Brussels, 24/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - The negotiation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and six ACP (African/Caribbean/Pacific) regional sub-groups is the main issue discussed at the 32nd session of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels on 25 May under the joint chairmanship of Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, the federal minister for development, and Mohlabi K. Tsekoa, the foreign minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho. Peter Mandelson, European trade commissioner and chief EU negotiator, and Olli Rehn, enlargement commissioner temporarily replacing his development policy colleague, Louis Michel, will represent the European Commission.
The ministers of the 25 EU member states and 78 ACP countries will have the task of assessing the state of progress in talks with a view to adopting a joint document on the formal and comprehensive review of the process begun in 2002, a process that is supposed to be completed by the end of the year so that EPAs take effect on 1 January 2008. That is also the date for expiry of the derogation to WTO rules whereby ACP states benefit from a system of unilateral trade preferences for access of their products to the European market. Given the delays already incurred in these talks, the difficulty now lies in concluding, within the time set, trade and development agreements in preparation for the long-term liberalisation of trade between the EU and ACPs. Both parties are resolved to make the EPAs real sustainable development instruments for ACP countries. They now have to agree on the very specific content to be given to this development dimension.
On the European side, the conclusions of the EU development ministers on the negotiations and on the trade offer made by the Commission (EUROPE 9427), such as the recent Parliament resolution calling on the European Commission to have more flexibility with regard to ACP expectations (EUROPE 9431), are a contribution to this session.
On the ACP side, the Council of Ministers which ended on 14 May (EUROPE 9430) was careful to prepare the working session with European partners, adopting a consolidated negotiating position from the six ACP negotiating regions. Good will is the code of the day. Speaking to the press, Mr Mohlabi K. Tsekoa said: “We have restated our commitment to conclude in time on condition that ACP concerns are taken into account regarding market access, the scope and the extent of liberalisation and accompanying measures, in terms of development financing and costs for adjustment to EPA implementation”. He went on to add: “The ACP Council welcomes the offer of the EU concerning access of our products to the European market” (Ed.: duty-free and quota-free except for almost all products as soon as the EPA takes effect), but we call for joint revision of the protocols on basic products so that Article 36.4 of the Cotonou Agreement is respected, safeguarding benefits derived therefrom)”.
Answering questions on the expectations of the ACP towards the EU, Mr Arvin Boolell, the minister of agroindustry and fisheries of Mauritius and spokesman for the ACP sugar producing countries, drove the point home, saying: “We welcome market access but we must ensure that this is not detrimental to the situation of ACP countries that have signed the sugar protocol. We must add value to our products, examine the related issues such as rules of origin. Our trade must not be upset in any way from 1 January 2008. It is the EU's responsibility to ensure that development is at the heart of every EPA”. In his opinion, the ACP producer countries, “shake with fear” when they take stock of the EU's position on guaranteed sugar prices as this is “equivalent to discarding the sugar protocol”. This, when the sugar protocol, an eminent example of bilateral trade, gives an idea of what North/South trade should be and serves as a model for all EPAs, the minister said.
In response to a journalist who inquired about the ACP group's reaction to the possibility of a transitional period for free access of ACP bananas to the European market (in line with Development Council conclusions to meet with French and Spanish satisfaction), the president of the Council said the extremely vulnerable small states should not be made still more vulnerable as exported bananas are, for them, the survival of their economies, crops that give security.
In addition to the EPA talks, the joint ACP-EU Council of Ministers will have to decide on reallocation of 9th EDF funds, mainly to fuel the African Peace Facility with €100 million, call for additional voluntary contributions from member states, and to allocate a further €36 million to Somalia. The Council should also adopt a joint declaration on combating drought and desertification. (an)