EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 117/101

Wednesday 25 March 2009

EC-Cariforum States Economic Partnership Agreement

P6_TA(2009)0175

European Parliament resolution of 25 March 2009 on the Economic Partnership Agreement between the Cariforum States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part

2010/C 117 E/17

The European Parliament,

having regard to its resolutions of 25 September 2003 on the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Cancún (1), of 12 May 2005 on the assessment of the Doha Round following the WTO General Council Decision of 1 August 2004 (2), of 1 December 2005 on the preparations for the sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation in Hong Kong (3), of 23 March 2006 on the development impact of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) (4), of 4 April 2006 on the assessment of the Doha Round following the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong (5), of 1 June 2006 on trade and poverty: designing trade policies to maximise trade's contribution to poverty relief (6), of 7 September 2006 on the suspension of negotiations on the Doha Development Agenda (7) (DDA), of 23 May 2007 on Economic Partnership Agreements (8), of 12 July 2007 on the TRIPS Agreement and access to medicines (9), of 12 December 2007 on Economic Partnership Agreements (10) and its position of 5 June 2008 on the proposal for a Council regulation applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the period from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2011 and amending Regulations (EC) No 552/97, (EC) No 1933/2006 and Commission Regulations (EC) No 964/2007 and (EC) No 1100/2006 (11),

having regard to its resolution of 26 September 2002 on its recommendation to the Commission concerning the negotiation of Economic Partnership Agreements with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and regions (12),

having regard to its resolution of 5 February 2009 on the development impact of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) (13),

having regard to the Economic Partnership Agreement between the Cariforum States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part,

having regard to the Joint Declaration on the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement,

having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 (the Cotonou Agreement),

having regard to the conclusions of the General Affairs and External Relations Council of April 2006, October 2006, May 2007, October 2007, November 2007 and May 2008,

having regard to the Commission Communication of 23 October 2007 on Economic Partnership Agreements (COM(2007)0635),

having regard to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), in particular Article XXIV thereof,

having regard to the Ministerial Declaration of the Fourth Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference, adopted on 14 November 2001 in Doha,

having regard to the Ministerial Declaration of the Sixth Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference, adopted on 18 December 2005 in Hong Kong,

having regard to the report and recommendations of the Task Force on Aid for Trade, adopted by the WTO General Council on 10 October 2006,

having regard to the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 8 September 2000, which sets out the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as criteria collectively established by the international community for the elimination of poverty,

having regard to the Gleneagles Communiqué, adopted by the G8 on 8 July 2005,

having regard to Rule 108(5) in conjunction with Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas from 1 January 2008 the EU’s previous trade relationship with the ACP countries – which gave the latter preferential access to EU markets on a non-reciprocal basis – no longer complied with the rules of the WTO,

B. whereas EPAs are WTO-compatible agreements aimed at supporting regional integration and promoting the gradual integration of the ACP economies into the world economy, thereby fostering their sustainable social and economic development and contributing to the overall effort to eradicate poverty in the ACP countries,

C. whereas EPAs should be used to build a long-term relationship whereby trade supports development,

D. whereas the current financial and economic crisis means that trade policy will be more important than ever to the developing world,

E. whereas the country and regional impact of the complex and wide-ranging commitments included in the agreements could be very substantial,

F. whereas the EPA will inevitably condition the scope and content of future agreements made between Cariforum and other trading partners and the region's stance in the negotiations,

G. whereas each of the Cariforum States has a separate liberalisation schedule, with a certain level of overlap between countries which converges over time, evolving into a regional schedule; whereas the Caribbean Community (Caricom) aims to establish a Single Market by 2015,

H. whereas the absolute impact of trade rules established by the EPA could be much greater than the removal of tariffs,

I. whereas improved trade rules must be accompanied by an increase in support for trade-related assistance,

J. whereas the aim of the EU Strategy on Aid for Trade is to support developing countries' capacity to take advantage of new trade opportunities,

K. whereas the last sentence of Article 139(2) of the Agreement states that ‘Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as to impair the capacity of the Parties and the Signatory Cariforum States to promote access to medicines’,

L. whereas the EPA contains a Declaration on Development Cooperation but no legally binding funding commitments,

1. Stresses that EPAs cannot be regarded as satisfactory unless they achieve the following objectives: offering the ACP countries support for sustainable development, promoting their participation in world trade, strengthening the regionalisation process, revitalising trade between the European Union and ACP countries and promoting the economic diversification of ACP countries;

2. Recalls that the EPA must be supportive of the development objectives, policies and priorities of the Cariforum States, not only in its structure and content, but also in the manner and spirit of its implementation;

3. Points out that the EPA should contribute to the achievement of the MDGs;

4. Calls on the Commission to clarify its stance on the stated EU objective of discouraging existing tax havens; recalls in this regard that eight out of the 14 Cariforum signatory states of the EPA are listed as tax havens by the OECD and that the Cariforum EPA provides for current account liberalisation for all residents (Article 122), capital account liberalisation for investors (Article 123), and almost unlimited cross-border activity of financial services, including the operation of ‘trust services’ and ‘over-the-counter’ trading of derivatives (Article 103, B-6);

5. Stresses that the principal aim of the EC-Cariforum EPA is to contribute, through development goals, poverty reduction and respect for fundamental human rights, to the achievement of the MDGs;

6. Calls on the Commission to do its utmost to restart the negotiations on the DDA and ensure that trade liberalisation agreements continue to promote development in poor countries;

7. Is convinced that comprehensive EPAs should be complementary to an agreement on the DDA and not an alternative for ACP countries;

8. Highlights the importance of intra-regional trade and the need for increased regional trade links in order for sustainable growth to be ensured in the region; underlines the importance of cooperation and congruency between different regional entities;

9. Is concerned that, despite the Commission’s EPA negotiating mandate, approved by the Council on 17 June 2002, which stated that during negotiations, account would be taken of the particular interests of the Community’s outermost regions, and that in this respect, EPAs could in particular make provision for specific measures to assist products from these regions, with a view to their inclusion in the short term in interregional trade, pursuant to WTO provisions, the interests of the outermost regions have not been sufficiently taken into account in respect of many aspects that were communicated to the Commission by the regional councils, and that in consequence short-term inclusion of the outermost regions in interregional trade has been neglected;

10. Encourages further lowering of tariffs between developing countries and regional groups, which today account for 15 to 25 percent of the trade value, to further promote south - south trade, economic growth and regional integration;

11. Recalls that a genuine regional market is an essential basis for successfully implementing the EPA and that regional integration and cooperation are essential for the social and economic development of the Cariforum States;

12. Stresses that the implementation of the Agreement must pay due regard to the integration processes in Cariforum, including the aims and objectives of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) as outlined in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas;

13. Recognises that the Cariforum States that are members of Caricom have made commitments in subject areas not yet settled under the CSME or fully implemented, including financial services, other services, investment, competition, public procurement, e-commerce, intellectual property, free circulation of goods, and the environment; calls for due regard to the CSME in the implementation of provisions in these subject areas, in accordance with Article 4(3) of the EC-Cariforum EPA;

14. Urges the relevant countries to provide clear and transparent information about the economic and political situation and development in these countries in order to improve cooperation with the EC;

15. Calls on the Commission to clarify the actual distribution of funds throughout the ACP region arising from the pledged priority spending within the increased Aid for Trade budget;

16. Insists that, in keeping with the Paris Principles on Aid Effectiveness, aid must inter alia be demand-driven, and therefore calls on the ACP to propose the necessary additional EPA-related funds, particularly with regard to regulatory frameworks, safeguard measures, trade facilitation, support in meeting international sanitary and phytosanitary and intellectual property standards and the composition of the EPA monitoring mechanism;

17. Recalls the adoption, in October 2007, of the EU Strategy on Aid for Trade, with the commitment to increase the collective EU trade-related assistance to EUR 2 billion (2 000 000 000) annually by 2010 (EUR 1 billion from the Community, EUR 1 billion from the Member States); insists that the Cariforum States receive an appropriate and equitable share;

18. Calls on the Commission to clarify the distribution of funds throughout the region, calls on EU Member States to outline additional funding beyond 2008-2013 budget commitments;

19. Calls for an early determination and provision of an equitable share of the Aid for Trade resources; stresses that the Commission and the EU Members States should ensure that these funds represent additional resources and are not merely a repackaging of the European Development Fund (EDF) funding, that they conform to Cariforum priorities and that their disbursement is channelled through the Regional Development Fund to the greatest extent possible and is timely, predictable and in harmony with the execution schedules of national and regional strategic development plans; recommends to the Commission and the Cariforum States that they make efficient use of these funds in order to help compensate for the possible loss of customs revenues and to address competitiveness and development-enhancing needs;

20. Calls on the Commission to clarify which funds are additional to the funding of the 10th European Development Fund; calls on the Commission to ensure that all development cooperation provisions, including their funding, are put into operation expeditiously, adequately, and effectively;

21. Notes that for Bahamas, Antigua and Barbados, customs revenue loss through trade liberalisation is frontloaded; accepts that for other Cariforum States a substantial proportion of EU exports is either already free of trade barriers or the bulk of the liberalisation will occur in years 10-15 of the implementation timetable;

22. Stresses that, if necessary, substantial changes to rules of origin should accompany the duty-free, quota-free (DFQF) initiative to produce a significant increase in goods exports; in this regard welcomes the recent statements by the Commission that the Rules of Origin could be upgraded under Article 10 in line with the accumulation principle;

23. Calls on the Commission to report regularly to Parliament on the extent of patent applications and litigation under the Patent cooperation Treaty; calls on the Commission to provide regular reports on the implementation of the technology transfer commitments in the Agreement; urges the Commission not to seek to harmonise intellectual property rights standards upwards beyond what is appropriate for the level of development of the Cariforum States; stresses the importance of assisting Cariforum countries in monitoring anti-competitive behaviour in the pharmaceutical sector;

24. Urges the negotiators of any full EPA to account fully for the transparent management of natural resources and to outline the best practices necessary for the ACP countries to make the maximum gains from such resources;

25. Urges the Commission to ensure that the provisions regarding enforcement of intellectual property rights will not be used to thwart legitimate competition from generic pharmaceutical suppliers and/or to prevent government purchasing entities from acquiring generic supplies;

26. Respects the need for a chapter on trade defence with bilateral safeguards; calls on both parties to avoid unnecessary use of these safeguards;

27. Recognises the inclusion of a development cooperation chapter in the comprehensive EPA covering cooperation on trade in goods, supply-side competitiveness, business-enhancing infrastructure, trade in services, trade-related issues, institutional capacity-building, and fiscal adjustments; calls on both parties to adhere to their agreed commitment to conclude negotiations on competition and government procurement only when adequate capacity has been built;

28. Stresses that the EPA should take into account the specific interests of small and medium-sized enterprises of both parties;

29. Calls on the application by the European Union of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle among all the ACP sub-regional groups;

30. Recognises the selective application of MFN treatment to the European Union by Cariforum and other sub-regional groups;

31. Considers that taking into account the special and differential treatment provisions included in Article 5 of the EPA and, in view of achieving the goal of poverty reduction, suitable EPA development indicators should serve three key purposes: to trigger implementation of EPA commitments by Cariforum States or to qualify them for exemptions; to monitor the impact of EPA implementation on sustainable development and poverty reduction; and to monitor the implementation of EC commitments, in particular disbursement and effective delivery of pledged financial and technical assistance;

32. Highlights the need for development indicators to be used to measure expected economic and social outcomes (such as poverty reduction, better living standards and opening up of the economy) in implementing the EPA;

33. Notes the large gap between levels of public spending on agricultural subsidies and financial and technical support;

34. Notes that this disadvantages farmers in the ACP countries by decreasing their competitiveness both domestically and abroad as their products in comparison to subsidised EU and US products are more costly in real terms;

35. Therefore supports the agreed tariff line exclusions focused on agricultural goods and some processed agricultural goods given that they are based chiefly on the need to protect infant industries or sensitive products in these countries;

36. Calls for appropriate and transparent monitoring mechanisms – with a clear role and influence – to follow the impact of EPAs with increased ACP ownership and broad stakeholder consultation;

37. Requests the Commission to support the establishment of an independent monitoring mechanism within the Cariforum States endowed with the necessary resources to undertake the analysis necessary to determine the extent to which the EPA is achieving its objectives;

38. Considers it important that implementation of the EPAs should involve the establishment of an appropriate monitoring system coordinated by the relevant parliamentary committee and involving members of the Committee on International Trade and of the Committee on Development, ensuring an adequate balance between the maintenance of the leading role of the Committee on International Trade and overall consistency on trade and development policies; considers that this parliamentary committee should operate in a flexible manner and actively coordinate its work with the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA);

39. Highlights the crucial role of Cariforum parliaments and non-state actors in the monitoring and management of the EPA; notes that their effective involvement requires a clear and inclusive agenda between the EU and the Cariforum States;

40. Calls on the European Council to consult the regional councils of the outermost regions of the European Union in the Caribbean (Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana) prior to ratification of the EPA between the Cariforum States and the Member States of the European Union;

41. Welcomes the above-mentioned Joint Declaration and the fact that a mandatory comprehensive review of the Agreement will be undertaken no later than five years after the date of signature and at subsequent five-yearly intervals, in order to determine the impact of the Agreement, including the costs and consequences of implementation; points out that the parties undertook to amend its provisions and adjust their application as necessary; calls for Parliament and the Cariforum parliaments to be involved in any revision of the EPA;

42. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the ACP countries, the ACP-EU Council of Ministers and the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.

(1) OJ C 77 E, 26.3.2004, p. 393.

(2) OJ C 92 E, 20.4.2006, p. 397.

(3) OJ C 285 E, 22.11.2006, p. 126.

(4) OJ C 292 E, 1.12.2006, p. 121.

(5) OJ C 293 E, 2.12.2006, p. 155.

(6) OJ C 298 E, 8.12.2006, p. 261.

(7) OJ C 305 E, 14.12.2006, p. 244.

(8) OJ C 102 E, 24.4.2008, p. 301.

(9) OJ C 175 E, 10.7.2008, p. 591.

(10) OJ C 323 E, 18.12.2008, p. 361.

(11) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0252.

(12) OJ C 273 E, 14.11.2003, p. 305.

(13) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2009)0051.