Brussels, 18/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - In the opinion of those who participated, the fifth bilateral EU-South Africa summit held in Brussels on Tuesday 18 September, marked a new stage in consolidating the strategic partnership that has linked the two since 2007. The joint statement adopted at the end of the of the discussion bears witness to the commitment of the two parties to make this very extensive partnership a lever for building “a partnership for our peoples, for prosperity” - an ambition guided by the need to come out of the crisis through growth and employment. As well as the joint resolve to strengthen their leadership on preventing conflicts, to promote peace and prosperity on the whole African continent, and to contribute to finding a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis, the two parties were in tune on their determination to work on concluding a global climate agreement in 2015 and to further strengthen their flourishing trade relations. The two parties welcomed the recent launch of the €250 million EU cooperation and development programme for South Africa and the conclusion of negotiations on a bilateral cooperation agreement between EURATOM and South Africa on the use of nuclear energy for civil purposes.
The launch of a formal dialogue on human rights and the first EU-South Africa business forum, which took place on Monday 17 September, were two innovations. However, the harmonious tone became discordant over two files: - the economic partnership agreement negotiated between the EU and the SADC (South African Development Community), for which South Africa has taken no commitment on the date for conclusion; - the implications of the European ETS directive on third country airlines, which South Africa does not accept. “We support a multilateral ICAO solution”, said Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa. Except for these divergences - about which Zuma was frank to the press - everyone hailed the summit as a success. The handful of demonstrators, who had gathered in front of the Council building to denounce the death of the miners at the Marikana mine, were another note of discord. In response to a journalist who asked him if this tragedy was not a way to off-put foreign investors, Zuma said that the “very unfortunate” incident, which had been “a shock for the whole world”, had given rise to an investigating committee. “We are monitoring things. We remain in a stable democracy - that should reassure investors”, he said. Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, said that South Africa is “one of the ten countries with which the EU has a strategic partnership founded on common values”. He added: “We have reaffirmed the value of this partnership. We want open and competitive economies”. He spoke of the effort the EU is making to assure stability of the euro, and thanked Zuma for increasing South Africa's contribution to the IMF resources by €2 billion. Van Rompuy also welcomed Zuma's efforts at facilitating peace in Zimbabwe.
EPA, bone of contention. “The EU is already South Africa's main trading partner (28% of total exports). It is the first foreign investor (77.5% of foreign direct investment) and most important development partner (70% of all external assistance). But we want to do more!”, said José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. He recalled that South Africa, a BRIC country and member of the UN Security Council, is “a key EU partner on the African continent and on the global stage”, which can play an important role in the G20 development agenda. On the subject of the EPA, Barroso affirmed that they are committed to finalising the negotiations. Although he was confident of the outcome, Barroso nevertheless acknowledged that they were being cautious on the matter. A negotiation meeting is planned for May and another at the end of the year, he said.
Zuma said that he was pleased with the summit which reflected the increase in importance of the strategic partnership and the deepening of the cooperation to support the development priorities of his country, especially in the domains of education, health, and access to science and technology. A supporter of strengthening trade relations to develop infrastructure in the domain of energy and transport, he made an appeal to international investors. However, he added that he had shared his concerns about the future EPA, given the questions still to be resolved. He said it was a situation that wasn't going to last and they thought that they could resolve the questions, although this would require more understanding and flexibility. He said they appreciated the European Parliament's call for a two year delay in implementing the amendment to Regulation 1528/EC of 2007 on access to the market which would have a negative impact on the countries. South Africa, already linked to the EU with a bilateral trade, development and cooperation agreement (TDCA) and having broken the trade negotiations, is creating rather a headache for the EU in the negotiation of a regional EPA. It is the agricultural section which poses the problems and also market access. The EU has put an offer on the table to reply to South Africa's demand to benefit from increased access to the European market, but it is not ready to increase EU access to its market. “All the elements of the agreement are on the table and most countries in the region have obtained satisfactory responses to their requests. The conclusion is within reach - it's a question of political resolve. We hope to conclude in 2013”, said European sources. (AN/transl.fl)