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The acp-eu-trade.org newsletter -- No. 37/March 2010
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In this issue:
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I. Trade Negotiations Insights - Overview
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II. News: Highlights of the month
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III. Selection from the acp-eu-trade.org Library
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IV. Resources from Recent and on Upcoming Events
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Dear readers,
Welcome to March issue of the acp-eu-trade.org newsletter!
Below you will see an overview of the latest issues of Trade Negotiation Insights, a collection of press articles published during the past two months and a selection of recently added documents in the acp-eu-trade.org library. As usual, we also provide some resources on recent and upcoming events relevant to ACP-EU trade relations.
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:
• Registering on-line as a trade and development expert to help mobilise the best expertise in ACP-EU trade and development matters and give interested parties easier access to information on relevant internationally recognized experts or consultants;
• Submitting relevant background and policy documents, news and links that will enrich the ACP-EU trade debate;
• Subscribing to this monthly newsletter as well as other partners’ to be kept informed of latest developments in the ACP-EU trade realm;
• Sharing your views on the current ACP-EU Trade debate and providing feedback on the relevance and future focus areas of www.acp-eu-trade.org
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!
Editor: Melissa Dalleau (md@ecdpm.org) and Takesh Luckho (tlu@ecdpm.org)
I. Trade Negotiations Insights Vol.9, No.2
The March issue of Trade Negotiations Insights (TNI), a joint monthly publication by ICTSD and ECDPM, is available online at: www.ictsd.org/tni/index.htm and www.acp-eu-trade.org/tni.
Trade Negotiations Insights, Vol.9, No.2, March 2010
• Coordinating EU Trade and development policy-making in a new context (Davina Makhan)
• Editorial & News and publications In brief
• Creating a pro-development EU trade policy in a post-preference world (European Think Tanks Group)
• Aid for Trade - an opportunity for re-thinking aid for economic growth (Michael Brüntrup and Petra Voionmaa)
• The Vulnerability Flex Mechanism: A success story? (Melissa Dalleau)
• EU support to regional integration in Africa: A shared Vision (Lodewijk Briet)
• WTO Roundup
• EPA Negotiations Update
• Calendar and resources
Eclairage sur les négociations, Vol.9, No.2, Mars 2010
• Coordonner le processus d’élaboration des politiques commerciales et de développement de l’UE dans un nouveau contexte (D.Makhan)
• Éditorial et Nouvelles et publications - En bref
• Créer une politique commerciale européenne pro-développement dans un monde post-préférences (Groupe de think-tanks européens)
• Aide au commerce – une opportunité de repenser l’aide pour la croissance économique (M.Brüntrup et P.Voionmaa)
• Vulnérabilité-Flex,l’histoire d’une réussite ? (M.Dalleau)
• Le soutien de l’UE à l’intégration régionale en Afrique: une vision partagée. (L.Briet)
• Aperçu sur l'OMC
• Point sur les négociations APE
• Calendrier et publications
** All-ACP **
* Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas takes over as new Secretary General of the ACP Group and the ACP Secretariat
ACP Secretariat Press Release, 1st March 2010
There is a new captain aboard the ACP Group and that is Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas. Dr. Chambas took up office [on 1st March 2010] as Secretary General and will be steering the ACP ship over the coming five years until 28th February 2015.
* ACP Group welcomes initialing of revised texts of the 2nd Revision of the Cotonou Agreement
ACP Secretariat, Press Statement, 21 March 2010
After months of negotiations, the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group with its development partner, the European Union, initialed the Second Revision of the Cotonou Agreement on Friday (March 19) paving the way for its signing in Burkina Faso in June. The mandate to review the Cotonou Agreement was given to the ACP Group during the 89th Session of the ACP Council of Ministers in May 2009. Last week, the ACP Council of Ministers, agreed to initial the revised texts with the EU following a one-day Special Session of the ACP Council in Brussels concluding with a joint ACP-EU Council and the subsequent initialing of the revised texts. […] The revision has looked at three areas, which include: institutional, political, humanitarian and human development issues; trade, economic and regional integration; and development finance cooperation. The revision was intended to streamline the text, adapting it to changes in trade and aid policies that occurred in the last five years. The review also facilitates assistance to ACP states for adapting to global warming and for integrating climate change into their development strategies. It also improves support to the aquaculture and fisheries sectors in ACP states and to the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
* European Commission proposes support package for ACP banana producers’ competitiveness
EC Press Release, 15 March 2010.
The Commission adopted a €190 million support package for banana exporters from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states. This proposal was part of the historic Geneva Agreement on Trade in Bananas. The EU concluded this deal with Latin American countries and the US in December 2009 which settles 15 years banana disputes. It also cuts the tariff which the EU applies to bananas imported from Latin American countries. Today's measures aim to support ACP banana exporters to adjust to this new trading environment, taking into account each country's specific situation. The measures will focus on three goals: boosting the banana sector's competitiveness, promoting economic diversification and addressing broader social, economic and environmental impacts.
-> See also the related memos (questions and answers) on “The Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM) – Supporting ACP countries in adjusting to new trade realities” and “the EU-Latin America Bananas Agreement” in general, europa.eu, 17 March 2010
-> See also our library section to consult the Communication from the Commission on this subject
* Members of parliament of the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States request a single financial instrument for development
Spanish Presidency of the EU, Press Release, 29 March 2010
The Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, opened the 19th ACP-EU Parliamentary Assembly on Monday in Tenerife, together with the two co-presidents of this body, Louis Michel and Charles Milupi, with 400 representatives from the EU and 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific nations taking part in the event. […] Over the weekend, the members of the working party representing the European Union and Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) assembly signed a joint statement calling for a feasibility study into a single financial instrument for co-operation, to help overcome the difficulties caused by using ERDF funds for this purpose. This is one of the proposals set out in the aforementioned joint statement, which was signed in Tenerife by the members of the working party that is part of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) and the outermost regions of the EU.
-> See our Events Section for more information
* Africa: NGOs Oppose EPAs
Hopewell Radebe, BusinessDay, 2 March 2010
The European Union yesterday accused NGOs of making it difficult for civil society to understand and support its negotiations with African regions to create fair economic partnership agreements (EPAs) by labelling the processes the "re-colonisation" of the continent. Addressing an information seminar on the EPA negotiations between the EU and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Fabio Fabbi communications head of the European Commission's trade directorate said it was unfortunate that some NGOs in Africa and Europe were campaigning against the agreements and describing them as a "devastating assault on Africa".
-> See also on this subject: NGOs Demand Immediate End to EPAs, Brigitte Weidlich. The Namibian, 29 March 2010 and Trade Southern Africa: “Reclain Control over EPA Talks, Servaas van den Bosch, IPS News Agency, 29 March 2010
* [Comment/Opinion] Salvaging EPA negotiations with Europe - A turning point for Africa
Yash Tandon, via Pambazuka News, 18 March 2010
Assymmetric negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between African countries and the European Union, with the power balance in favour of the latter, have created a sense of helplessness among ‘concerned citizens, government circles and indigenous business interests’ that stand to lose out if comprehensive EPA is signed. But all is not lost, says Yash Tandon [South Centre] – there’s ‘still plenty of scope and space to save the situation’.
* [Regional integration] EU grants US$160m to support regional integration
Allan Odhiambo, Business Daily, via Tralac, 16 March 2010
The European Union (EU) on Monday granted four regional organisations of the Eastern and Southern Africa and Indian Ocean (ESA-IO) region financing worth €118 million (US$161 million) to support regional economic integration. The agreement, signed in Nairobi between the EU and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East Africa Community (EAC), and Indian Ocean (IO) region, is expected to support a number of regional economic integration and development projects. “These developments will bring new challenges but also new opportunities for us to further develop our partnership, and extend its new areas such as climate change, migration and peace and security,” Gary Quince, Director of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) grouping at the EU Commission, said during the signing of the deals.
* New regional roads, ports, airports and power generation schemes in Africa
EUROPA Press Release, 04 March 2010
In 2009, a total of 11 grant operations were approved by the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund to build large-scale energy, transport and information and communication technology infrastructures of regional importance across Africa. The Trust Fund, managed by the European Investment Bank, further expanded its budget in 2009. Total grant resources of € 372 million have been provided to the Fund since its launch and could leverage up to € 5 billion in loans from European or international development financial institutions and the private sector. The European Commission, the main contributor to the Fund, increased its participation by € 200 million.
** Caribbean **
* [Comment/opinion] New European Caribbean approach
David Jessop, BBC Caribeans.com, 23 March 2010
This month, senior Caribbean officials will meet in Jamaica with their European counterparts to consider the nature of the future Cariforum-European Union relationship. Their objective is to develop a first outline of a joint Caribbean-EU political strategy which may be used to inform the EU-Cariforum and EU-Latin American and Caribbean Heads Government meeting due to take place in Madrid on 17-18 May this year. The meeting in Jamaica follows from a broader event organised in Barbados earlier this month involving officials, representatives of civil society and the private sector.
-> See our Events section for more information
-> See also: Europe is losing the Caribbean’s support, David Jessop, Stabroek News, 14 March 2010
* [rum] Caribbean rum in grave danger; urgent government action needed
Sir Ronald Sanders, Jamaica Observer, 28 March 2010
The European Commission (EC) has once again let down the Caribbean. This time on rum. All rum producers in the Dominican Republic and Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries are facing the grim prospect of losing their markets in Europe. Having convinced Caribbean negotiators to sign a full Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the 27-nation European Union (EU) on the basis that it was not necessary to include specific language on rum because it was covered in Declaration XXV in the Cotonou Convention, the EC is now reneging on its undertakings and many rum companies face a grave financial crisis.
*[off the track] CARICOM Development Fund up and running
BBC Caribbean News in Brief, 23 March 2010
The Caricom Development Fund is now fully operational. The Fund was set up mainly to help disadvantaged or lesser developed countries compete within the fledgling single trading market. It was one of the conditions insisted on by member countries of the OECS when the single market was established four years ago. Fay Housty, an adviser to the Caricom Development Fund, told BBC Caribbean that as a start-up organisation, the Fund had to spend time recruiting staff and developing procedures. It is now ready to provide financing to the countries which are so-far fully paid up - Belize, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica.
** West Africa **
* West Africa expects European commitment to Development fund at next Economic Partnership Agreement negotiating meeting
ECOWAS Press Release, 12 March 2010
West African negotiators will be expecting the unequivocal commitment of the European Commission to a proposed development fund for West Africa when both regions resume negotiations on March 17, 2010 for a new trade regime to create a free trade area of the two regions. The size of the fund, the Economic Partnership Agreement Development Programme (EPADP), the contributions expected from the two regions and the conditions for accessing the fund are among the outstanding issues in the negotiations. At the end of an experts-level workshop of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which oversees the negotiation for the region on Friday 12 March 2010 in Cotonou, the experts stressed the importance of the EPADP to West Africa’s integration process and competitiveness to ensure a mutually beneficial EPA in order to ensure that the region benefit from the liberalized access to the European market envisaged by the agreement.
-> See also: ECOWAS, EU to resume EPA negotiations shortly, Afrique en ligne, 14 March 2010
* EU and West African experts hold technical workshop on Services and Investment in Praia
EPA Flash News, European Commission, 23 March 2010.
EU and West African representatives met in Praia, Cape Verde, on 17-18 March 2010 to discuss services and investments in the framework of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), currently being negotiated. Around 60 participants from national governments in the West African region discussed with European Commission experts issues relating to trade in services and investment in the context of an EPA. The workshop aimed at providing technical insights and allowed exchanging ideas outside the formal negotiation context. It helped clarify, for instance, that services commitments in the EPA can be tailored to meet the needs of individual countries and do not have to be uniform throughout the region.
* European and West African Negotiators technical and senior official level meeting in Brussels
EPA Flash News, European Commission, 22 - 26 March 2010
European and West African negotiators met in Brussels at technical and senior official level from 22 to 26 March 2010, to discuss the way ahead in Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) talks. Progress was made on West Africa's market access offer and on the EPA Development Programme (PAPED). Compromises were also found on other aspects such as agriculture and fisheries. Both parties are hopeful to be able to finalise negotiations with a view to concluding the deal later this year.
* [Interview/Opinion] Q&A: EPAs Are Still Not Developmental, Despite EU Promises
IPS, 25 March 2010
IPS’s Isolda Agazzi asked Diouf [anager for the EPAs and regionalism programme at the Geneva-based International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development] to respond to recent statements by Ablassé Ouedraogo, former minister of foreign affairs of Burkina Faso and former deputy director of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), that the EPA negotiations between West Africa and the EU should be suspended. Ouedraogo bases his position on the argument that, in the aftermath of the economic crisis, the current situation is completely different from 2002 when the negotiations were launched.
* [Ghana] ActionAid lauds Ghana for declining EPA
The Ghanaian Journal, 19 March 2010
ActionAid Ghana (AAG) has lauded Ghana as it pledged its support to the nation for not signing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), a trade partnership agreement between EU and African/Caribbean countries. "We are pleased to hear that Ghana would not sign the EPA," Ms. Adwoa Kwateng-Kluvitse, Country Director, AAG, said in Accra on Wednesday. Launching the 20th anniversary celebration of AAG, Ms. Kwateng-Kluvitse explained that after careful analysis of the agreement, AAG did not see any benefit accruing to Ghanaians and other small scale farmers." Rather the benefit of opening our markets would accrue to Europe. We would therefore commend government and encourage it to scrutinise the agreement and not be coerced or inveigled to sign it," she added.
* [off the track] Ambassador VICTOR GBEHO, New President of ECOWAS Commission, assumes duty
ECOWAS Press Release, 12 March 2010
The new President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador James Victor Gbeho on Friday, 12th March 2010 assumed duty at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, three weeks after his appointment by Heads of State and Government of the Community during their 37th Summit.
** ESA **
* East African Community moves closer to striking trade deal with EU
George Omondi, Business Daily (Nairobi), 8 March 2010
The East African Community (EAC) moved closer to striking a deal on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations with the European Union (EU) after Brussels softened its stand on development support - a key demand of African states that has stalled the talks for nearly three years. The deal was struck at a recent meeting of EAC and EU officials in Brussels during which the Europeans reportedly agreed to finance priority development programmes in East Africa, removing a major obstacle to conclusion of the deal. An EAC official, who attended the meeting, told Business Daily that the European Commission (EC) had asked East African states to prepare a list of priority projects and programmes that require EU funding for possible approval in the next two weeks. That move is expected to pave the way for the signing of the Framework for Economic Partnership Agreements (FEPA) by the end of this month.
-> See also: East African Community and EC ready to sign Framework EPA this month, Dorothy Nakaweesi, The Monitor, via allAfrica, 5 March 2010 and Crunch Time for EU, EAC Trade Talks, Kaburu Mugambi, Daily Nation, 13 March 2010
-> See also for more recent articles on this subject: EAST AFRICA: Impatient EU Pushes for Progress on EPA Trade Deal, Adam Robert Green, IPS, 22 March 2010 and EAC-EU Trade Deal Set for December, Ivan R Mugisha, The New Times (Rwanda), 26 March 2010
* EAC downplays Mkapa’s advice
Zephania Ubwani, and Samuel Kamndaya, The Citizen, 23 March 2010
The East African Community yesterday played down retired President Benjamin Mkapa’s caution on its ongoing negotiations with the European Union of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), declaring its firm commitment to the talks. However, a senior official in the EAC’s Directorate of Customs and Trade, Mr Gerald Ajumbo, told The Citizen that the retired leader was entitled to his views on the issue and the regional body saw nothing wrong with that. He said Mr Mkapa’s views would not affect the negotiations, adding that the initial deal might be signed in May, “if everything goes as planned”. Mr Ajumbo said that abandoning the negotiations, which have dragged on for years, could end up rocking other international commitments such as the trade rules under the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Speaking in Nairobi during the Pan African Media Conference last Thursday, Mr Mkapa warned the EAC partner states – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi – that EPA could turn out to be another “scramble for Africa” that would only weaken the regional economic bloc.
-> See also Now business community supports Mkapa on EPA, Samuel Kamndaya, The Citizen, 30 March 2010
-> Note the serialisation by The Citizen of the informal note on “Trade for Development Programme” prepared by the South Centre
* [Regional Integration] East African monetary union challenging
Afrol news. 15 March 2010
State leaders in the East African Community (EAC) have announced 2012 for the year of a common currency in the five member states of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. But central bank leaders in the countries find they lack the tools to implement the monetary union. Banking experts, however, fear that the plans for a common currency by 2012 may be too ambitious as central banks in the five countries are given little time to prepare for the monetary union. Experience and knowledge is lacking in several of these central banks to implement the reform. This week, representatives from the five EAC central banks are meeting in Kigali to discuss implementation of the union. The bankers agreed on a “need for capacity-building in economic forecasting and modelling among staff in order for them to be prepared for the upcoming monetary union”. A report evaluating the capacities of each of the central banks was presented.
-> See also Two Months After Customs Union Started, Bottlenecks Still Plague Regional Trade, Faridah Kulabako, Daily Monitor (Kampala), 2 March 2010
* [Kenya/Regional Integration] Kenya proposes ways of merging trading blocs
Tralac. 25 February 2010.
Kenya has floated new proposals that could help defray the threats posed by the disparities of economies that will be covered in the planned merger of Africa's three regional market blocs. Analysts have warned the relative higher ranking Kenya, South Africa and Egypt could jeopardise the goal of a free trade area (FTA) made up of COMESA, SADC and EAC. Kenya's Trade permanent secretary Adbulrazaq Ali on Tuesday admitted that the superior nature of the three economies could jeopardise the merger plans but pointed out that the danger could be addressed. Key among the proposals by Kenya is that the regional blocs adopt a flexible framework that accommodates the needs of the individual countries participating in the grand free trade area (FTA) negotiations. It also proposes the creation of transitional measures that would be supported by programmes to help disadvantaged countries adjust to adversity that may come with the shift.
** SADC **
* European and SADC EPA region stakeholders discuss benefits of EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement in Maputo
EPA Flash news from EU Trade, European Commission, 1-2 March 2010
Representatives of the European Commission and of the private sector, government and NGOs from the Southern African Development Community EPA region met in Maputo to discuss the state of play of the EU-SADC EPA. The trade and development agreement was initialed in 2007 and then signed in June 2009 by Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique, with Namibia pending. Angola and South Africa did not join this first agreement but are negotiating a broader regional agreement. The seminar was opened by the Head of the EU Delegation in Mozambique Mr Glauco Calzuola. Mrs Cerina Mussa, the Senior Official for EPA negotiations at the Mozambican Ministry for Trade, provided very valuable insights on the current EPA negotiations. Participants discussed all aspects of the EU-SADC EPA, with a specific focus on business opportunities for the private sector.
* Complete procedures, EPA signatories urged by EU
Mthunzi Maziya, The Swazi Observer. 9 March 2010
Head of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) units at the European Commission in Brussels, Jacques Wunenburger, has urged the countries that signed the interim EPA to complete internal procedures to allow for rapid implementation. Wunenburger spoke during a seminar of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) EPA stakeholders aimed at discussing benefits of the SADC-EU EPA in Maputo last week. He urged Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Swaziland to quickly finish their internal procedures so that the EPA could enter into force as soon as possible. "I also invite Namibia to take a bold decision on its role in the EPA process, as further delaying signature to the EPA it initiated two years ago is creating a very shaky legal situation," he said.
* [Namibia] Either in or out of EPA EU tells Namibia
Desie Heita, New Era, 8 March 2010.
The European Union has asked Namibia to stop skating on thin ice and make up her mind whether to be in or out of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union (EU) and Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). The EU says the current situation where Namibia has initialled but is refusing to sign the final agreement is "untenable" and is about to open a can of legal worms, from both the EU and the World Trade Organisation - the very institution on whose rules Namibia is arguing her case for not signing the final EPA. "This situation cannot be sustained, the state of play is untenable," the head of EPA unit at the trade directorate-general of the European Commission, Jacques Wunenburger, told a SADC-EU meeting in Maputo on March 1 and 2. The meeting discussed the impasse and status of the EU-SADC EPA agreement.
-> See also on this subject: South Africa under pressure to sign Economic Agreement, Hopewell Radebe, Business Day, 2 March 2010
Hopewell Radebe, BusinessDay, 25 March 2010
Discussions on economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with the European Union (EU) were scheduled to resume next month in a bid to resolve outstanding issues that stalled talks for almost a year, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said yesterday. Davies said there was greater optimism that the next round would focus on the kind of trade relations that would give priority to integration of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The EPAs should therefore have no special clauses that sought to split the region or discriminate between SADC states. One sensitive point in the interim EPA signed by Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland is the EU demand that SADC and the South African Customs Union (SACU) accord it most-favoured-nation status or level treatment.
Davies said the most-favoured-nation clause remained an important source of discontent. While it did not apply to South Africa because the EU had decided not to give South Africa unrestricted free access to its markets due to the size of its economy in Africa, there was serious concern it could damage other SADC members.
* [Regional Integration] SADC ministers approve report on Free Trade Zone
Angola Press, 2 March 2010.
The Council of Ministers of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) approved a report on regional integration for the consolidation of the Free Trade Zone in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo recently. Angola, the DRC, and Seychelles have not joined the convention. The meeting recommended the continuation of the preparation works, with a view to the establishment of a regional customs union whose launch has been postponed. The technical group will proceed with the works related to the SADC-COMESA-EAC tripartite trade programme.
* [South Africa/Regional integration] South Africa wasting money on SACU
The Swazi Observer. 11 March 2010
A South African economist, Mike Schussler, says his country is wasting money it could be using to carry out its own development projects by financing other Southern African Customs Union (SACU) members. South Africa gives more than 1% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), about R28 billion in the 2009/10 budget, to its poor neighbours through SACU. SACU members are still plotting ways to recover from this year's SACU shortfall, which left them with less than enough revenue to finance their budgets. A majority of the SACU members, which include Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland, rely heavily on SACU receipts to finance their government's expenditure. The Botswana Council of Ministers, to which the Ministers of Finance and Trade are members, has set up a task team to review SACU's revenue sharing formula.
-> See also, on this subject Botswana to review SACU's Revenue Sharing, Bostwana Business Diary, 9 March 2010
** Central Africa **
* Réunion ministérielle de la CEMAC à Douala pour relancer les négociations avec l'UE(in french only)
Africatime.netdivision, (Xinhuanet), 23 February 2010
Une réunion des ministres de l'Intégration de la Communauté économique et monétaire de l'Afrique centrale (CEMAC) s'est tenue lundi a Douala, la métropole économique camerounaise, en vue de la relance des négociations avec l'Union européenne (UE) sur les accords de partenariat économique (APE) bloquées depuis un an.
Réunis les 16 et 17 janvier à Bangui en Centrafrique lors d'un sommet crucial sur l'avenir des institutions régionales et le processus de l'intégration régionale, les chefs d'Etat de la CEMAC avaient annoncé leur engagement à « tout mettre en oeuvre, avec les autres pays de la configuration négociante de l'Afrique centrale, pour conclure avec l'Union européenne un APE régional qui devra nécessairement prendre en compte le volet développement et faciliter l'arrimage harmonieux des économies de la région dans l'économie mondiale ».
*[Cameroon] Vers une annulation de l'accord d'étape signé par le Cameroun(in french only)
Le Jour Quotidien, 24 February 2010.
Les négociations des Accords de partenariat économique (Ape) avec l'Union européenne (UE) pourraient prendre un tournant majeur dans l'Afrique centrale a lissue de la réunion entre les ministres en charge de ce dossier et les ministres ordonnateurs nationaux du Fonds européen de développement (Fed). Leurs travaux tenus avant-hier, 22 février 2010, a Douala ont pour objectif majeur la reprise des discussions avec la partie européenne en vue de conclure un accord « régional complet ». Tel est l’engagement pris par les chefs d’Etat et les gouvernements au cours des sommets de la Communauté économique des Etats de l’Afrique centrale (CEEAC) et de la Communauté économique et monétaire de l’Afrique centrale (CEMAC) en janvier 2009. En cas d’un engagement commun, une interrogation planerait sur l’accord d’étape signé par le Cameroun. […] La directrice de l’intégration régionale au ministère de l’Economie parle des nouvelles pistes de négociation avec l’Union européenne.
** Pacific **
* EU and RAO sign 10th EDF regional projects
Pacific Island Forum Secretariat, Press Release, 3 March 2010
The management of fisheries and mineral resources in the Pacific region will benefit from 22 million Euros that will be injected by the European Union into three projects under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF).
This follows the signing today in Suva, Fiji, of the first three Financing Agreements under the Regional Indicative Programme for the Pacific, financed through the 10th EDF. […]
The three projects include:
o Scientific Support for the Management of Coastal and Oceanic Fisheries in the Pacific Islands Region (SCICOFish)
o Deep Sea Minerals in the Pacific Islands Region: Legal Framework and Resource Management
o Development of sustainable tuna fisheries in Pacific ACP countries phase 2 (DevFish )
A total of 95 million Euros has been committed by the European Commission under the Regional Indicative Programme for the Pacific for 2008 - 2013 to develop new regional projects focusing on strengthening Regional Economic Integration and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and the Environment
* [Fiji] Fiji awaits EU checks
Island Business, 22 March 2010
Fiji is ready for another inspection from European Commission health officials later this year, which will determine whether the country can export fish to the multi-million dollar worth European Union market. But this comes as Food Safety, Health and Consumer Affairs official, Wolf-Martin Haier cancelled this expectation, saying the possibility of any inspection this year was almost unachievable. Without mincing his words, Mr Haier said EU inspectors could not come to the country all the time -- adding that Fiji should have done it right the first time. Brussels ambassador Peceli Vocea said in the last inspection conducted in June 2009, EC inspectors found significant improvements in the work of the Competent Authority but that shortcomings of establishments meant that Fiji could not be re-certified to export fish to the EU.
* [Papua New Guinea] European Union rules to benefit Papua New Guinea tuna sector
Sheila Lasibori, via bilaterals.org, 9 March 2010
The inclusion of PNG on European Union (EU) competent authorisation list of the illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) regulation 1005/2008 is a boost to the country's fish exports to EU markets, The National reports. Prior to this official inclusion last Feb 4 (2010), under the then Cotonu Agreement, PNG (and others) could only export to EU markets duty-free on fish caught only in archipelagic and territorial waters, National Fisheries Authority (NFA) managing director Sylvester Pokajam said. With the inclusion, PNG can now export to EU markets fish caught anywhere in the world and not just restricted to archipelagic and territorial waters, he said. […] “After we signed that agreement, we are now qualified to export globally-sourced fish as long as it qualifies the IUU regulation and the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS),” he said.
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III. Selection from the acp-eu-trade.org Library
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* Banana Accompanying Measures: Supporting the Sustainable Adjustment of the Main ACP Banana-Exporting Countries to New Trade Realities
Communiqué of the European Commission, 17 March 2010
In December 2009, the EU initialled an agreement on bananas with Latin American banana-exporting countries laying down a schedule for the reduction of the EU's Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff on bananas. MFN tariffs will be reduced from the current €176 per tonne to €114 over a period of seven to nine years. ACP banana-exporting countries will continue to have duty-free, quota-free (DFQF) access to the EU market. However, due to changing trade arrangements, notably MFN liberalisation within the WTO, the reduction of the preferential margin for ACP banana-exporting countries will be faster than initially anticipated. This is a challenge that will need to be appropriately addressed. The European Commission is committed to helping ACP countries adapt to the effects of changes in the EU's import regime. The integration of all developing countries into the multilateral trading system and the global economy is a key EU development objective. The European Commission therefore proposes to support the main ACP banana-exporting countries to address the challenges they will face by establishing Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM). The measures would last for a proposed maximum of four years (2010- 2013) and have a budget of €190 million. The Commission will examine, together with the budgetary authority, the possibility of topping up this amount by €10 million if the corresponding credits become available in the annual budget procedures.
* Relations between the European Parliament and the Council - Common Commercial policy: Draft reply
Council of the European Union, 18 March 2010
* Proposal for a Regulation (EU) No …/… of the European Parliament and of the Council of […] amending Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation
Council of the European Union, 18 March 2010
* Proposal for a Council decision on the position to be adopted by the European Union within the ACP-EC Council of Ministers concerning the accession of the Republic of South Africa to the revised ACP-EC Partnership Agreement
Council of the EUropean Union, Brussels, 18 March 2010
* Second Report on G20 Trade and Investment Measures
WTO-OECD-UNCTAD Report, 8 March 2010
This second Report has been prepared in response to the request of the Group of Twenty
(G20) to the WTO, together with other international bodies, within their respective mandates, to monitor and report publicly on G20 promoting global trade and investment. The Report covers relevant developments in the period from 1 September 2009 to mid-February 2010.
* Global Economic Prospects 2010 - Crisis, Finance and Growth
World Bank Report, 21 January 2010
The world economy is emerging from the throes of a historically deep and synchronized recession provoked by the bursting of a global financial bubble. The consequences of the initial bubble and the crisis have been felt in virtually every economy, whether or not it participated directly in the risky behaviors that precipitated the boom-and-bust cycle. And while growth rates have picked up, the depth of the recession means that it will take years before unemployment and spare capacity are reabsorbed. This year’s Global Economic Prospects examines the consequences of the crisis for both the short- and medium-term growth prospects of developing countries. It concludes that the crisis and the regulatory reaction to the financial excesses of the preceding several years may have lasting impacts on financial markets, raising borrowing costs and lowering levels of credit and international capital flows. As a result, the rate of growth of potential output in developing countries may be reduced by between 0.2 and 0.7 percentage points annually over the next five to seven years as economies adjust to tighter financial conditions. Overall, the level of potential output in developing countries could be reduced by between 3.4 and 8 percent over the long run, compared with its pre-crisis path.
* Development Progress in sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius and South Africa
Wim Naudé, United Nation University – World Institute for Development Economic Research Working Paper, February 2010
Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius and South Africa are sub-Saharan African countries that stand out for their development progress. Each of these countries has succeeded against the odds, against expectations. This paper synthesizes the common ingredients of these countries’ success, and derives lessons. It concludes that smallness, landlockedness, tropical location, distance from world markets, racism, colonialism and other challenges can be overcome through appropriate institutions, governance and good economic policies.
* Regional Trade Agreement and the WTO
Gerhard Erasmus, in Debra P. Steger (ed), Redesigning the World Trade Organisation for the Twenty-First Century, The International Development Research Centre, 01 February 2010
This chapter endeavours to contribute to the discussion by making three points. The first is that the mega debates about trade and development have produced limited success. It would be more constructive to address smaller or more focused sets of problems. The WTO could, for example, allow the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), currently being negotiated between the European Union and the ACP countries, to include a development-promoting dimension by applying less strict rules regarding WTO compatibility of regional trade arrangements. The EPAs have to comply with Article XXIV GATT and Article V GATS. This challenges the WTO to link development aims to regional integration issues. Will the WTO allow these free trade agreements (which will not be based on the Enabling Clause enough flexibility when they have to comply with the rules for regional trade arrangements?
* Lisbon Treaty and impact on EU Trade Policy
Karin Ulmer, APRODEV Brief, 01 March 2010
Treaty of Lisbon (ToL) entered into force on 1st December 2009.
Before, trade policy making was a matter of “B-to-B” business that is Bureaucrats to Bureaucrats business, now it is subject to and part of public (parliament) policy making.
Co-decision making is replaced by its equivalent of Ordinary Legislative Procedure - OLP (defined in Art 294)
* Intellectual Property and Sustainable Development: Development Agendas in a Changing World
Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz and Pedro Roffe, The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, December 2009
Intellectual property (IP) has gained an unprecedented importance in a globalizing world where knowledge and innovation are key drivers of growth and prosperity. At the same time, the role of IP in relation to public policy objectives and development goals has come to the forefront of a vigorous policy debate. This book considers a number of new and emerging IP issues from a development perspective. Case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America examine the impact of IP on the pharmaceutical sector, the protection of life forms and traditional knowledge, geographical indications, access to knowledge and the role of competition policy. The challenges developing countries face in the TRIPS-Plus world are also addressed. The experiences revealed, as well as cyclical attitudes toward IP, show that there is ultimately no universal model of IP protection.
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IV. Resources from Recent and on Upcoming Events
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* SADC-EU EPA information seminar
1-2 March 2010, Maputo
-> See our News Section for press releases on this subject
* Joining up Africa. Fulfilling Potential. UK DFID Conference
4 March 2010, London, UK
-> Outcome Statement
-> Video “Joining up Africa: transport links and Fairtrade”
-> For more information
* Seminar on the Joint Caribbean-EU Strategy
4-5 March 2010, Barbados
-> CARICOM Press Release
* Twenty-First Inter-sessional meeting of the CARICOM Conference of Heads of Government
11-12 March 2010, Roseau, Dominica
-> CARICOM Communiqué
* EC DG Trade Conference on EU Trade Policy towards Developing Countries
16 March 2010, Brussels, Belgium
-> Background document
-> Programme
-> Opening Speech from EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht
-> Proceedings, speakers' presentations and video excerpts
* 20th East African Community Council of Ministers
19-26 March 2010, Arusha
-> Press Release
* Cariforum-EU Senior Officials Meeting on Political Dialogue
22-23 March 2010, Kingston, Jamaica
-> Communiqué
http://www.eac.int/component/content/401.html?task=view
* Development Policy Forum (DPF) 'Future World' EVENING debate - Africa's billions. The global players of tomorrow. Friends Of Europe
23 March 2010, Brussels, Belgium
-> Programme ( For French Version Click here)
-> Documents
http://www.caricom.org/jsp/pressreleases/pres127_10.jsp
* Civil Society Dialogue Seminar: EU Trade Policy Making: Perspectives and Priorities
24 March 2010, Prague, Czech Republic
-> Programme
-> Presentations
* Forum Trade Officials’ and Ministers’ meetings on trade and trade-related issues
27-30 March 2010, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia,
* 19th Session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
27 March – 1 April 2010, Tenerife, Spain
-> Draft Agenda and Work Programme (also available in french)
-> Meeting Documents
-> Read Andris Piebalgs’ speech
* EU-ACP Civil Society Organizations International Seminar on EPAs
29 March 2010, Brussels, Belgium
* Africa Trade and Exports Conference
30 - 31 March 2010, Johannesburg, South Africa
-> See Global Prospectus
* PIP Quality and Conformity Fruit and Vegetables Programme tour in ACP countries
March-June 2010, various locations
-> Tour Timetable
* 3rd COMESA Investment Forum
12-13 April 2010, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
-> Background Info
-> Draft Agenda
* Demystifying African Union and United Nations Procurement Procedures and Market
13 April 2010, Addis Ababa
* Seminar of ACP Regional Integration Organisation
13-15 April, Brussels Belgium
* 2nd inter-regional seminar of the ‘Monitoring Regional Integration project
13-15 April, Brussels, Belgium
* Joint ESA-EC informal ministerial meeting between commissioners De Gucht and Piebalgs on EC side and some ESA Ministers
14 April 2010, Brussels, Belgium
* 67th ACP-EU Trade Cooperation Sub-Committee.
16 April 2010, Brussels, Belgium
-> Communiqué
* First High Level Meeting of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP)
20-21 April 2010, Vienna, Austria
-> Programme
* The Promotion of Regional Integration by the European Union "Interacting with Civil Society"
21 April 2010, Brussels, Belgium
-> Agenda
-> For more Information
* Conference on the CARIFORUM-EU EPA One Year On: Regional Integration and Sustainable Development
22-23 April 2010, Bridgetown, Barbados
* 3rd East African Community Investment Conference
27-30 April 2010, Kampala
-> Conference Background
-> Draft Agenda
* ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors
29 April, Brussels, Belgium
* Oceania Customs Organization Secretariat Annual Conference
3-7 May 2010, Apia, Western Samoa
-> Further Information
* African Union EPA Negotiations Coordination Meeting
6-7 May 2010, Abuja
-> Aide Memoire
-> Draft agenda
* Bilateral mini-summit between the Presidency of the EU and the Cariforum
7 May 2010, Madrid, Spain
* EPA information seminar for South Africa
10-12 May 2010, Capetown, South Africa
* 30th Meeting of the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED)
13-14 May 2010, Guyana
* 6th EU-Latin America and Caribbean Summit
18 May 2010, Madrid, Spain
-> Venue and Programme
* Lighting Africa 2010 Conference
18-20 May 2010, Nairobi, Kenya
-> More information and registration
* 5th International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training (e-Learning Africa 2010)
26-28 May 2010, Lusaka, Zambia
-> For more information
* 91st Session of the ACP Council of Ministers
31 May – 03 June 2010, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
* 35th Session of the ACP-EC Council of Ministers
04 June 2010, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
* EADI Master Class - Practical Implications of the Lisbon Treaty and New EU Foreign Service for Development Cooperation
25 June 2010, Bonn, Germany
-> For more information and registration
1-2 July 2010, European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium
-> For more information