The Courier

Building site in the centre of Kigali (Rwanda).

© Andrea Frazzetta (Agenzia Grazia Neri) Courtesy of Andrea Frazzetta

A few weeks short of the 31 December deadline set by the WTO for the conclusion of negotiations, the JPA acted as a forum for airing the concerns about the liberalisation of trade, as stipulated in the EPA process. Aided in their resolution by a number of MEPs, the ACP MPs took the opportunity to drive home their concerns, not only to the Commission, which is leading the negotiations, but also to the Council, thanks to the presence of Joao Cravinho, the Portuguese Cooperation Minister, whose country then held the EU Presidency.

Kigali Declaration

Finally, in the wake of several days of debates and behind-the-scenes negotiations, a tangible outcome was achieved with the adoption of a Kigali Declaration that underlines the ACP countries’ concern about the Commission, which had been threatening to impose a Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) that would provide a much less generous EU market access to countries that failed to sign the EPAs in time. The Kigali Declaration states that this system “would threaten the welfare and livelihoods of millions of workers in ACP States”, and recalls the EU’s undertaking in the revised Cotonou Agreement. This specifies that no ACP country should be left less well off at the end of any negotiations. However, after further pressure was applied by the Christian Democrat and Liberal MEPs, the declaration included a reference to the need to comply with WTO requirements.

At the moment when the Commission’s negotiators were seeking to conclude WTO compatible free trade agreements by 31 December 2008, the parliamentarians hit out at what they termed the “pressures” and the “dogmatic and dictatorial” stance adopted by the EU’s executive arm. “Just as in the good old days of the colonies, we have been asked to be on our best behaviour and agree to sign in Brussels!” said Boyce Sebetela from Botswana angrily. His statement was greeted with thunderous applause from the audience. Socialist MEP, Alain Hutchinson added, “This is what can only be called blackmail!”

Despite this flood of criticism, Commissioner Louis Michel did not back down. He re-emphasised his faith in the EPA, describing it as a “development tool” and sought to reassure the Assembly that the liberalisation of trade would be a gradual process backed up by a significant level of European financial support. “This is not crude liberalisation!” Michel pointed out, going on to refer to the failure of the trade preferences system that was launched several decades before. His belief is that it is high time for the ACP countries to embrace economic openness, using the economic growth in Asia as a model.

China’s monopoly

The subject of Asia and its emerging powers like China and India, now taking up strong positions in Africa, sparked off yet another spirited debate in Kigali, this time between MEPs and ACP MPs. The ACP parliamentarians wouldn’t accept any criticism of China made in a foreign investment report adopted by the Assembly, much to the dismay of its co-author Astrid Lulling, an MEP from Luxembourg. She asserted that, “China is monopolising the continent’s natural resources and raw materials. This does not help the development process along but benefits Chinese companies. China’s aid does more harm than good.” This very direct criticism displeased African MPs, backed by the JPA’s Co-President, Radembino Coniquet, and added to by a representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), who said, “Each country is entitled to develop its relations with anyone it chooses”.

It was later pointed out that the ACP States did not need to be taught any lessons by Europe, whose companies prefer to relocate to the Middle Kingdom (China) rather than Africa. But these clashes revealed just how explosive these issues are and how much work still has to be done by the EU in its efforts to forge a ‘three-sided’ dialogue with China and the African continent.

The Assembly managed to come together again to put over its concern at the deteriorating situation in East Congo, where continuing clashes between the Congolese army and General Laurent Nkunda’s rebel forces have displaced 350,000 people in the last 12 months. In an emergency resolution, the Assembly called for the mobilisation of the international community and neighbouring countries. “Congo is the trigger of Africa,” warned a DRC MP. German MEP Jürgen Schroeder believed that “the stability of the entire region is under threat owing to this crisis, involving the rape of women, the murder of children, as well as  violence and pillaging for ethnic reasons.” Sadly, the Assembly’s warning was tragically borne out a few days later when fighting intensified around the city of Goma, close to the Rwandan border.

Finally, the Assembly provided the opportunity for a wake-up call on an issue that may be less dramatic but still has major implications for the ACP countries: the delay in ratifying the revised Cotonou Agreement. This delay is now jeopardising the release of funds from the 10th European Development Fund, 2008–2013. The Co-Presidents, Glenys Kinnock and Radembino Coniquet, urged national MPs to take action to guarantee that the agreement is ratified on time so that European aid can be released. The 27 EU Member States and two-thirds of the ACP Group of States must ratify the pact before the Commission can draw upon the EDF’s €22.6 billion worth of financing. Kinnock stressed how serious the situation was, warning that if the ratification process is not completed, funding for projects and budget aid would not be forthcoming. She hoped that this issue would be settled during the JPA’s next meeting in Slovenia in March.