B4-0570, 0571, 0572, 0573, 0574 and 0578/98

Resolution on South Africa

The European Parliament,

- having regard to previous resolutions on South Africa and on the state of bilateral negotiations on future relations between South Africa and the European Union,

A. recalling the negotiations pursued by the European Union and South Africa for three years designed to lead to the creation of a free-trade area in the context of a bilateral trade, cooperation and development agreement,

B. whereas the latest round of negotiations, held in Brussels on 23 and 24 April 1998, allowed some progress on the separate agreement relating to wine and spirits, and on some of the trade-related and customs-related aspects,

C. regretting that the latest round of negotiations could not make any significant progress on the trade aspect and on the conditions for establishing the proposed free-trade area,

D. mindful of the important implications the outcome of the negotiations will have for peace and stability, job creation and sustainable development in South Africa and the Southern African region,

E. recalling that agreements reached between South Africa and the EU will have important consequences for South Africa¨s neighbours in both the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and for the forthcoming negotiations between the EU and all ACP States,

F. whereas any agreement should contribute towards regional integration and balanced development in Southern Africa and should facilitate trade, investment and economic growth in South Africa,

G. noting that both sides have agreed the principle that any agreement should be asymmetrical in terms of both its timing and content,

H. whereas the current EU trade offer excludes a priori over 45% of South African agricultural products from any tariff dismantlement agreed with the European Union,

I. whereas the Commission undertook to evaluate the repercussions of the agreement on the SACU region,

1. Welcomes the progress made so far in the negotiations, in particular relating to South Africa¨s qualified accession to the Lomé Convention, and on the less problematic facets of the future bilateral agreement, especially as regards non-commercial issues, the progress on the general objectives and the principles of the agreement including political dialogue;

2. Reaffirms its commitment to a far-reaching trade, cooperation and development agreement between South Africa and the European Union and its will to contribute to the rapid conclusion of an agreement which is satisfactory for all the parties;

3. Urges the negotiating parties to come to a rapid and equitable agreement on the issues which remain open in order to meet the deadline of mid-1998 for the conclusion of the negotiations;

4. Believes that it is imperative that South Africa should be granted equitable terms of access to the European Union;

5. Urges the European Union to reduce the scope of the agricultural exclusion lists and to adopt a more flexible approach to any products it fails to remove altogether from them; in particular, encourages the European Union to explore the possibility of reviewing the status of the exclusion list at regular intervals, so that exclusions are not permanent and future tariff reductions can be considered; also encourages it to incorporate seasonally adjusted tariff reductions into the list, and, in some instances, to consider tariff reductions within specified quotas;

6. Calls on the Commission to ensure that South Africa¨s development needs are taken into account before any agreement is concluded, in line with its longstanding commitment to assist the new South Africa;

7. Calls on the Commission to discuss potential measures which address regional concerns and to take into account the potential consequences for the Southern African region of any agreement between the European Union and South Africa;

8. Calls on the Commission to provide the European Parliament and the ACP-EU Joint Assembly with the results of the study on the impact of the agreement on the SACU region;

9. Further calls on the Commission to consult urgently with SACU and SADC members and propose measures to address their concerns in order to maintain trade stability in the region;

10. Confirms its view that the European Programme for Reconstruction and Development (EPRD) continues to make a valuable contribution to the development process now taking place in South Africa; believes that this programme should continue after 1999 so that the work already undertaken under the current EPRD can be built upon and asks the Commission to bring before Parliament a proposal for a successor agreement;

11. Calls on the Commission to clarify the application of the Lomé Convention rules of origin to South Africa;

12. Calls on the Commission to bring forward specific proposals to compensate the BLNS countries (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland) for loss of customs revenue accruing from the common external tariff applicable under SACU;

13. Calls on the Commission and on South Africa to ensure that the overall impact of the agreement on the ACP States, and in particularly on the SADC region, is positive;

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of the Member States and the Government of South Africa.