Brussels, 14/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - It came as a real breath of fresh air. ACP States hailed as reasonable and very welcome the vote by the European Parliament, on 13 September, calling for the time allowed for ratification of economic partnership agreements (EPAs) between ACP countries and the EU (see EUROPE 10688) to be extended till 1 January 2016.
By calling for the deadline proposed by the Commission to be put off for two years through revision of Regulation 1528/2007 on market access, “the European Parliament has shown wise political judgment(…) Negotiating the EPAs is a complicated process, involving a number of very complex and diverse issues which can impact heavily on our developing economies. It requires careful and thorough discussions, without the pressure of unreasonable deadlines”, said Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Secretary General of the ACP, speaking after the vote on 13 September.
Explaining that the European Parliament has never stopped calling on the Commission to show proof of flexibility in talks, he went on to say: “It is hoped that the Commission will demonstrate such flexibility in order to resolve the outstanding contentious issues” by using to best advantage the grace period requested by MEPs, as “the two year extension can help to facilitate a more serene environment to make balanced decision beneficial to all parties”.
Out of the 17 ACP countries that have not yet signed an EPA and which continue to benefit from duty-free and quota-free access to the European market for their products under Regulation 1528/2007, most are African countries. Burundi, the Comoros Islands, Haiti, Lesotho, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, which are LDCs (least developed countries), would not be affected by the amendment to the regulation. On the other hand, Cameroon, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya and Swaziland (like Fiji, as far as the Pacific region of the ACP Group is concerned) would come under the generalised system of preferences (GSP). (AN/transl.jl)