By Kofi Ahovi
The African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries have instructed their Council of Ministers to create an ACP Free Trade Area (FTA) among themselves in a move to side step signing the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union.
The decision, which was taken at the just ended 6th ACP Summit held in Accra last week, would enable the members of the group to freely trade between themselves while they await the EU to address critical concerns raised about the content of the EPA.
Meanwhile the heads of the ACP states have unanimously declined to sign the final EPA, due to what they described as “undue pressure” being put on some ACP members by the EU.
The ACP leaders, after several protests pressure groups in their home countries were convinced that their economies may not benefit much from trading with the EU through the controversial EPA.
Several civil society organizations have mounted various protests to urge their governments against signing the EPA which they believe would give the EU an undue advantage through unhindered access to ACP markets to the detriment of the ACP countries that are less developed to compete head-on with EU trade. These countries mostly lack the requisite institutional and infrastructural capacity to effectively access European markets.
Critics have condemned the EU’s motive for trying to arm-twist their least developed partners to sign the EPA even though they are fully aware of apparent potential to overwhelm the less developed economies of the ACP states.
The EPA negotiation process has split the ACP group as some countries have been made to individually endorse certain interim agreements of the EPA.
The Foreign Minister and Minister for African Integration of Ivory Coast, Amadou Kone, told Business week that the FTA would facilitate more trade within the bloc as they promise to present their negotiations with the EU on a more united front. According to a joint statement issued at the end of the summit, the ACP leaders expressed their determination to “safeguard and further enhance our unity and solidarity”.
“In order to smooth the process for finalization of the EPA negotiations, the European Commission and its members states must take account of the interests and concerns of all our states”, stated the decision paper.
To ensure the smooth process of finalizing the EPA negotiations, the ACP Heads of State and Government, represented by the Presidents of the Africa Union, CARIFORUM and Pacific ACP Summits, and headed by the President of the ACP Summit; engage in a high level consultation on the EPAs with a number of EU member states
In related development, the ACP Heads of State and Government issued a communiqué reaffirming their commitment to the principles enshrined in the Georgetown Agreement establishing the ACP group of states, ACP-EC Cotonou Partnership Agreement, and the United Nations Charter. The summit also adopted the Accra Declaration.
About 500 delegates from ACP countries converged in Accra for this year’s summit. Ghana was chosen to host the 6th ACP summit at the 5th ACP Summit held in Khartoum, Sudan
The African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries have instructed their Council of Ministers to create an ACP Free Trade Area (FTA) among themselves in a move to side step signing the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union.
The decision, which was taken at the just ended 6th ACP Summit held in Accra last week, would enable the members of the group to freely trade between themselves while they await the EU to address critical concerns raised about the content of the EPA.
Meanwhile the heads of the ACP states have unanimously declined to sign the final EPA, due to what they described as “undue pressure” being put on some ACP members by the EU.
The ACP leaders, after several protests pressure groups in their home countries were convinced that their economies may not benefit much from trading with the EU through the controversial EPA.
Several civil society organizations have mounted various protests to urge their governments against signing the EPA which they believe would give the EU an undue advantage through unhindered access to ACP markets to the detriment of the ACP countries that are less developed to compete head-on with EU trade. These countries mostly lack the requisite institutional and infrastructural capacity to effectively access European markets.
Critics have condemned the EU’s motive for trying to arm-twist their least developed partners to sign the EPA even though they are fully aware of apparent potential to overwhelm the less developed economies of the ACP states.
The EPA negotiation process has split the ACP group as some countries have been made to individually endorse certain interim agreements of the EPA.
The Foreign Minister and Minister for African Integration of Ivory Coast, Amadou Kone, told Business week that the FTA would facilitate more trade within the bloc as they promise to present their negotiations with the EU on a more united front. According to a joint statement issued at the end of the summit, the ACP leaders expressed their determination to “safeguard and further enhance our unity and solidarity”.
“In order to smooth the process for finalization of the EPA negotiations, the European Commission and its members states must take account of the interests and concerns of all our states”, stated the decision paper.
To ensure the smooth process of finalizing the EPA negotiations, the ACP Heads of State and Government, represented by the Presidents of the Africa Union, CARIFORUM and Pacific ACP Summits, and headed by the President of the ACP Summit; engage in a high level consultation on the EPAs with a number of EU member states
In related development, the ACP Heads of State and Government issued a communiqué reaffirming their commitment to the principles enshrined in the Georgetown Agreement establishing the ACP group of states, ACP-EC Cotonou Partnership Agreement, and the United Nations Charter. The summit also adopted the Accra Declaration.
About 500 delegates from ACP countries converged in Accra for this year’s summit. Ghana was chosen to host the 6th ACP summit at the 5th ACP Summit held in Khartoum, Sudan
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