uganda to revoke the interim trade agreement signed between the European Union and the East African Community. The Ugandan MPs claim the partial Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed at the close of last year entrenches “unfair treatment” of the five-member bloc. Uganda currently chairs the Community, and it is believed that Kampala spearheaded the negotiations that led to the agreement, also signed by Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi..

* Activists slam trade ministry over EPAs
John Odyek, New Vision, 5 May 2008
Civil society organisations and the parliamentarians last week clashed with the trade ministry officials over the signing of an interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPAs) with the European Union. In a meeting with the parliamentary committee on tourism, the trade ministry officials told the civil society representatives that they could not stop negotiations with the EU because some of them had expressed reservations over the agreement.

* East Africa: EU Hails EAC Over Trade Deals
Peter Nyanzi, The Monitor, 23 April 2008
The European Union has commended the East African Community for striking "a good deal,"following the initialling of an interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) at the end of last year. While speaking at an African Carribean and Pacific (ACP) journalists training in Brussels , Belgium on April 14, Mr Peter Thompson, the director for development and EPAs, said the EPA was "a great opportunity" for the region to build larger markets.

* TRADE-MALAWI: ''If EPAs Are So Good, Why Force Us to Sign?''
Pilirani Semu-Banda, IPS, 23 April 2008
While the EU has wanted a conclusion to the EPAs as soon as possible, the Malawian government has been staving off a deal. The deadline for EPAs at the end of last year passed without Malawi signing -- in contrast to other African states such as Ghana , Cote d'Ivoire and the members of the Southern African Customs Union, excluding South Africa . The Malawi government indicated that it was taking its time considering the implications of the EPAs, for fear of getting bound to an agreement that might not be good for the nation. The EPAs are deals aimed at liberalising trade between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Secretary for Trade Newby Kumwembe told IPS last month that Malawi does not want to rush into signing an agreement without exhausting all channels of consultation within the government hierarchy. ‘‘The EPA is not a temporary agreement. This is something that Malawi is going to live with for a very long time. We cannot therefore rush to make a decision that might make us have regrets at a later stage,'' cautioned Kumwembe.

 

** SADC **

* EPA Threatens to Tear Apart Oldest Customs Union
Aileen Kwa, IPS news, 17 May 2008
Aileen Kwa argues that the fate of the world's oldest customs union, the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), is hanging in the balance as a result of the economic partnership agreements that most SACU countries have signed with the European Union (EU).

* Namibia: EC's Non-Coherent EPA Policy On Africa
Wallie Roux, New Era, 16 May 2008
Since the establishment of the European Union (EU) through the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, the bloc has adopted a series of measures in relation to development in Africa . Although contained in all these measures, the ethos of coherence between different EU policies was innately lacking in its practical dealings with the continent.
This truistic non-coherence was elevated to the point where the EU eventually adopted the "EU Consensus on Development" (2006/C 46/01) in February 2006, sagaciously committing itself to a policy of coherence. However, the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) agenda of the European Commission (EC) clearly illustrates the masquerade of its disdainful approach towards Africa in an accelerated disregard for the EU's coherence policy.

 

** Pacific **

* Fiji already benefiting from EPA
Radio Fiji , 1 May 2008
Fiji and Papua New Guinea have already started reaping the benefits of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Thompson said one of the immediate benefits following Fiji and PNG 's agreement was a change in the rules of origin that would now benefit the region's two biggest economies. PNG 's Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Sam Abal said a lot was at stake for Fiji and PNG if they had not signed the interim agreement.

* Pacific NSA Statement expressing EPA concerns
Tradingmarkets.com, 1 May 2008
The civil society organisations and private sector organisations of the Pacific Island countries issued on a joint statement expressing grave concerns about ongoing negotiations between Pacific nations and the European Union for an EPA.

* Papua New Guinea minister defends EPA initialling in order to protect jobs
Pacific magazine, 30 April 2008
Speaking in Madang at a EU-Pacific ACP EPA information seminar, Foreign Affairs and Trade PNG Minister Sam Abal said a lot was at stake for the region's two interim agreement signatories, PNG and Fiji: “Had PNG not initialed the interim agreements, there would have been disruptions to our trade with EU with massive job losses, especially in the agriculture and fisheries sectors and the loss of export earnings amounting to about $US120 million".
PNG and Fiji are in the process of finalizing the legal text of the interim agreement with a view to signing a comprehensive EPA at the end of this year. PNG and Fiji have been criticized over the last four months for breaking Pacific solidarity by signing the interim agreements, however, Abal said PNG was ready to join forces with other Pacific ACP states to negotiate with the EU as a regional block.

* EU Should Acknowledge Pacific Island Differences
Pacific Magazine, 30 April 2008
Papua New Guinea and Fiji 's decision to sign interim economic partnership agreements with the European Union last year showed the differences in Pacific Island states' economies. Speaking at a joint press conference with PNG Foreign Minister Sam Abal and the European Commission director (trade) Peter Thompson, Tongan Minister for Labor, Commerce and Industries Lisiate Akolo said the EU should acknowledge the diversity in Pacific Island economies and differing national interests when negotiating a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the region.

 

---
III. Selection from the acp-eu-trade.org Library
---

* Conclusions on the Economic Partnership Agreements
Council of the European Union, 27 May 2008
European Union (EU) countries acknowledged the value of a flexible approach towards adjusting interim EPA to take account of different levels of development, but only in the context of negotiations towards regional EPAs. EPA conclusions adopted by the EU's External Relations Council in Brussels on 27 May state the objective to achieve EPAs with regional and comprehensive coverage, with due regard for ACP political choices, development priorities and administrative capacities, in order to release their development potential. EU development assistance will support regional integration and EPAs adjustments and reforms, through regionally-owned funds where appropriate, though support is not conditional upon signing an EPA. A common EU strategy on AfT implementation and needs assessments from the ACP are not yet defined so there was no mention of specific operational modalities or financial commitments this year. The Council also reaffirmed that an appropriate monitoring system, assessing development and trade impacts as well as progress in implementation, is a key aspect of EPA implementation.

* CARICOM Perspectives on the CARIFORUM-EC Economic Partnership Agreement
Clive Thomas, May 2008, article part of a forthcoming larger work entitled: A First Look at the Political Economy of North-South Partnership Agreements: The CARIFORUM-EC, EPA.
This paper offers from a CARICOM perspective a strategic appraisal of the CARIFORUM-EC, EPA, recognized as the first “full and comprehensive” EPA among the six being negotiated by the EU among the ACP group of countries. The first Section contrasts key forecasted long-run benefits with front-loaded implementation costs that are already occurring. Section II assesses why this is the case. Section III comments on the EU assistance commitments in the Agreement. Section IV assesses the consultations process in CARICOM during the negotiations and draws attention to some important issues of economic governance. The final Section (V) looks at the Interim EPAs in Africa and the Pacific in an effort to point a way forward.

* The EU-CARIFORUM EPA on services investments and E commerce - implications for other ACP countries
South Centre, May 2008
The EPA with the Cariforum is comprehensive in the sense that it extends to trade in goods, services and all the new generation issues including government procurement, competition law, and others. This analytical note provides an overview of key provisions related to trade in services in the Cariforum EPA text and comments on the possible implications for other ACP countries in Africa and the Pacific, which may soon initiate negotiations for the reciprocal liberalisation of trade in services with Europe.

* Putting trade policy at the service of development
Report from DG Trade of the European Commission to the European Parliament, April 2008
This report sets out how, at each level of trade policy, the EU seeks to respond to the needs of developing countries, to support their sustainable development and their integration into the global trading system. It describes the policies and negotiations in the period from June 2006 up to December 2007. It is divided into two main sections: firstly, a narrative description of the many relevant EU Trade policy initiatives and activities supporting the development agenda during the above mentioned period; and secondly, an analytical part to provide an updated presentation and analysis of relevant trade data, utilising the most recent available, which is for 2006.

* Intellectual Property in European Union Economic Partnership Agreements with the African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries:What way Forward after the Cariforum EPA and the interim EPAs?
Dalindyebo Shabalala, Marcos Orellana, Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Sofia Plagakis,CIEL, April 2008
This paper explores the implications of continuing negotiations for further IPR protection in EPAs. The discussion begins with a description of the interim regional configurations and continues with an analysis of the provisions on future negotiations in the interim EPAs within each region. This approach enables the paper to determine the exact nature of commitments that the ACP regions have made regarding the basis and scope of future negotiations on IPRs. The paper then examines some of the more significant provisions on IPRs in the EU-Cariforum EPA and ends with a discussion of the potential use or misuse of the agreement as a template for further negotiations by the EU or other ACP regions. It concludes with recommendations for future actions that ACP countries can take in their approach to IPRs in future EPA negotiations.

* Partnership or Power Play? How Europe should bring development into its trade deals with African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries
Briefing paper, released at the twelfth UN Conference on Trade and Development, Oxfam International, 21 April 2008
Europe is negotiating new trade deals with African, Caribbean, and Pacific ( ACP ) countries. A true partnership in trade could radically transform the lives of one-third of all people living in poverty, providing farmers and small businesses with sustainable incomes and workers with decent jobs. But Europe is choosing power politics over partnership. The deals currently on the table will strip ACP countries of important policy tools they need in order to develop. They will fracture regional integration, exacerbate poverty and make it harder for countries to break away from commodity dependence. Despite massive pressure, many ACP countries are holding out for a fair deal. Europe needs to rethink, and agree to change course. Ultimately, it is in its own interests to do so.
EN FR

* ITUC Analytical Note on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union (EU) and CARIFORUM
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), 17 April 2008
This note summarises the provisions of the EU-Cariforum Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which is the only full EPA that has been initialled so far. As such it is important both in its own right and as it may represent a blueprint for full EPAs to be negotiated by the EU and other African, Caribbean and Pacific ( ACP ) regions.
This note seeks to indicate both positive and negative aspects of the EPA in order to assist trade unions in devising their strategies, both in EU-Cariforum countries and in other ACP regions that are still engaged in negotiating EPAs with the EU.

* Aid for Trade monitoring report 2008
European Commission staff working paper accompanying the Communication “The EU – a global partner for development - Speeding up progress towards the millennium development goals”, 9 April 2008
On 15 October 2007, the EU adopted a joint Aid for Trade Strategy, aimed at supporting all developing countries, particularly Least Developed Countries (LDCs), to better integrate into the rules-based world trading system and to use trade more effectively in promoting the overarching objective of eradicating poverty in the context of sustainable development. The present report is the first monitoring exercise after the adoption of this new strategy.

* Rules of Origin and EPAs: What has been agreed? What does it mean? What next?
Eckart Naumann, TRALAC, March 2008
Rules of Origin (RoO) describe the local processing requirements necessary for a good to be considered as being of local origin and hence qualify for preferential market access under a given preferential trade agreement. As such, the Cotonou Agreement's RoO have been a core determinant of preferential market access under EU- ACP trade relations. As part of the EPA negotiations, a number of aspects of the RoO were changed; others continue to impose a significant burden on stakeholders engaged in trade between ACP countries and the EU. However, these changes apply only to signatories of interim or full EPAs, while the remaining ACP States are now subject to the more onerous market access provisions of the GSP and EBA arrangements.

* Investment provisions in economic partnership agreements
Gus Van Harten, Osgoode Law School York University , March 2008
The African, Caribbean and Pacific ( ACP ) group of countries are negotiating trade agreements with the European Union in six regional blocs. In December 2007, the CARIFORUM region was the first region to conclude a full ‘Economic Partnership Agreement' with Europe . The Agreement includes provisions on trade in goods, services and investment, intellectual property, competition, and government procurement. This report examines the investment provisions of the CARIFORUM Economic Partnership Agreement as an illustration of the EPA model.
-> Appendices

 

---
IV. Resources from Recent Events
---

* Event: NIGERIA-EU Ministerial Troika Meeting Ljubljana , Slovenia
Date: 20 May 2008
A ministerial troika meeting between Nigeria and the European Union (EU) was held in Ljubljana , Slovenia , on 20 May 2008 .
Resources:
-> Joint communiqué

*Events: CARIFORUM-EU troika summit, Brussels
Date: 17 May 2008
Resources:
-> Joint communiqué

* Event: First ACP -EU JPA regional meeting. Southern Africa
Date: 28-30 April 2008
The first regional meeting of the ACP -EU JPA took place in Windhoek , Namibia between 28 and 30 April 2008 .
Resources:
-> Draft agenda and work programme
-> Final Communiqué

* Event: 13th ECOWAS-EU Ministerial Troika Meeting , Luxembourg
Date: 28-30 April 2008
The thirteenth ministerial Troika meeting between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the European Union (EU) was held in Luxembourg on 28 April. Section E of the final communiqué deals with regional integration and the EPA.
Resources:
-> Final Communiqué

 

---
V. Upcoming events
---

*Event: Regional information seminar on the EPAs in Bamako
Date: 29-30 May 2008
The meeting will gather representatives from the governments, civil society, private sectors and West African media. The aim will be to inform the participants on the issues at stake in the current negotiations.

* Event: Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level, Paris
Date: 4-5 June 2008
The economic impact of climate change, rising food prices and a broad range of other trade, growth and development issues will be discussed at the OECD's annual ministerial meeting. France , represented by Christine Lagarde, Minister for the Economy, Industry and Employment, will chair the meeting, with Mexico and Switzerland as Vice-Chairs.
Resources:
-> Preliminary table of related events on the OECD website EN FR

*Event: Aid for Trade - (What) can it deliver for trade development?, CUTS workshop, London
Date: 5 June 2008
This workshop will bring together officials from the UK government and relevant international institutions, academia and the NGO community to discuss AfT, examine the UK government's response to the Aid for Trade agenda and make recommendations for taking the Aid for Trade agenda forward.
Resources:
-> Background reading on AfT by CUTS:
Aid for Trade: The process so far; but what next?
Up-scaling Aid for Trade: A Kenyan perspective

*Event: Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa Annual Conference, Cape Town
Date: 13 June 2008
TRALAC annual conference 2008 will focus on Southern Africa 's RTA (Regional Trade Arrangement) agenda.
The conference will be divided in three sessions:
• Intra-Regional Developments – SACU-SADC
• EPAs and Deeper Regional Integration
• Looking South, looking East – India , China and Southern Africa
Resources:
-> Information on the website of TRALAC

*Event: Deep Integration and North-South Free Trade Agreements. EU Strategy for a Global Economy. UNU-CRIS Workshop, Bruges
Date: 19-20 June
This workshop will bring together leading academic and policy experts to analyse the EU´s current trade strategy. The main focus will be on the EU Free Trade Agreements with Asian and African countries including India , ASEAN, South Korea and the EPAs with Sub-Saharan Africa. Key questions for discussion will be how FTAs can help countries to become more competitive, how to increase economic growth and reduce poverty, how to contribute to sustainable development and ensure there is procedural fairness in negotiations. Finally, given the current weakness of the WTO, how can FTAs be embedded in a broader multilateral framework?
Resources:
-> Information on the UNU-CRIS website

*Event: 87th Session of the ACP Council of Ministers and 33rd Session of the ACP-EC Council of Ministers, Addis Ababa
Date: 8-13 June 2008
* Event: ACP-EU inter-parliamentary conference on poverty reduction, Lomé
Date: June
A conference on poverty reduction, bringing together European Parliament and ACP-EU Party Assembly delegates will take place in Lome in June. In addition to poverty reduction, the conference will look into subjects related to the political dialogue between the ACP countries and the EU "in accordance with the spirit of the Lome and Cotonou agreements relating to the ACP-EU partnership" as well as the sensitive issue of the Economic Partnership Agreements

 

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

= = = = = = =
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter in the future, unsubscribe by sending an email with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line to acpeutrade@ecdpm.org
****************************************
Copyright: ECDPM 2008