EU-ACP - Launch of trade negotiations with Southern African region

FR

The EU and seven Southern African countries have decided to join forces and promote trade and development by launching negotiations for a region-to-region Economic and Partnership Agreement (EPA). The opening ceremony will take place on 8 in Windhoek, Namibia. By opening up trade between both regions and setting up clear rules for trade, the EPA will contribute to the economic integration of the region. Tearing down barriers to trade among themselves is the necessary complement to the almost full access to the EU market already enjoyed by these countries.

Before leaving for Namibia, EU Commissioner Danuta Hübner said: "In the EPA negotiations trade is one of the tools to ensure development, which is its main objective. By initiating negotiations on a regional basis, our partners have already taken a big step towards deepening and accelerating their own economic integration. If at the end of these negotiations, the Southern African region stands as a stronger region, able to define its common interest and improve jointly the environment for business and investors, we will all have won."

Poul Nielson, Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid said "I strongly believe in the logic of the EPA's. By building larger markets within the stable and predictable framework of an Economic Partnership Agreement our partner countries in the ACP will be much better placed to access and reap the development benefits of the world trade system. But it will require that they seize the opportunity and allow the EPA's to become the vehicle for regional integration that it is promising to be."

The seven Southern African countries - Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Tanzania - form the South Africa Development Community (SADC). South Africa will participate as observer and supportive capacity.

The opening ceremony is hosted by the Government of Namibia, with the Trade Minister of Botswana acting as a Chief Negotiator on the SADC side. The ceremonial launch of regional talks will be followed by a first negotiating session during which both sides will discuss a "roadmap" outlining the steps in the negotiation, which will be concluded no later than by end 2007.

Background

Economic and Partnership Agreements are based on the Cotonou Agreement between 77 ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) countries and the EU. Negotiations were launched on 27th September 2002 in Brussels. The first phase of talks on the all-ACP - EU level led on 2nd October 2003 to a preliminary understanding on horizontal issues in key areas such as market access, trade-related areas, services and the development dimension of EPAs.

The South African Development Community (SADC) is the fifth ACP region to open EPA negotiations with the EU. In October 2003, negotiations were launched in both West and Central Africa, while Eastern and Southern Africa and the Caribbean followed in February and April 2004, respectively.

The Least Developed Countries within SADC (Angola, Lesotho, Tanzania and Mozambique) already benefit from duty-free and quota-free access into the EU market under the EU's «Everything but Arms » initiative (EBA).


For more information on ACP-EU trade relations go to:

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

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