EPA Fragmenting Regional Blocks

Joseph Coomson (Ghanaian Chronicle)- Rather than promoting regional integration, the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) is rather fragmenting Africa and breaking its front as some regional blocks are signing the agreement without key countries.

The SADC region signed it last Friday without South Africa and Namibia whiles EU is pushing West Africa to sign without big brother Nigeria.

Indications from East Africa indicate that five countries from the block are ready to sign the agreements whilst Central African countries are confused about the agreements.

This situation has been described by Mr. Tetteh Hormeku of the Third World Network as chaotic and an affront to the unity of Africa both politically and economically.

"These negotiations were to strengthen regional integration but is now ended up in chaos and regional fragmentation," he added.

The alleged agenda of EU to rather disintegrate Africa and the whole ACP was captured in a statement made by the Directorate General for Trade European Commission on November 12, 2007. The statement said "We fully appreciate that some countries may not feel able or ready to take this course, and at the end of the day if you don’t agree the choice is of course yours."

These remarks were made during the weekend when Civil Society Organizations from Africa met in Accra to discuss the topic ‘Gender and EPAs’ from November 24 to 26, 2007.

EPAs are a scheme to create a free trade area (FTA) between the European Union and the ACP countries. They are a response to continuing criticism that the non-reciprocal and discriminating preferential trade agreements offered by the EU are incompatible with WTO rules. The EPAs are a key element of the Cotonou Agreement, the latest agreement in the history of ACP-EU Development Cooperation and are to take effect as of 2008.

However, the negotiations for the EPAs have faced stiff opposition from Civil Society Organizations and some governments from Africa because they see it as a way of liberalizing totally the service and investment sectors of the ACP countries

As there is strong indication that the EPAs will not be signed at the set date of 31st December 2007, several alternatives have been suggested by governments, civil society and the EU.

Ghana and Third World Network have proposed "Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) -plus" as a temporary stop-gap solution. By resorting to the GSP+, the EU could still easily offer to all ACP countries good access to the markets for their exports at very similar levels to the access offered within the framework of the Cotonou agreement, while remaining compatible with WTO rules as long as the regime remains open to other developing countries on the basis of objective and transparent development criteria.

However, EU has rejected the GSP+. They are considering "EPA-light" as an interesting possibility.

An "EPA-light" means an EPA proposal which is reduced to what in substance would be acceptable for West Africa (WWA) and the EU and, in the mean time, would be compatible with WTO requirements. The "EPA-light" would be a stop-gap solution, whilst WA and the EU will continue negotiating the comprehensive pro-development EPA which remains the ultimate objective.

But Mr. Hormeku thinks otherwise. He says, "The in built agenda of EPA Light could even be bigger than the EPAs".

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