Brussels, 05/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - Preparations for a third summit of Heads of State from 77 ACP countries in July and the opening of a new round of ACP/EU negotiations for concluding the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) compatible with WTO rules, will dominate the very full agenda of the ACP group over the next few weeks. Here is the calendar for their next meetings:
7 June: Ambassadors committee ACP/EU; 19 June: ACP Ministerial Committee (consisting of 18 Ministers in charge of examining implementation of Cotonou Agreement trade provisions and preparations for negotiations); 20-21 June: ACP Trade and Finance Ministers meeting (Brussels) will examine the draft negotiation mandate with particular regard to economic, financial and social implications of future economic partnership agreements; 25-27 June: ACP Council of Ministers (Punta Cana- Dominican Republic), which will decide the mandate for negotiations and prepare the ACP-EU Ministerial session; 28 June: ACP/EU Council of Ministers (Punta Cana); 18-19 July: ACP summit (Nadi, Fiji), which will examine the future of the ACP group (reform of the Georgetown agreement, founder of the ACP group and placing of the group on the international stage); 27 September: Ministerial meeting for launching negotiations ACP/EU (Brussels).
Jean Robert Goulangana, Secretary general of the ACP group, pointed out at a press conference the need to clarify two questions that have appeared in the introductory technical contacts between the ACP and the Commission.
The first involves the organisation of negotiations: should they begin with regional integrated ACP bodies, with the ACP Group or in tandem? Mr Goulangana explained that: 1) the ACP group is determined to retain its solidarity and unity and that certain horizontal issues could justify group level negotiations. He underlined that the definition of ACP regional bodies called on to negotiate, was an issue that the Central African Republic (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa and Sao Tomé), West Africa (ECOWAS and Mauritania) had resolved. The Caribbean region has not yet been notified which body will be negotiating for it but is likely to be Cariforum. Discussions are continuing for East Africa and Southern Africa (several Member States SADC and COMECA). There has been progress in impact studies on future economic partnership agreements in the countries of the regions concerned (the exercise had been completed in COMECA countries, a preliminary study has been carried out for Central Africa, a study is being carried out in the Pacific and it remains to be done in West Africa), but according to the Secretary General there is no exact conclusion to be made at this stage.
The second question is linked to the WTO trade round which has to finish before the end of 2005 and the ACP/EU negotiations due to end at the end of 2007 at the latest. Divergences appeared between the ACP and the Commission and the compatibility of future economic partnership agreements and WTO rules. Mr Goulangana explained that the ACP considered that Article 24 of the WTO that allows LDCs to benefit from preferential treatment when a free trade agreement is negotiated with rich countries (asymmetry in the reciprocal market opening calendar and in the list of products covered by free trade) is too rigid. Mr Goulangana considers that the provisions must be revised more favourably and offer more flexibility to LDCs in terms of products covered, as well as the calendar. The EU, Mr Goulangana, asserts, calls for negotiations and to see about the issue later. The ACP, however, wants to obtain an improvement in Article 24 right now. Mr Goulangana declared that this issue is more important than the other issues on the negotiating table and that co-ordination between Brussels and Geneva should be sorted out in order to ensure that ACP countries didn't lose everything they had gained with the Union, at the WTO. ACP countries have agreed to liberalisation on the condition that their interests are taken into account and their capacity to meet the challenges of markets opening up, Mr Goulangana explained, pointing out that ACP countries are exporters of around only ten products (agricultural, fishing and textiles) and that certain are mono-production exporters.
Mr Goulangana mentioned other factors which the ACP have not yet mastered but which they ought to pay attention in their negotiation strategies: enlargement of the Union in 2004 (a seminar took place in May between ACP and candidate countries and the Ambassadors identified the risks of candidate countries entering into competition with the ACP for meat and sugar, even the rum produced in the Czech Republic. The ACP Secretariat is requesting an impact study of enlargement on ACP/EU trade; in 2004 reform of the CAP and generalised preferential system.
During the entire negotiations, ACP counties will be able to benefit from the expertise of South Africa, skilled in the art of negotiations with the Union, having already concluded a trade and co-operation agreement with it. "We are assured of the support of this country's support, which accepted, at our request, to send an expert to the ACP Secretariat for the length of the negotiations, Mr Goulangana explained.