Brussels, 14/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - MEPs in the European Parliament's international trade committee are recommending that the Parliament give its consent to the economic partnership agreement (EPA) between the EU and six countries from the Southern African Development Community (SADC - which includes 15 countries in total) (EUROPE 11570).
It is by a comfortable majority (22 votes in favour, 9 against and one abstention) that the MEPs gave their green light to this progressive and asymmetric liberalisation of trade between the EU on the one hand, and Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho and South Africa on the other.
Negotiated under the Cotonou Agreement, which links the EU to the ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) group of states, the EPA is compatible with the rules of the WTO. It will ensure immediate tariff-free, quota-free access to the EU market for products from five of the countries (Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho) while South Africa will benefit from improved access under the bilateral agreement that has linked it to the EU since 1999.
In return, the African countries party to the EPA will liberalise 86% of their market (Mozambique just 74%) over ten years, except for agricultural and fishery products.
“This development-oriented regional trade agreement has the potential to contribute to sustainable economic growth and deepened intra-regional trade and integration. The SADC states should, however, conduct trade and development-friendly domestic policies, pursue structural reforms and consider using the potential of the EPA by going beyond trade in goods and address services in the future”, rapporteur Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (ALDE, Germany) stated.
The EPA does indeed only currently cover goods, but it leaves the door open to the inclusion of services, investment, intellectual property and public procurement. The development section of the agreement identifies the trade-related areas able to benefit from EU support, although no financial agreement has been made at this stage.
Wanting to strengthen the monitoring of implementation so as to ensure the EPA brings benefits to the populations, the MEPs adopted an oral question to the European Commission regarding oversight by the Parliament and monitoring by civil society. The question will be put to the Parliament at its plenary session in September. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)