Commissioner Lamy in St. Lucia for ACP-EU Trade Ministerial

EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy travels to the Caribbean island of St Lucia on 1-2 March to chair the ACP-EU Ministerial Trade Committee and give an impetus to the ACP-EU negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and the on-going negotiations under the World Trade Organisation's Doha Development Agenda. He will also meet the Prime Minister of St Lucia, Caribbean Trade Ministers and private-sector representatives. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss trade issues, and ways of promoting ACP and Caribbean development through trade and regional integration.

On the eve of his departure Pascal Lamy said: "This is my first working visit to the Caribbean since taking office as Trade Commissioner. St Lucia will provide an excellent setting for examining the specific constraints facing small island countries as well as the Caribbean as a whole. I want to discuss how the Doha Development Agenda and the Economic Partnership Agreements can contribute to sustainable development through regional integration. We have a tremendous challenge ahead of us but I am confident that our joint work will assist in these efforts."

On Saturday 1 March, Mr. Lamy will chair the chair the ACP-EU Ministerial Trade Committee. He will then participate at a meeting with Caribbean Trade Ministers to discuss the challenges they face in trade and regional integration. On this occasion Pascal Lamy will sign the Caribbean Regional Indicative Programme through which the EU will provide € 57 million in EU support to the region. The lion's share of this money will aim at intensifying Caribbean regional integration within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM, founded thirty years ago this year) and the Dominican Republic. On Sunday 2 March, Mr Lamy will meet St Lucia's Prime Minister Kenny Anthony and visit a banana plantation to discuss with people who rely on bananas for their livelihood.

ACP-EU Joint Ministerial Trade Committee (JMTC)

Chaired by Mr. Lamy, the JMTC will be meeting for the fourth time to discuss key trade issues in ACP-EU trade relations. Each one of the six geographical ACP regions will be represented by three countries, thus bringing the total number of ACP participants to eighteen.* The JMTC will assess progress made in the EPA negotiations launched in September 2002 and examine the next stages, in particular the opening of negotiations between the EU and ACP regions.

The meeting will also allow ACP and EU participants to share views on the on-going WTO negotiations, in view of the upcoming WTO Ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico in September 2003.

Caribbean regional dimension

During his visit Mr. Lamy will also meet Caribbean Trade Ministers to examine regional integration in the context of the on-going EPA negotiations as well as WTO and other trade related issues.

Mr Lamy and Mr Edwin Carrington, Secretary-General of CARIFORUM**, will sign the Caribbean Regional Indicative Programme for support to the Caribbean region providing € 57 million for the period 2003-2007. The programme will focus on projects relating to trade and regional integration in the Caribbean region as identified in joint discussions between CARIFORUM and the EU.

Mr. Lamy will also meet with Caribbean business representatives to discuss main trade challenges for the Caribbean economy.

Focus on St Lucia

On the second day of his visit, Mr. Lamy will meet Prime Minister Kenny Anthony of St Lucia. Mr. Lamy will then visit a banana plantation to discuss with banana producers and traders the importance of the banana sector to St Lucia, the problems facing it, and the impact of support provided by the EU to this sector.


Background

*The current members of the ACP-EU Joint Ministerial Trade Committee (JMTC) on the ACP side are: Barbados, Belize, Benin, Cameroon (co-chair), Central African Republic, Republic of Congo-Brazzaville-, Ethiopia, Fiji, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, St Lucia, Senegal and Zimbabwe.

**CARIFORUM, the Caribbean Forum of ACP States, comprises all members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM - with the exception of Monserrat), plus the Dominican Republic and Cuba. The current purpose of Cariforum includes managing and coordinating the policy dialogue with the EU, and managing EU regional support. CARIFORUM members are:

Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago.


For more information see:

IP/02/1379, IP/02/1049, IP/02/871

http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/bilateral/acp/acp.htm


Contact:

Arancha Gonzalez - 2/296.15.53
Catherine Ray - 02/295.47.21


Programme


Saturday 1 March

08:30 - ACP-EU Joint Ministerial Trade Committee
15:00 - Meeting with Caribbean Trade Ministers
17:00 - Signing the Caribbean Regional Indicative Programme

Speech by EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy at Sandals Hotel on "Small Economies in a Globalised World: A European Perspective"


Sunday 2 March

08:00 - Meeting with Prime Minister Kenny Anthony of St Lucia
10:00 - Visit to banana plantation and distribution centre

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