Brussels, 16/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - Employment, growth and investment, strengthened strategic partnership, counter-terrorism in the Sahel region, the situation in the Middle East, Egypt, and issues of overall common interest, such as climate change, will be on the agenda of the sixth South Africa-EU summit to be held in Pretoria on Thursday 18 July.
The European Union will be represented by the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and the commissioners responsible for trade, Karel De Gucht, and development, Andris Piebalgs. European leaders will be greeted by the South African president, Jacob Zuma.
One European official said “economic relations between the EU and South Africa are very important. Our economic destinies are linked”. Trade talks will include discussion on the economic partnership agreement negotiated between the EU and the SADC (South African Development Community). The summit will look at the new cycle of talks to begin in September.
Zuma is expected to tackle the issue of citrus exports to the EU after the citrus black spot (CBS) disease was detected on several fruits from South Africa. The European Union, which is stepping up the number of its inspections, hopes to limit to a maximum of five the number of episodes of the disease in any one season, failing which imports could be restricted. The purpose of this is to prevent the disease spreading to European territory.
At international level, the partners will discuss the work of the G20 for boosting growth as well as the preparatory work for the COP19, in the hope of reaching an agreement on climate challenges in November this year. Discussion will also cover the peace process in the Middle East and the situation in Egypt since the president, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted. One European source states that “both the EU and the African Union want rule of law to be established as swiftly as possible through the holding of elections”.
Furthermore, the European Union plans to evoke the regional challenges such as cooperation in combating piracy in the Indian Ocean. Concerning the situation in Madagascar and Zimbabwe, the summit will give its strong support to the SADC in the management of the political crises in both countries. The EU and South Africa underline the need to hold peaceful, free, and transparent elections that are therefore credible in the eyes of the international community.
This is a particularly important summit as it will be held on the birthday of former President Nelson Mandela, who is still in hospital. It will provide an opportunity for participants to hail the role that Mandela has played in developing relations between South Africa and the rest of the world, and especially the European Union, since the end of apartheid in 1994. In May 2007, both parties signed up to a strategic partnership, which strengthens the agreement on trade, development and cooperation (TDCA), signed in 1999. The partnership is composed of two parts on: increasing dialogue on regional and global challenges, and improving cooperation in the economic and social areas.
In 2012, South Africa was the 17th largest trading partner of the European Union. Data published by Eurostat upstream of the summit show an increasing surplus in the trade of goods between the EU and South Africa: €6.1 billion in 2012, compared to €4.4 billion the previous year. International trade in services is also in surplus: €2.6 billion in 2011, compared to €2.2 billion in 2010. The EU exported €7.1 billion worth of services to South Africa, while imports amounted to €4.5 billion. Finally, foreign direct investment (FDI) flows from the EU to South Africa are on the decline: €1.5 billion in 2011 compared to €7.1 billion in 2010. They remain, however, far higher than those from South Africa to the EU. (LM/transl.jl)