*ACP–EU trade liberalization - Equal
partners?


Evert-jan Quak, The Broker, Issue 2,
June 2007
The Economic Partnership Agreements between the European Union and
77 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries will not cause markets in the
South to be swamped with European imports, as opponents suggest. But they will
result in dramatic reductions in government revenues.
[/size]
*Organisations paysannes et APE : « Pas la charrue
avant les bœufs ! »
Le Faso.net, 31 mai 2007
La Confédération paysanne du Faso (CPF), en
collaboration avec le Réseau des organisations paysannes et des producteurs
agricoles de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (ROPPA), a rencontré la presse hier 30 mai
2007 à Ouagadougou.
Objectif : exprimer leurs préoccupations sur, entre
autres sujets, l’intégration régionale et les négociations relatives aux Accords
de partenariats économiques (APE) inscrits à l’agenda d’une réunion de la CEDEAO
qui a lieu actuellement dans notre capitale.

*EPAs could be signed by December



The Statesman Online, Ghana News Agency, 29 May
2007
Despite the unpreparedness of West African governments to negotiate the
Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union, there are clear
indications that the EPAs will be signed by the December 31, 2007 deadline,
Tetteh Hormeku, Head of Programmes at Third World Network, has
said.

* EPA Controversy Continues


Orengoh, Paul, in tralac EPA page, 29 May 2007
The
Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has warned that COMESA states will lose
up to $241 million annually if the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the
European Union (EU) is endorsed.

* Pending EU agreements put West Africa at
risk


IPS, 27 May 2007
The European Union and West Africa could scarcely be
more different in terms of wealth, yet a pending trade agreement risks making
the disparity even greater.
Whereas the EU accounts for 30 percent of
global gross domestic product, all five of the lowest ranking countries in the
United Nations Human Development Index are in West Africa: Guinea-Bissau,
Burkina Faso, Mali, Sierra Leone and Niger.
These gaps
notwithstanding, the EU's executive arm, the European Commission, has galled
anti-poverty activists by seeking to negotiate a free trade deal -- known as an
Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) -- with West Africa that would require both
sides to behave as if they were equals.
*EU's ex-colonies deny being rushed into trade
deals


Reuters Africa, 26 May
2007
Europe's former colonies do not agree with European anti-poverty
campaigners who say poor nations are being forced into new trade deals with the
European Union, an African minister said on Friday.

* Will EU break promise to poor?


By Carlos Correa, Financial Times, 25 May
2005
From Mr Carlos Correa and others.
Sir, The relationship between
Europe and its former colonies in among the African, the Caribbean and the
Pacific (ACP) countries has always involved a promise: that Europe would be an
ally in their struggle against poverty and efforts to develop.
That promise
is in danger of being broken. In its economic partnership agreement (EPA)
negotiations with the ACP, the European Union seems to have forgotten the
development dimension and pursues an agenda that reflects primarily the interest
of the EU alone. This pattern is painfully evident in the EU's pursuit of new
and higher standards for intellectual property and other trade-related
areas.

*UGANDA: More Time Needed for EPA
Negotiations

Alexis Okeowo, in
Kampala, IPS, 24 May 2007
Uganda has made little progress
in its economic partnership agreement (EPA) negotiations with the European Union
(EU), as government and the private sector say that they need more time before
committing to a deal.

*Caribbean objects to EU governance language in
EPAs
Caribbean
Regional Negotiation Machinery Update, 24 May 2007
Under the agenda of
engendering greater cooperation between the ACP and Europe, the European
Commission (EC), in its strategies, have proposed the inclusion of the
governance agenda, including tax governance, in the Agreement. However, at this
time, the Caribbean has objected to the language and substance of the EC
proposal especially in regard to agreement on mandatory information exchange.
Unless this CARIFORUM position, which is mandated by the Heads of Government, is
changed, the OECD agenda can not be adopted within the EPA between the Caribbean
and the EU. Mindful of the importance of this sector, discerning Caribbean
Governments will never agree to the inclusion of any measures, principles or
standards that will fundamentally jeopardize their offshore financial services
industries or any other sensitive sector.

*Canning the Pacific

Nilesh Goundar, Greenpeace Press Release on
Fisheries and EPAs, 23 May 2007
Fish is to the Pacific what oil is to the
Middle East. This week, May 14-18, Pacific Trade Ministers and officials meet in
Nadi to discuss their trade options with the EU. Whilst agreements over trade in
agriculture, tourism and finance are on the table, the burning question is: can
the Pacific strike a better deal with the EU on our greatest natural asset – our
tuna fisheries?

* Economic Partnership Agreements: MEPs call for less
onerous conditions imposed on ACP countries


European Parliament press service, 23 May 2007
The EU needs to reach new trade agreements with the African, Caribbean
and Pacific (ACP) countries - known as Economic Partnership Agreements - by 1
January 2008. These would replace the current system of generalised preferences,
which is incompatible with WTO rules. Given the delay in the talks and the lack
of readiness on the part of the ACP countries. MEPs call in a report,
adopted by 550 votes in favour to 59 against with 59 abstentions, for the
Commission to make the conditions for the agreements less onerous for these
countries.
-> See also our Resources from
recent events section for more documents from the Parliament’s session on
EPAs

* Accords de partenariat économique : davantage de
souplesse pour les pays ACP




Service de presse du Parlement européen, 23 mai 2007
L'UE doit
conclure avec les pays d'Afrique, des Caraïbes et du Pacifique (ACP) de nouveaux
accords commerciaux - dits Accords de partenariat économique (APE) - avant le
1er janvier 2008 qui remplaceront l'actuel système de préférences généralisées,
incompatible avec les règles de l'OMC. Le retard pris dans la négociation de ces
accords et le manque de préparation des pays ACP ont amené les députés à
demander à la Commission d'alléger les conditions de signature de ces accords
pour ces pays.
-> Voir la section « resources
from recent events » ci-dessous pour les documents issus de la session du
Parlement européen.


*EU is yet to act on trade
proposals


Benson Kathuri, The Standard, Kenya, 22 May
2007
The European Union has not responded to trade proposals presented by 15
Eastern and Southern African (ESA) countries last September. The recommendations
put forward are expected to guide the countries to negotiate for an Economic
Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU under the auspices of the African,
Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The Common Market for Eastern and
Southern Africa (Comesa) Secretary General, Mr Erastus Mwencha, said the draft
provided critical proposals that would provide the much-needed push to reach a
deal before the December deadline. The 15 countries are Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda,
Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles,
Sudan, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. DRC has opted out of the deal. The pact is
expected to replace the existing Cotonou agreement agreed in Benin seven years
ago, which expires in December this year. The recommendations cover outstanding
issues, notably market access and development component that threatens to derail
negotiations that would otherwise determine how the two trading blocks conduct
future business.

*Joint PACP Ministers, NAOs and RAOs set out minumum
requirements for EPA with EU




Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Press release, 18 May 2007
The Joint
Meeting of Pacific ACP Trade Ministers National Authorising Officers (NAOs) and
the Regional Authorising Officer (RAO) in Nadi, Fiji, on 17-18 May has set out
the minimum requirements for any Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the
European Union (EU). The Meeting agreed that market access under the EPA would
only be beneficial if accompanied by improved Rules of Origin that recognised
the smallness and isolation of the PACPS. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures,
and Technical Barriers to Trade were also highlighted as important part of
market access and a sufficient transition period be built into the EPA to enable
Pacific ACP States to prepare and implement the new trade arrangements under
EPA. On the way forward in the EPA negotiations, the meeting agreed the Regional
Negotiating Machinery be flexible and to allow for effective participation of
all PACPS over the remaining six months before the deadline for the
negotiations, which is the end of 2007.

*Pacific
EPA red line paper outline


Pacific Magazine, 14 May
2007
This has prompted the region to prepare a “red line” paper, reflecting
“the region’s positions and expectations as regards our minimum requirements
from an EPA, and therefore serve as non-compromising positions in areas of
interest to our members.” Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Deputy Secretary
General, Peter Forau says “the basic negotiating position of the Pacific ACP
states … is that ‘nothing is agreed until everything is agreed’, that is, that
PACP requirements must be met across the range of issues in the negotiations
before an EPA can be signed.”
And he says Pacific countries which feel unable
to make significant commitments to any component of the treaty must be able to
sign up and participate in that component at a later date.
Among the Pacific ACP states
positions... [click here

to read more]

*Pact Set to Cost Comesa Sh17 Billion, NGOs
Say


Benson Kathuri, The East African
Standard, Nairobi, 16 May 2007
Member states of the Common Market for Eastern
and Southern Africa (Comesa) stands to lose about Sh16.9 billion annually by
signing a new trade pact with the European Union (EU). A joint report by three
non-government organisations further claims that the EU would earn more than
$1,152 (Sh80.6 billion) through increased export to Comesa trading bloc if the
proposed pact sails through.

*Namibia meat sector
confident on EPA timely conclusion
Christof
Maletsky, The Namibian, 14 May 2007
NAMIBIA'S meat sector says it is
confident that a new trade agreement will be in place by the end of this year to
avoid the country losing out on its lucrative European market.
Speaking on
behalf of the Namibian meat sector on Friday, Trade Advisor to the Agricultural
Forum Jurgen Hoffmann said they intended to "drive the negotiations to finalise
them by the end of 2007" but even if they failed to hit the target, they would
get the European Union to agree to use the current agreement until a new one was
reached. The statement from the meat industry came after an economist at Meatco,
Wallie Roux, said Namibia needed to be cautious with the pace at which EU wanted
the negotiations concluded. "If you are unwise enough to rush for a deadline
without looking at the content of the agreement, then you are signing away your
life," Roux, a researcher with Meatco, said on another platform. Roux in the
meantime been suspended by Meatco.

*EAC President consulting members on forming EPA
negotiating bloc
Felly Kimenyi,
The New Times, Rwanda, Kigali, 13 May 2007
The chairman of the council of
ministers for the East African Community (EAC), Eriya Kategaya, met President
Paul Kagame to brief him on the on-going talks between the regional bloc and the
European Union.
"We are visiting all EAC member states trying to see how the
community can form a special cooperation with the European Union especially in
the areas of trade and development," said Kategaya, who was flanked by the EAC
Secretary General Amb. Juma Mwapacha. The team has already been in Tanzania and
Kenya and we will be heading to Burundi after Rwanda.

*ESA not to blame for delayed EPA


E-COMESA Newsletter, Issue 100, 14 May
2007
COMESA
Secretary General Mr Erastus Mwencha says the East and Southern Africa (ESA)
configuration is not to blame for the delayed conclusion of an Economic
Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU). Mr Mwencha put the
record straight at the opening of the 11th Regional Negotiation Forum (RNF)
meeting taking place at the Hilton Hotel Nairobi Kenya.
“It is now clear that
time is not on our side. We are all aware that the deadline for the negotiations
is fast approaching, whilst on the other hand there is so much yet to be done.
But it is not our (ESA) fault. We are not to blame for this delay because we
submitted our text a long time ago and negotiations are based on that text,”
Mwencha added.
He recommended ... [click here to read more]


*EU-Africa trade negotiations deadline
looming

Citizen.co.za, 11 May
2007
Africa could lose billions of dollars in trade and development
opportunities, because negotiations with Europe are running two years behind.
The economic partnership agreement negotiations are supposed to be concluded by
the end of this year, and there can be no extension to protect existing terms of
trade. Half of the 47 African countries negotiating the EPAs say they cannot
finish by December. The hitch is their insistence on including development
assistance, while the European Union’s view is the agreements are about
development through trade. EPAs being negotiated with Caribbean and Pacific
countries have not been delayed. “The way we see this development dimension is
not the same as the EU sees it,” says Southern African Development Community
chief negotiator Banny Molosiwa. She, and an adviser to the 15-member East and
Southern African group, Moses Tekere, believe they will have to continue talking
into 2008. Molosiwa said SADC has undertaken to complete a deal on trade, but
needs more time on the development issues. EU chief negotiator Karl Falkenberg
told SADC in Gaborone that while the ultimate aim was a free trade area between
the EU and Africa, immediate reciprocity was not expected. “There need be no
fear of EU goods invading Africa. We will negotiate according to the needs of
the member states,” he said. Falkenberg said failure would be detrimental to
everyone.

*Afrique : Les industriels africains s’opposent à la
conclusion des APE


Jean Eric Adingra, Le Patriote, Abidjan, 10 mai 2007
La nouvelle est
officielle. L’Association industrielle africaine (AIA) qui regroupe des
industriels majeurs opérant en Afrique, vient de rejeter les projets d’accords
de partenariat économique (APE). L’AIA qui milite pour la mise en place d’un
environnement permettant un renforcement de l’industrie africaine et de sa
capacité à contribuer au développement du continent, a fait part, dans une
lettre en date du 24 avril 2007, de son opposition à la conclusion des APE sur
les bases proposées par l’Union européenne.
See also AIA’s position paper :EN FR



*COMESA
Ministers of Finance endorse CET, COMESA Fund and Aid for Trade
Approach


e-COMESA newsletter, Issue 98, 4 May 2007




---
Selection from www.acp-eu-trade.org
Library
---




*Monitoring Economic Partnership Agreements: A
methodological overview


In Brief No. 18, ECDPM, April 2007
The African, Caribbean and
Pacific (ACP) states and the European Union(EU) countries have agreed to
negotiate new WTO compatible Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).These
agreements should not be an end in themselves, but be first and foremost
instruments for development, as provided for by the Cotonou Partnership
Agreement. While these new free trade arrangements offer new development
opportunities, they also pose considerable challenges for the ACP. To ensure
that the development dimension of the EPAs is fulfilled, close monitoring will
be of prime importance, of both the negotiation and the implementation of these
new partnership agreements. This InBrief presents a preliminary overview of some
methodological issues linked to the design of a monitoring mechanism for the
EPAs.
http://www.ecdpm.org/inbrief18

*Le suivi des Accords de Partenariat Economiques. Une
question de méthode

En Bref
no.18, ECDPM, avril 2007
Les États d’Afrique, des
Caraïbes et du Pacifique (ACP) et les pays membres de l’Union européenne (UE)
ont convenu de négocier des accords de partenariat économique (APE) compatibles
avec les règles de l’OMC. Comme le prévoit l’Accord de partenariat ACP-UE, ces
accords doivent être avant tout des instruments de développement et non une fin
en soi. S’ils offrent d’intéressantes perspectives nouvelles de développement,
ces accords commerciaux placent aussi les pays ACP face à d’énormes challenges.
Pour que ces APE aient bel et bien une dimension de développement, il est
indispensable qu’ils fassent l’objet d’un suivi attentif au niveau des
négociations et de la mise en œuvre. Cet EnBref présente certaines des questions
de méthodologie liées à l’élaboration d’un mécanisme de suivi des APE.
http://www.ecdpm.org/inbrief18fr



*Negotiating Economic Partnership Agreements:
Agriculture

In Brief
13C, ECDPM, April 2007
In view of its socio-economic importance for the
ACP countries and the share of trade between the ACP and the EU for which it
accounts, agriculture is a key sector in the EPA negotiations. The scope of
these negotiations is also to be seen in the broader context of the agricultural
negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the reform of the EU’s
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) (section 1). At present, agricultural trade
between the ACP countries and the EU is already facing many challenges, ranging
from the erosion of ACP trade preferences on the EU market to the establishment
of standards and to supply-side constraints within the ACP countries. These are
described in section 2, stressing the issues specific to the least-developed
countries (LDCs), areas of agreement and disagreement between the LDC and
non-LDC ACP countries, and links between the EPA and WTO negotiations as regards
these issues. In section 3, EPA issues are examined from the point of view of
the EU, specifying a possible negotiating strategy based on the free trade
agreements (FTAs) which it has previously signed. This analysis is then used to
pinpoint various negotiating options for the ACP countries, including the
development dimension of EPAs (section 4); by way of conclusion, the provisions
that could be adopted to construct an “ideal” EPA are then discussed (section
5).
http://www.ecdpm.org/inbrief13c



*La
négociation d'Accords de Partenariat Economiques: Enjeux
Agricoles


En Bref
13C, ECDPM, avril 2007
Vu son importance socio-économique pour les pays ACP
et sa part dans le commerce entre les ACP et l’UE, l’agriculture constitue un
secteur clé dans les négociations APE. Les négociations APE sur l’agriculture
sont de surcroît à replacer dans un contexte plus large qui est, entre autres,
celui des négociations agricoles à l’Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC) et
de la réforme de la politique agricole commune (PAC) de l’UE (section 1). À
l’heure actuelle, le commerce agricole entre les pays ACP et l’UE fait déjà face
à de multiples enjeux, qui vont de l’érosion des préférences commerciales des
ACP sur le marché de l’UE, au développement des normes et aux contraintes de
production internes aux pays ACP. Ils sont décrits en section 2, qui souligne
les enjeux spécifiques aux pays les moins avancés (PMA), les points de consensus
et de divergence entre pays ACP PMA et non PMA, et les liens entre les
négociations APE et OMC sur ces enjeux. La section 3 présente les enjeux des APE
du côté de l’UE, en précisant sa stratégie possible de négociation sur la base
des accords de libre-échange (ALE) qu’elle a précédemment signés. À partir de
ces analyses, différentes options de négociation pour les pays ACP, y compris
sur la dimension développement des APE, sont identifiées (section 4) ; de même
que, en conclusion, les dispositions qui pourraient être prises en compte pour
construire un APE « favorable » à agriculture ACP (section 5).
http://www.ecdpm.org/inbrief13cfr

*The
potential impact of the Aid for Trade initiative
Sheila
Page, UNCTAD, G-24 Discussion Paper Series, No 45, April 2007
The Aid for
Trade initiative was revolutionary in the acceptance by international consensus
of a role for the World Trade Organization (WTO) in aid and of the limitations
of trade. [...]Aid for Trade emerged as an issue within the Doha Round, first
driven by the need to find benefits for all countries in the negotiation, and
thus “as a complement, not a substitute” for the Round. By the time the Round
stalled, it had acquired sufficient support from the aid community as well as
the trade community to go forward independently of the Round. When it was part
of the negotiations, there was pressure to define a new structure for trade aid,
outside normal aid mechanisms and parallel to those for other international
concerns such as health or the environment. Without the need to secure
developing countries’ support for a trade settlement, however, there is now a
risk that it will be absorbed into normal country aid programmes, and be
governed by the wishes of the international financial
institutions...




*The end of current EU preferences for Namibia:
Economic and social impacts




Mareike Meyn, ODI - Project Briefing - May 2007
Key Points ODI
research on Namibia indicates that the loss of current EU preferences is likely
to have negative economic and social effects. Namibia’s major agricultural
exports to the EU would be put in a less favourable position than those of its
major competitors – all of which are more advanced economies. The EU could avoid
this situation if it has the political will.

*Analysis of the economic and social effects of
Namibia's loss of current preference to the European Union



ODI- May 2007
This report provides a
technical analysis of the costs that would be incurred by Namibia if its exports
to the EU were subject to the tariffs applicable under the Generalised System of
Preferences (GSP) and the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff rather than those
that apply at the present time. The report does not imply that this will happen,
that it should happen, or that the GSP/MFN are alternatives to the status quo
for those countries that do not join Economic Partnership Agreements
(EPAs).However, since the European Commission (EC) announced that GSP is the
only alternative to EPAs there is the need to analyse what are the economic and
social implications of GSP compared to Cotonou. The report concludes that
application of the Standard GSP regime (and MFN for meat exports) does not
fulfil the commitment made by the EU in Article 37.6 of the Cotonou Agreement.
It would result in the EU taxing Namibian exports, generating revenue that
compares unfavourably with aspects of Union-level aid, and [...]

*Partnership under pressure. An assessment of the
European Commission's conduct in the EPA negotiations



ActionAid, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Tearfund, Traidcraft, May
2007
This report shows that the European Commission (EC) is negotiating
EPAs with the ACP in a way that fundamentally breaks the letter and spirit of
the Cotonou Agreement. From the start of negotiations, the EC and ACP’s vision
of what a future ACP-EU trade agreement should look like have been very
different. Particularly in the areas of trade liberalisation, the Singapore
issues (investment, public procurement and competition policy) and development,
the approach of the EC and ACP are poles apart.

*West Africa EPA Negotiations: Preliminary Comments
on the EC "Draft EPA Text for West Africa"




Analytical Note, South Centre, May 2007
On 04 April 2007, the
European Commission has proposed a draft text for the negotiation of an Economic
Partnership Agreement (EPAs) between governments of the European Union and of
West Africa. The draft constitutes an unilateral proposal by the European
Community and has not been agreed to by West Africa. This note comments on a
selection of the most salient aspects of that text and its implications for West
African countries.

Find more publications from the South Centre on EPAs at www.southcentre.org




*Economic Partnership Agreements: Building or
shattering African regional integration?



Report by Traidcraft (UK), SEATINI (Uganda) and EcoNews (Kenya),
May 2007
The report, says African countries stand to lose far more than they
would gain from EPAs. It's a conclusion supported by research from the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa which estimates losses of up to 22% in
the growth of regional trade across Africa if a standard EPA is
applied.






*Economic
Partnership Agreements: What happens in 2008?
By Chris
Stevens, ODI Briefing Paper 23, June 2007
he terms on which the EU and the
Africa Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states trade with each other are established
in the Cotonou Agreement 2000, which specifies that a new regime must be agreed
by end-2007, a date that coincides with the expiry of a World Trade Organization
(WTO) waiver for the current regime. This Briefing Paper, which builds upon
substantial ODI work, identifies the best way forward.




*EU-Africa Trade
relations: the Political Economy of Economic Partnership Agreements

by Peter Draper, Jan Tumlir Policy Essays, No.2, June 2007,
ECIPE
The essential argument is that whilst a broad agenda is appropriate,
excepting intellectual property rights, government procurement and environment,
the details are important and, when the agenda is considered in its totality,
for most African governments it is overwhelming. Therefore the case is made for
a sequenced negotiating agenda, securing goods market access first then
progressively reviewing and negotiating the regulatory issues.





---
Resources from Recent Events
---




*
Event: A Workshop on EPA Development Benchmarks and Monitoring
Date: April
23-24, 2007, Nairobi
Organised by CUTS, ECDPM and FES in cooperation with
APRODEV.
Resources:
->http://www.ecdpm.org/trade/epamonitoring
->
Business Unusual: Benchmarking for Pro-Development Monitoring of the Negotiation
and Implementation of an ESA-EU Economic Partnership
Agreements
CUTS-ECDPM-FES-APPRODEV_EN_240407_EPA-Workshop-Report.pdf
-> Workshop
Report

on Day
2




*
Event: Seminar of ACP-EU Economic and Social Interest Groups
Date
: 14-16 May
2007
The European Economic and Social Committee, representing the economic
and social components of organised civil society in the European Union, held the
9th Regional Seminar of ACP-EU economic and social interest groups in
Bridgetown, Barbados, in accordance with the mandate conferred on it by the
Cotonou Agreement. Under the aegis of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly,
this meeting brought together delegates from the economic and social interest
groups of the countries of CARIFORUM, ACP and European members of the ACP-EU
Follow-up Committee and of the European Economic and Social Committee.
Representatives of EU and ACP institutions, Economic and Social Councils, the
diplomatic corps, international and regional socio-professional organisations
and representatives from wider civil society from Barbados also attended.

Resources:
-> Programme, Decription, Press release, Final
Declaration and Speeches available in EN and FR here

-> Involvement of non-state actors in Caribbean region
lauded
-> ACP regional exporters worse off without EPA
-> EU ready to partner
ACP states
-> EU and
Caribbean Economic and Social Interest Groups call for a positive conclusion of
the Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations EN
FR




*Event: General Affairs and External Relations Council
Date: 15 May
2007
Resources:
-> Press
Information Note
-> Economic
Partnership Agreements (EPAs) - Conclusions of the Council and the
Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the
Council EN FR
-> Aid for Trade - Conclusions of the Council and the
Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the
Council EN FR
See also:
-> Note
from Spanish delegation to the Council on the Negotiation of the Economic
Partnership Agreements with the ACP countries
, 4
May 2007
-> Joint
European Letter to Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul raising EPA
concerns before the May 14-15 EU General Affairs Council by EPA07
-> EU agrees to open markets to ex-colonies
Ingrid Melander,
Brussels, Reuters, 15 May 2007
European Union countries agreed on Tuesday to
open up their wealthy markets fully to imports from former colonies with
phased-in access for rice and sugar, but put off a decision on when to open the
banana market.
-> The
May 15th EU Council Conclusions on EPAs: Getting to grips with the "devil in the
detail"
, European Research Office, Background Briefing, 31 May
2007

*Event: Malian farmers workshop on the West
Africa EPA, Bamako, Mali.
Date:
15-17 May 2007


Resources:
->Held in, from 15 to 17 May between Malian farmers
organizations, NGOs and representatives of the government. They have planned a
large mobilization campaign the whole month of June ending with marches in the
whole country the first week of July and culminating with a march in Bamako at
the end of the week.
-> Report
(available in French only)
-> Declaration

*Event: 85th ACP Council of Ministers
Date : May 22-24,
2007
-> The 85th ACP Council of Ministers met in Brussels
from 22 to 24 May 2007 under the chairmanship of Mohlabi K. Tsekoa, Minister of
Foreign Affairs and International Relations of the Kingdom of Lesotho. The ACP
Group expressed its political will to conclude the Economic Partnership
Agreement (EPA) on time, on condition that ACP concerns and interests are
addressed by its principal partner, the European Union. It was clear at the
outset that the EPA would be the issue of great prominence in this year’s
calendar of meetings. Ministerial spokespersons from the six EPA regions
of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific apprised Council of the state of play
of the EPA negotiations in their respective regions. All regions were at
different stages of progress, and are committed to the EPA that is integral to
the ACP-EU Cotonou Partnership Agreement. The ACP have not been oblivious to
possible consequences of the EPAs, and therefore sought assurance from the EU
that their concerns and interests - such as the need to safeguard and enhance
market access - were not overtaken by the need to meet deadlines.
Resources:

->
ACP Ministers met in Brussels to discuss trade and the future of the
Group EN FR


-> Decisions
and Resolutions of the 85th session of the ACP Council of Ministers


*Event: Joint EU-ACP Council of Ministers

Date: 24-25 May 2007
Resources:

-> EC Press Release: Economic
Partnership Agreements to top agenda at EU-ACP Ministerial , 24 May 2007
-> Ministers are running
out of opportunities to stop unfair trade deals between the EU and ACP

Oxfam International, Press release, 25 May 2007
As Ministers from
Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) meet their European counterparts in
Brussels today to review ongoing trade negotiations civil society organisations
from around the world are calling for the EU's partnership with the ACP to
become exactly that: a partnership for development, not a free trade time bomb.

With the deadline for negotiations at the end of the year drawing closer,
today's EU-ACP Ministerial meeting provides one of the last opportunities for
Ministers to re-orientate talks so that they promote rather than undermine
development. Civil society groups are concerned that current proposals threaten
to undermine poverty reduction and destroy livelihoods. The EU's dogged
insistence on including liberalisation that goes far beyond what is being
negotiated at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as well as commitments in areas
which developing countries have rejected at the WTO makes proposed Economic
Partnership Agreements (EPAs) likely to have a devastating effect on ACP
economies.
->
EC Press Release: ACP-EU
Council of Ministers: positive discussion on EPAs , Brussels, 25 May 2007
-> Peter
Mandelson’s opening statement
-> Main results of the ACP-EC Joint Council of Ministers:
trade and financial issues



*Event: European Parliament – Committee on International Trade
Date:
23 May 2007
Resources:
-> Remarks by Peter
Mandelson , Strasbourg, 22
May 2007
-> EU's Mandelson denies pressuring ex-colonies on trade
->
European Parliament resolution of 23 May 2007 on Economic Partnership
Agreements

2005/2246(INI) - EP:
non-legislative resolution EN FR

The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the
own-initiative report by Robert STURDY (EPP-ED, UK) on Economic Partnership
Agreements (EPAs) with third countries, by 550 votes in favour to 59 against
with 59 abstentions, and called for the Commission to make the conditions for
the agreements less onerous for these countries. The report makes a number of
recommendations: simplified, liberalised and more flexible rules of origin, full
duty-free, quota-free market access for the ACP, workable safeguards, dispute
settlement and monitoring mechanisms with transparent provisions and a real
power to act in the event of changes caused by EPAs having a harmful effect on
sectors of ACP economies. These positive aspects need to be correctly framed in
negotiations.
-> European Parliament Report on
EPAs EN FR

The aim of this report has been to be constructive, realistic and
balanced.[...]Negotiations of EPAs have been characterised by mistrust and
disagreement about how trade should be made a "development tool". Mistakes have
been made in approaches to, and the undertaking of, negotiations which are wide
ranging and ambitious in their scope. The voices of those who will be affected
by EPAs have not always been adequately heard nor the impacts of EPAs on ACP
countries fully quantified.
->
European Parliament resolution of 23 May 2007 on the EU's Aid for
Trade

2006/2236(INI)- EP: non-legislative
resolution EN FR
The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the
own-initiative report by David MARTIN (PES, UK) on the EU's Aid for Trade (AfT).
The report was adopted by 598 votes in favour to 33 against with 32 abstentions.
Members pointed out that over the past 40 years, the share of world trade of the
least developed countries (LDCs) has declined from 1.9% to less than 1% despite
the expansion, over recent years, of bilateral duty free and quota free access
schemes for their products (of which the Community's 'Everything But Arms'
scheme is the largest. Parliament felt that Aid for Trade is needed to enable
all developing countries, particularly LDCs to integrate better into the
multilateral trading system and to use trade more effectively in promoting the
overarching objective of poverty eradication in the context of sustainable
development.
-> Report on the EU's Aid for
Trade EN FR
This report has endeavoured to be ambitious yet realistic in its
assessment and in the demands made of the EU in relation to its aid for trade
(AfT). The report reiterates the highly convincing rationale for more and
improved AfT, and seeks to make a positive contribution to shaping the way that
the Commission and Member States’ AfT is delivered and scrutinised. Importantly
the report calls for extensive and ongoing European Parliament involvement. The
Parliament has been involved with pushing the AfT agenda for some time, and
introduced a new budget line specifically targeted at AfT activities into the
2007 budget approved by the European Parliament last December.





*Event: Regional
Dialogue on the Economic Partnership Agreements, Intellectual Property and
Sustainable Development for the ECOWAS Countries


Date: 30-31 May 2007
Dialogue organised by ICTSD in partnership with ENDA
and QUNO - Saly (Dakar), Senegal
Resources:
-> The International
Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), in collaboration with
Environmental Development Action in the Third World / Environnement et
Développement du Tiers Monde (ENDA), the Quakers United Nations Office (QUNO)
and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), have organised a
Regional Dialogue on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), Intellectual
Property and Sustainable Development for the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS). The Dialogue will be held in Saly, Senegal on the 30rd and 31th
of May, 2007. Participants will include members of the ECOWAS as well as
Mauritania.
-> Also available in French: Les APE, les Droits de Proprièté
intellectuelle, l'Innovation et le Développement Durable en Afrique de l'Ouest

->Full description of the meeting, programme, list of
participants and related documentation in both french and English here






[

size=9]* Event: ESA EPA
Information seminar

Date: May 31, 2007, Lusaka, Zambia

Resources:
Trade negotiators called on civil society representatives to
step forward and help steer the design of new trade rules at a seminar organised
by the European Union (EU) and the Eastern Southern Africa (ESA) region. It was
thereby sought to give participants a chance to express their views at a crucial
stage of negotiations and get an insight into the Economic Partnership Agreement
(EPA) being set up by the two regions.
-> Progress
and status of ESA-EC EPA Negotiations
, COMESA Secretariat
[/size]-> EPAs:
The Development Component , EC Delegation in Lusaka,
Zambia.
-> EU
Now Reaches Out to Civil Society On EPAs,The East African,
Nairobi, 22 May 2007

*Event: The Private Sector and Aid for Trade
Date: 3-5 June
2007
organised by ICTSD and ITC, Montreux, Switzerland
Resources:
-> Documents

-> Description

-> Programme


-> Participants





*Event: European Commission Central
African regional workshop on Sustainable Development and regional trade
agreements, Libreville, Gabon


Date: 6-8 June 2007
Resources:
-> PricewaterhouseCoopers
and ECDPM with support from GRET organised a two day workshop in Libreville,
Gabon, on 6-8 June 2007 to discuss how Sustainable Development should be
integrated into the CEMAC-EU Economic Partnership Agreements.

*Event: Consultations on Monitoring the Caribbean-EU Economic Partnership
Agreement
Date: 8 June 2007, Jamaica
Organised by ICTSD and
APRODEV
-> Although the EPA process appears to have been
conceived with sustainable development goals in mind, progress in the
negotiations has yet to reflect this ambition. This situation has generated
concern among various political actors and civil society organizations in the
ACP and Europe who have repeatedly called for the EPAs not to renege on their
development promise. It has also heightened awareness about the need to develop
monitoring mechanisms to measure the progress of the EPAs in the context of
sustainable development As a contribution to the ongoing discussions on
sustainable development aspects of the EPAs, the consultations will provide an
opportunity to review the most recent analysis on the issue by Dr. Patsy LEWIS
and Dr. Jessica BYRON and to explore options for addressing the outstanding
development issues of particular interest to the Caribbean countries. The
roundtable will convene renowned experts as well as key policy makers and
negotiators from the region for an open and frank discussion.
Resources:
-> [url=]Formulating
Sustainable Development Benchmarks for an EU-CARIFORUM EPA: Caribbean
perspectives by Jessica Byron and Patsy Lewis[/url]

-> Programme

-> Participants





* Event: Second
Africa-Europe Business Forum, Accra, Ghana

Date: June 21-22,
2007
The Commission of the African Union has the pleasure to announce that
the Second EU-Africa Business Forum is scheduled to take place in Accra, Ghana,
on 21-22 June, 2007, in Committee Hall 2 of Accra's International Conference
Centre. This is an annual event, jointly organised by the AU Commission and the
European Commission.
Resources :
-> Concept
Note
-> Draft
agenda





*
Upcoming event: 13th ACP-EU session to take place in Wiesbaden
Date: June
23-28, 2007
Resources:
-> The ACP-EU
Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) holds its 13th session from 23 to 28 June in
Wiesbaden, Germany. On the agenda will be the economic partnership agreements
between the two groups of countries as well as the situations in Darfur and
Zimbabwe.EN FR
->
ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly web site EN FR

-> Composition and working
methods EN
FR
-> 13th session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary
Assembly: agenda EN
FR
-> EP report on the work of the ACP-EU Joint
Parliamentary Assembly in 2006 (Cornillet report) EN
FR






* Upcoming event:
Pan-African Stop EPAs peoples’ Forum, Accra, Ghana

Date:
29-30 June 2007
Organised by Africa Trade Network and Economic Justice
Network of Ghana
The event coincides with the 2007 Summit of the African
Union (AU) which also takes place on those dates, and commemorates the 50th
Anniversary of Ghana’s Independence.
The 2-day event will include panel
discussions, teach-ins, media and publicity outreach, signature collection, a
mass rally, and a public demonstration. There will also be thematic workshops
across the range of EPA-specific subjects as well as socio-economic issues such
as: “Is Africa Hungry for Trade? The EPAs and Food Security”; “Undermining
Africa – EPAs, Natural Resource Plunder and the New Scramble for Africa”;
“Giving Your More to Receive Your Less – EPAs and the Politics of Aid”
The
Local Host Organisation – the Economic Justice Network (EJN) expects hundreds of
participants from acr! oss Africa and especially from the West Africa region and
from within Ghana. The EJN has emerged as the organizing centre of national
“Stop EPA’ activity in Ghana and includes networks and organizations such as
FoodSpan, Oxfam in Ghana, the Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition, TWN Africa,
the General Agricultural Workers’ Union, the Peasant Farmers Association of
Ghana, the African Child Campaign, the Women’s Manifesto Coalition and the
Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT).





* Upcoming event:
Portuguese Presidency of the European Union

Date: 1st of July
2007 – 31st of December 2007
Resources:
-> The website of the Portuguese presidency: EN FR

-> On the 27th
of June, the Prime-Minister, José Sócrates, will present the Priorities for the
Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU at the Portuguese Parliament, in
Lisbon.





Check our website
for more events and resources! http://www.acp-eu-trade.org





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