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EU decision on GSP+ applications
Duty-free access to the EU market for around 6400 tariff lines was granted to sixteen developing countries by the European Commission on 9 December 2008. The decision came under the GSP+ special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance. Two ACP countries that had applied, Nigeria and Gabon, were not however accepted because, according to the EU, they failed to meet the criteria: out of twenty-seven conventions on international human rights, good governance, and sustainable development, Nigeria had not ratified one (genocide) and Gabon two (child labour and hazardous waste trade). The Commission rejected the accusation from the National Association of Nigerian Traders that the decision was not “purely legal” but another tool to force Nigeria into signing an EPA.
Political outlook for Southern Africa for 2009
Southern Africa will face heightened political and economic strains in 2009 brought on by a deteriorating security situation in both Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo where democratic progress also remains elusive. This will be exacerbated by probable adverse affects from the global economic slowdown. To this, Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, and South Africa will all go to the polls this year, where multiple elections will likely see ruling parties entrenched.
Challenges for ACP-EU relations in 2009
The year 2009 is set to bring major changes to how the European Union (EU) conducts its international affairs: European Parliament elections will be held in June 2009, a new set of European Commissioners will take office in November, and there will be changes to how the Council of Ministers is run. This year will also mark the second review of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, where a clearer place will be sought for the African Union in Africa-European relations. Further changes are expected to emerge from a new US administration that is set to rebuild bridges in international affairs and reconnect with popular aspirations globally. The European Centre for Development Policy Management examines these and other pressing challenges for the year ahead in an end of 2008 published InBrief.
To view this publication, see: ECDPM InBrief, James Mackie, Eleonora Koeb and Veronika Tywuschik, December 2008: www.ecdpm.org/Web_ECDPM/Web/Content/
Download.nsf/0/183F7F97AD33B88DC12575 3500310027/$FILE/InBrief22_e_ challenges%202009.pdf
The EC-CARIFORUM EPA: Assessing the outcomes on services and investment
A recent paper published by the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) examines the extent to which services and investment provisions in the CARIFORUM EPA advance liberalization, its implications for development in the region, and policy lessons it provides for Africa and the Pacific. The Agreement not only represents a precedentsetting evolution in preferential trade agreements, but it also sets a high standard for all subsequent EPA negotiations. In this ECIPE study, it is made clear how a wellnegotiated agreement between highly unequal partners can nonetheless generate outcomes that offer tangible benefits to the weaker player. The report brings a welcome positive outlook to the much-maligned EPA process.
To view this publication, see: The ECCariforum Economic Partnership Agreement: Assessing the Outcome on Services and Investment, ECIPE Paper, Pierre Sauvé and Natasha Ward, European Centre for International Political Economy, January 2009: www.ecipe.org/the-ec-cariform-economicpartnership-agreement-assessing-theoutcome-on-services-and-investment
News Sources
1. “EU gives developing countries duty-free access with
GSP+ Brussels,” 9 December 2008: www.ec.europa.eu/trade/issues/global/gsp/pr091208_ en.htm
2. “NANTS position on the EPA and the EU’s rejection of Nigeria’s GSP+ application,” NANTS, 19 December 2008: www.acp-eu-trade.org
3. “Nigeria: The Country and the GSP Debate,” Kelechi Onyemaobi, Delegation of the European Commission to Nigeria, 4 January 2009: www.allafrica.com
4. “ACP-EU Newsletter,” Melissa Julian, ECDPM, 10 January 2009: www.ecdpm.org/Web_ECDPM/Web/ Content/Download.nsf/0/6E26323BC708D8CBC125753 C004BB22A/$FILE/ACP-EU%20News%20100109.pdf
5. “The political and economic outlook for Southern Africa in 2009: Southern Africa faces multiple strains,” Oxford Analytica, 25 Nov 2008: www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/YSAR7LQUEK?OpenDocument
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