Breakthrough in negotiations on the ACP-EU Economic Partnership Agreements - A successful outcome in sight
There is light at the end of the tunnel. The session of the joint ACP/EU Council of Ministers on 25 May 2007 in Brussels took a big step forward to concluding Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and six ACP* sub-regions, at a standstill since 2005.
Alfredo Jaar, Muxima, 2005. Video digital artwork, 36’.
Courtesy of the artist
On this memorable day in the history of these extremely laborious negotiations – which were initiated in September 2002 with the ACP group as a whole – the ministers of the 27 EU Member States and their colleagues from the 77 ACP countries effectively confirmed that they would be sparing no effort in concluding on time, thus before the end of 2007, EPAs compatible with the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The aim is for these new trade agreements, designed to help development in the ACP countries, to enter into force on 1 January 2008. This is the expiry date for the exemption to the WTO rules authorising ACP countries to enjoy unilateral preferential trading terms for their access to the European market by the terms of the Cotonou Agreement.
Gradual market openings
Better still, the ministers jointly approved the formal offer made by the European Commission on 4 April. By virtue of this offer, unveiled by European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, all countries that negotiate an EPA will be granted from 1 January 2008 duty-free and quota-free access to the European market for virtually all their products. This includes agricultural products such as beef, dairy, cereals and all fruit and vegetables. As a transitional measure, there will be certain exceptions for rice and sugar. In short, the ACP and European ministers agreed to a system that is very close to the one already enjoyed by 40 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) known as “Everything except arms”. These would not be conventional free trade agreements, as this offer does not suppose a mutual opening up of markets. But first and foremost the development of regional markets between the ACP countries as a prelude to the progressive liberalisation of trade with the EU, with very long transitional periods of up to 25 years, safeguard clauses to enable ACP countries to protect their most sensitive products against European competition and more flexible rules of origin, affirmed the European Commission.
Nevertheless, there is also a need for the negotiations to find a solution that gives the ACP countries the assurance that they will retain the advantages guaranteed to date by the protocols on basic products of vital importance to them – such as the Sugar Protocol that the EU is threatening to dismantle unilaterally – as is stipulated by Article 36.4 of the Cotonou Agreement. The ACP ministers have made clear demands for this, and the European Union has accepted these demands while not yet indicating the means.
On 15 May the Council of EU Development Cooperation Ministers had already expressed in unanimously approved written conclusions the EU’s determination to reach agreement on time and confirmed its intention to allocate €2 billion a year to trade aid for the developing countries from 2010, given that the ACP countries would be the principal beneficiaries.
* West Africa via the CEDEAO, Southern Africa via the SADC, Central Africa via the CEMAC, Eastern and Southern Africa via the ESA, the Caribbean via the CARICM, and the Pacific.
