Brussels, 25/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - The ACP (African, Caribbean, Pacific) Group of Experts responsible for rules of origin met in Brussels on 25 - 26 January to examine a draft protocol on rules of origin that could be used in the negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between six ACP regions and the EU.
Each of the regions concerned must give a presentation on how it plans to address the issue of rules of origin for sea fish products, given their specific characteristics. It is expected that the ensuing discussions will enable the participants to reach an agreement on the criteria required for those products to be classified as “originating products”.
On this occasion, the European Commission will take stock of the state of progress of work concerning the reform of the rules of origin to be used in the framework of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).
The rules of origin protocol was developed in response to the mandate given by the ACP Council of Ministers at its meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, in June 2006. The aim is to achieve harmonisation of the rules of origin throughout the ACP regions negotiating with the EU. (an)