EU COMMISSIONERS STRESS DEVELOPMENT DIMENSION OF EPAs
Parliamentarians from both the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states and the EU met in Bamako, Mali on 19 April. EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel reported to the "Joint Parliamentary Assembly" on the EU’s humanitarian and development relations with the ACP countries, as well as on recent proposals adopted by the EU on its contribution to the UN’s review of the Millennium Development Goals in September this year. Calling for support for cotton producers in West Africa, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson reported on progress in the EU’s Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations with the six ACP regions. Speaking before the meeting, Mandelson emphasised his promise to reshape the ongoing EPA negotiation process in a way "that would benchmark it against development goals."
In related news, the EU’s executive European Commission proposed 12 April to set a new EU official development aid target for 2010 at 0.56 percent, and "to undertake action to increase coherence and make sure the different EU policies use all their potential to contribute to development." The same day, the Commission also approved a communication to EU member states calling for a specific EU-Africa Partnership on infrastructure aimed at "strengthening the interconnectivity and the supply side capacity of our partners."
The EC press release on the Joint Parliamentary Assembly is available at http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/bilateral/regions/acp/pr180405_en.htm.
ICTSD reporting.