Brussels, 30/08/2010 (Agence Europe) - The issue of preferential access to the EU for exports of textiles from Pakistan will be at the heart of the debate on the humanitarian situation, reconstruction and economic development of the country, devastated by unprecedented flooding in August, at the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers (Gymnich) in Brussels on 10 September. Responding to the request of Pakistani authorities, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton will put the matter to ministers for discussion with Commissioners Karel De Gucht (Trade), Andris Piebalgs (Development) and Kristalina Georgieva (Humanitarian Aid). Textiles, one of Pakistan's key export products, have been severely affected by the floods which have destroyed the cotton crops.
This issue will stoke the debate on EU trade policy, which is divided between wanting to play a major role on the international scene and to protect its home industry, weakened by the financial downturn, as the Financial Times of 30 August points out. While some member states, especially those with a large textile industry, such as Italy, Portugal and Poland, have hitherto resisted Pakistani requests for preferential access to the EU market, the scale of the disaster could shift the balance. Germany and the United Kingdom support a plan to grant Pakistan preferential access under the terms of the “GSP+”, a scheme which provides specific encouragement within the wider framework of the EU generalised system of preferences (GSP), which offers additional tariff reductions to the most vulnerable developing countries which have a good governance and sustainable development record. Thus far, Pakistan has not been eligible for the GSP+, because, firstly, its industrial base was too wide and, secondly, it still does not comply with a number of UN human, rights conventions. (E.H./transl.rt)