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ACP Stakeholders seek to harmonize their positions among negotiating groups
On 20-21 May, the African Union Commission will hold a workshop in Abuja, Nigeria, that will gather EPA negotiators and advisors from the five African regions involved in EPA negotiations, representatives of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the regional representative of the negotiating groups in Brussels, and the coordinator of the African Group to the WTO[1]. The workshop will focus on harmonising the positions held by the different regions in the EPA negotiations and the continent’s economic-integration agenda[2]. Participants will also explore ways to ensure that EPAs deliver on their development objectives. New EU-ACP institutional matters, notably the implications of the Lisbon Treaty on EPA negotiations, will also be addressed.
Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) Trade Ministers meet Commissioners De Gucht and Pielbags
European Commissioners Karel de Gucht and Andris Pielbags met with Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) representatives, including Zambia’s Trade Minister, ESA Chair Felix Mutati and Malawi’s Trade Minister Eunice Kazembe, during an informal ESA-EC ministerial meeting on 14 April 2010. This was the first meeting between EU Commissioners and ESA Ministers since the signing of the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in Mauritius on 29 August 2009.
The meeting was intended to establish a common understanding on issues under negotiation and chart a way forward. From the ESA side, the main objectives of the meeting were to seek flexibility from the EC on market access, discuss development support and obtain political guidance in technical negotiations[3]. Following the meeting, Commissioner De Gucht said: “We discussed the very real challenges faced in the region in relation to trade and agreed that the trade we are seeking is about market creation. In this respect, I was encouraged to hear about ambitions to further integrate African regional markets[4].”
Controversy stirs over EPA in EAC region
No date has been set for an EC-EAC meeting, despite an agreement by the parties to organise a senior-level meeting to tackle the outstanding and contentious issues that are blocking progress towards signing the Framework EPA (i.e., export taxes, the MFN clause, and the development matrix).
It is hoped that a ministerial meeting will be held before the summer break, and Kenya’s EAC permanent secretary expressed optimism that the agreement will be signed before the end of the year. However, according to one source close to the negotiations, with most regional governments going into elections, that prospect looks unlikely. Moreover, “the European Commission has new office bearers who have requested for more time to familiarise themselves with the technical issues surrounding the EPA negotiations, meaning we have to wait longer,” added this person.[5]
Meanwhile, the EPA has gained renewed attention in the region thanks to comments by Tanzania’s former president, Benjamin Mkapa. Speaking at a Pan African media conference, Mkapa described the agreement as another “scramble for Africa” that will undermine the “African quest for unity[6]“. His opinion has been supported by a document from the South Centre titled “Trade for Development Programme”, which argues that EPAs provide the wrong development model for Africa[7]. Mkapa’s position has also been supported by civil society organisations and representatives of the private sector, who recently raised concerns over non-tariff barriers and stringent SPS rules that frustrate access to the EU market access[8]. In response, the EU has spoken out in the media to defend the agreement, and also used the opportunity to reiterate the position that the current situation, whereby the EU unilaterally applies the preferential provisions of the FEPA without a full signed agreement, is difficult to maintain[9].
Joint SADC EC EPA senior officials meeting
A Joint SADC - EC EPA senior officials meeting scheduled to be held on 26-29 April in Brussels was cancelled due to the no-fly crisis, and is now expected to be held at the end of May. Officials will discuss outstanding issues under negotiation, which include tariff and rules of origin alignment, and trade in services and investment issues. Regarding tariff alignment, the meeting will consider tariff lines to be amended in the interim EPA following a decision of the joint EPA Council. The parties will also discuss amending tariff lines and the rules of origin provisions in the TDCA, as well as the issue of cumulation and rules of origin relating to fish in the EC-SADC EPA.[10]
The meeting will be preceded by a meeting of the technical working groups (services and investment, market access, unresolved negotiation issues) and a SADC internal meeting.
West Africa sets the agenda for the conclusion of the EPA later this year
European and West African senior officials met in Brussels on 25-26 March to discuss the way forward in EPA negotiations and set the agenda for a fast-track conclusion of the agreement later this year[11]. West Africa has increased its market access offer to 70%, but stated this is as high as it will go. The region has also proposed a tariff-dismantling schedule comprising three phases (2015, 2025 and 2035). This proposition has, however, been judged insufficient by the EU, which would like to see West Africa liberalise “essentially” all its offer within 15 years. In response, West Africa has accepted to review its liberalisation timetable. Furthermore, the parties agreed during this meeting to maintain community levies, although the question of a transition period for these levies has not yet been resolved.
Progress was also reported on the EPA Development Programme (EPADP/PAPED), with the decision to create an ad hoc working group to draft a consensual implementation protocol within 45 days. The West African countries agreed to submit as soon as possible their revised national operational plans for the EPADP/PAPED, while the EU committed to present its detailed response to the programme with concrete financing tables. On 10 May, EU ministers of development are expected to outline the EU’s commitment to support the EPADP/PAPED, and a high-level political exchange will take place on this issue in the context of the seminar by the Spanish presidency on the role of the EU in strengthening regional integration in West Africa, to be held in Brussels on 11-12 May 2010.
Progress still lags on issues such as the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) clause, the link with the Cotonou agreement, agricultural subsidies, and rules of origin. The latter two topics will be discussed respectively on 28 April in Abuja and in May this year.
The next technical and senior officials’ meetings between the parties will be held from 7-11 June 2010 in Ouagadougou, with chief negotiators’ meetings to follow later in the year.
Central Africa (CA) prepares for talks on services
During the latest meeting of the Council of Ministers responsible for the EPA negotiations, held in Douala last February, the Ministers stressed the importance of the EPA clauses on services and asked the negotiators to review the road map for the negotiations. It was against this background that the Regional Coordinating Committee for the Negotiations (CRCN) organised a meeting of the Working Party on Services and Investment (GTSI) in Douala from 24 to 26 March. The meeting was held with the technical and financial support of International Lawyers and Economists Against Poverty (ILEAP). Those present included, alongside the members of the CRCN and the GTSI, representatives of private-sector organisations (i.e. the Union of Central African Employers’ Associations and the Assembly of Local Chambers of Commerce and Agriculture), the Committee of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) and the Secretariat-General of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). This preparatory meeting, which assessed the progress made to date in the talks, in particular on the CA-EU EPA, called for a broad review of the challenges arising from the liberalisation of services and adopted a road map and a timetable of activities for preparing for CA-EU talks on this subject.[12]
On another count, a contact group was due to meet at Libreville to discuss matters relating to the regional EPA, and also to pave the way for the meeting of technical officers and chief negotiators due to be held later on in Kinshasa. Although originally scheduled for April, these discussions are unlikely to be held before May, given that no date has been fixed yet.
Caribbean
The first Joint Cariforum-EU EPA Council of Ministers, which will focus on establishing institutions to oversee the implementation of the agreement, may be held at the margin of the EU-LAC summit of Madrid on 18 May (as TNI went to press, this had not yet been confirmed).
Ambassador Gail Mathurin, Director General of the CARICOM Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) strongly defended the EPA with the EU in the midst of growing criticism, notably fed by the EU decision last month to cut off funds on further disbursements under the rum programme (see related-articles in this issue). Both Ambassador Mathurin and Carl Greenidge (Deputy OTN Senior Director) insist on the fact that the CARIFORUM EPA is still a “baby agreement” and thus need more time to deliver the expected development promises[13].
On 22-23 April, the EC DG organised a two-day conference in Bridgetown, Barbados, titled “The CARIFORUM-EU EPA One Year On: Regional Integration and Sustainable Development”. The event, which gathered experts, academics, media, business and civil society representatives, as well as government officials from across the Caribbean region, debated the agreement’s regional integration and sustainable development dimensions and the current implementation challenges.
Pacific
No negotiation sessions have been held on the EPA over the past month, as the region is kept busy with the negotiations over the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER).
EPA negotiations are scheduled to be held in June in Nadi, allowing time for the negotiating parties to complete the required preparatory work needed in fisheries, customs-related provisions and market-access offers.
The European Commission was expected to start the next SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) evaluation of Fiji’s fishery industry by the end of 2010 to determine whether the country can restart exporting fish products to the European Union. Fiji was removed in 2008 from the EU list of exporters due to serious shortcomings in its procedures to certify that all fish catches by Fijians’ vessels were safe for consumption. However, Food Safety, Health and Consumer Affairs official, Wolf-Martin Haier indicated that the probability of organising any inspection for this year was extremely low[14].
[1] EPA Negotiations Coordination meeting - Agenda
http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Conferences/2010/may/epa/English%20Agenda.pdf
[2] EPA Negotiations Coordination meeting - Aide mémoirehttp://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Conferences/2010/may/epa/Aide%20memoire%20EPA%20english.pdf
[3] ESA-EC establish common understanding, COMESA Press Release, 23 April, http://www.comesa.int/lang-en/component/content/article/34-general-news/397-esa-ec-establish-common-understanding
[4] http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=551
[5] “EAC-EU Trade Talks Hit a Snag”, Catherine Riungu, the East African, 5 April 2010 - http://allafrica.com/stories/201004050611.html
[6] ibid. and EU faults Mkapa on Epa , The Citizen via AllAfrica.com 6 April, 2010
http://allafrica.com/stories/201004060337.html ;
[7] This document has been serialized by the Citizen online : “EPAs: The wrong development model for Africa” http://thecitizen.co.tz/editorial-analysis/20-analysis-opinions/1044-epas-the-wrong-development-model-for-africa.html
[8] “Now business community supports Mkapa on EPA”, Samuel Kamndaya, The Citizen, 29 March 2010, http://thecitizen.co.tz/component/content/article/37-tanzania-top-news-story/1023-trade-negotiationsnow-business-community-supports-mkapa-on-epa.html
[9] EU faults Mkapa on Epa , The Citizen Daily, via AllAfrica.com 6 April, 2010
http://allafrica.com/stories/201004060337.html ; and “EU’s response to critics of Epas”, The Citizen Daily - Apr 6, 2010, http://thecitizen.co.tz/news/3-features/1166-eus-response-to-critics-of-epas
[10] The rules created problems for Namibia’s with respect to their sovereignty over its EEZ and with respect to the EC’s demand for a right of first refusal when entering into a leasing or chartering agreement with third parties
[11] Commissioner De Gucht meets Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) Trade Ministers. EPA Flash News, European Commission, 16 April 2010, http://www.acp-eu-trade.org/library/files/EC_EN_1610_EC_Wider%20agenda%20-%20Development-Economic%20Partnerships.pdf , and NANTS Response to the EU Trade Commissioner’s Interview on the EPAs. Press Release.
[12] For further information, see the relevant section of the ILEAP website, which includes an overview of and a list of presentations on the ‘Réévaluation du programme de travail des réformes du commerce des services en Afrique centrale’ (French only, available at http://www.ileap-jeicp.org/programmes/meetings_workshops/douala_march_2010_f.html)
[13] Mathurin defends EPA, The Jamaica Gleaner, http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100413/business/business3.html
[14]http://www.islandsbusiness.com/news/index_dynamic/containerNameToReplace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=130/focusContentID=18797/tableName=mediaRelease/overideSkinName=newsArticle-full.tpl
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