Brussels, 23/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - Trade negotiations between the EU and the 77 ACP countries signatories to the Cotonou Agreement will be formally opened in Brussels on 27 September. In the last furlong before the launch of a process that is to lead the Union the conclude, by 2008, economic partnership agreements (EPCs) with ACP countries or regional integration regions, the ACP States began on Monday with a series of marathon meetings to put the finishing touches to their preparations. Thus the Joint ACP/EU trade ministerial committee met in Brussels on Monday, chaired by the Minister of Trade for Samoa, with the participation of European Commissioner Pascal Lamy. Tuesday afternoon, there will be an informal meeting of heads of ACP regional integration organisations. The same day, the ACP ministerial committee will prepare the report to submit to the extraordinary Council of ACP ministers Wednesday and Thursday. Friday, the ministers of the ACP States and the Union will meet for the formal ceremony marking the opening, that will be followed by an initial negotiating session. Cuba, represented by its government minister Ricardo Cabrisas, will participate in the extraordinary ACP Council as full member of the ACP group and, as observer, at the opening ceremony for negotiations (but not in negotiations).
The approach to these negotiations will be the subject throughout the week Jean Robert Goulongana, Secretary General of the ACP Group, told the press on Monday. According to him, to guarantee the success of the exercise, a certain number of issues still need clarifying, which are:
1) the principle of two phase negotiations. According to him, the principle opted for by the ACP States is two phase negotiations - an initial phase of negotiations with the ACP group as a whole from September 2002 to September 2003, followed by a negotiating phase with ACP countries or integrated entities - seems not to have led to major objection on the European side. But the latter have not yet provided their forma agreement as they want the initial phase to be as short as possible and to be held in parallel with regional negotiations. Yet, Mr. Goulongana stresses "if we want a two-stage approach, it is because certain essential issues of common interest are to be clarified, like the goal of the EPCs, the principles concerning market access, rules of origin, customs procedures, safeguard measures, compatibility of the agreements with WTO rules. Special and differentiated treatment, the range of products covered by free-trade and transition periods, questions linked to trade, questions of development and legal questions concerning dispute settlement and the legal statute o the agreements". According to Jean-Robert Goulangana, it is once these principle have been clarified, "duly consigned in a binding text, linking both parties, that the principles agreed upon my begin to be implemented". The time will then have come to establish a list of sensitive products by region, the timetable for dismantling tariff barriers, safeguard measures, etc.. Mr. Goulangana stipulated that in the initial phase of negotiations "All-ACP", regional integration regions will work together. Regarding the second phase of negotiations, the geographic configuration of negotiations negotiating with the Union has no been set, but it still needs to be formally determined which organisations will be mandated to negotiate. To date, formal notification has only come from West Africa (it will b the case of the Cedea area, plus Mauritania) and Central Africa (the CEMAC area - Central African Economic and Monetary Community - plus Sao Tome).
2) structure of negotiations. Negotiations will take place at two levels, ambassadorial level and ministerial level.
3) detailed timetable of negotiations. They believe it wise to cut the first phase on negotiations into stages and discuss preparations at country and regional level in terms of the strengthening of negotiating capacities, impact studies of the future EPCs and the strengthening of institutional capabilities.
4) examination of the Doha work programme so as to anticipate its interaction with the ACP/EU negotiations. Mr. Goulongana insisted on the need for flexibility of the WTO rules.
Asked about the declarations of Pascal Lamy stating that the EPCs would be at the service of development and that the Union would not ask the ACPs to lower their customs tariffs on product coming from Europe, Mr. Goulangana replied: "The impression I have, is that these economic partnership agreements are free trade agreements intended to liberalise trade even though the Union's mandate say that they have to stimulate development. The asymmetry in the dismantling of customs tariffs is explicit in the Union's mandate, but what is important is to know what transition periods we shall benefit from."
Regarding the non-participation of Cuba in negotiations, Mr. Goulangana declared: "Cuba formally put down its application to participate as observer (…) The problem is not Cuba, it is the Union that poses preconditions for Cuba's signing up to Cotonou, conditions that Cuba cannot agree to and are not asked of other ACP States".