ECOWAS Urges Flexibility on EPAs
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas on Thursday, 30th August, urged the European Union to be mindful of the development dimension and show “understanding and demonstrate greater flexibility” in its approach to the ongoing process for the negotiation of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) of the two regions.
Exchanging views with Baroness Shriti Verdana, the United Kingdom Minister for Development, Dr Chambas said an intensive intra-regional consultation process was underway that will culminate in the adoption of a regional position on the feasibility of the 31st December 2007 deadline for the signing of the EPA.
While the region has concluded the major tasks indicated in the first phase of the preparatory process, the President said there were still outstanding challenges that needed to be resolved prior to the signing of the EPA, an agreement that will create a free trade area of West Africa and Europe.
Key among them are the strengthening of the regional integration process, the creation of a region-wide Common External Tariff (CET) and the full implementation of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) as well as the harmonization of tax and investment policies.
The region is also worried about the issue of market access, the treatment of sensitive products, the liberalization of services and the absence of support measures through the establishment of an EPA regional funding mechanism.
The fund will serve as a compensatory mechanism for revenue losses for Member States, most of which rely on import duty as a major source of government revenue. It will also help the region to address identified constraints, including the upgrading of its infrastructure to enhance the competitiveness of regional industries so that they can benefit from the agreement.
Responding, Baroness Verdana said the UK appreciated the challenges faced by the region and expressed the hope that they would be resolved quickly for a mutually beneficial agreement.
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