EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 117/124

Wednesday 25 March 2009

EC-SADC EPA States Interim Economic Partnership Agreement

P6_TA(2009)0179

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

2010/C 117 E/21

The European Parliament,

having regard to its resolution of 25 September 2003 on the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Cancún (1),

having regard to its resolution of 12 May 2005 on the assessment of the Doha Round following the WTO General Council Decision of 1 August 2004 (2),

having regard to its resolution of 1 December 2005 on the preparations for the sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation in Hong Kong (3),

having regard to its resolution of 23 March 2006 on the development impact of Economic Partnership Agreements (4) (EPAs),

having regard to its resolution of 4 April 2006 on the assessment of the Doha Round following the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong (5),

having regard to its resolution of 1 June 2006 on trade and poverty: designing trade policies to maximise trade’s contribution to poverty relief (6),

having regard to its resolution of 7 September 2006 on the suspension of negotiations on the Doha Development Agenda (7) (DDA),

having regard to its resolution of 23 May 2007 on Economic Partnership Agreements (8),

having regard to its resolution of 12 December 2007 on Economic Partnership Agreements (9),

having regard to 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 (10),

having regard to the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, on the one part, and the SADC (Southern Africa Development Community) EPA States, on the other part,

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 (GAERC) 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 Rule 108(5) in conjunction with Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas since 1 January 2008 the European Union’s previous trade relationship with the ACP countries – which gave the latter preferential access to EU markets on a non-reciprocal basis – no longer complies 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 the current financial and economic crisis means that trade policy will be more important than ever to the developing world,

D. whereas former trade preference systems were not able to contribute to improving decisively the economic situation in these countries,

E. whereas Interim EPAs (IEPAs) are agreements on trade in goods aimed at preventing a disruption of ACP trade with the European Community; whereas these agreements include a number of contentious provisions,

F. whereas the European Union offers ACP countries 100 % quota-free and duty -free access to EU markets with transition periods for rice (2010) and sugar (2015),

G. whereas properly designed trade liberalisation can promote market diversity, economic growth and development,

H. whereas within the EPA negotiations some ACP countries, with the aim of ensuring that all exporters are treated as well as the most favoured trading partner, have sought the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) clause, which sets a normal, non-discriminatory tariff on imports of goods,

I. whereas there is limited competition between the EU and ACP economies since the vast majority of EU exports consist of goods ACP countries do not produce but need either for direct consumption or as inputs for domestic industry; whereas this is not the case with regard to trade in agricultural goods, where EU export subsidies represent a serious obstacle for ACP producers in the agricultural, livestock and dairy sectors, disrupting and often destroying both local and regional markets, and the EU should therefore phase out all kinds of export subsidies without delay,

J. whereas new improved rules of origin, notably concerning textiles, garments, fisheries and some agricultural products have been negotiated between the European Community and the SADC States, and could potentially provide the SADC States with considerable benefits if implemented appropriately and with due consideration to their reduced capacity levels; and whereas it should be stressed that, if EPAs are to encourage regional cumulation and promote investment, simpler and improved rules of origin are required to enable enterprises in ACP countries to develop processed exports and to take advantage of the new market opportunities available under the EPAs,

1. Reaffirms its view that EPAs should be driven by the needs of ACP countries and should be designed so as to revitalise ACP-EU trading relations, promote ACP development and economic diversification, as well as regional integration, the reduction of poverty, the respect of fundamental human rights, and therefore as a whole to the achievement of the millennium development goals (MDGs);

2. Stresses that, in guaranteeing protection from potential negative consequences in opening the SADC region’s economies, support from the European Union must be provided in order to bring real benefits though trade preferences and to build economic and social development;

3. Recognises the benefits that the initialling of the IEPA has had for exporters by maintaining the status quo for exports to the European Union after the expiration on 31 December 2007 of the preferential tariff treatment provided for under the Cotonou Agreement, and therefore avoiding the damage which could have been caused to ACP exporters had they been obliged to operate under less favourable trade systems;

4. Welcomes the fact that the European Community is offering ACP countries full duty-free and quota-free market access into the European Union for their products to support the liberalisation of trade between the ACP countries and the European Union;

5. Welcomes the GAERC conclusions of May, June and November 2008 which underline the need to support existing regional integration processes and promote development, and calls for the Commission to respect this mandate during the negotiations; in this respect, underlines the importance of preventing the break-up of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU);

6. Highlights the signing of the IEPA as a necessary step towards sustainable growth in the regions, and in these regions as a whole, and underlines the importance of continual negotiations towards a comprehensive agreement encouraging increased trade, investment and regional integration;

7. Calls for the European Union to provide increased and adequate assistance both to the authorities in ACP countries and to the private sector in order to facilitate the transition of the economies following the signing of the IEPA;

8. Considers that the current Interim Agreement devotes neither space nor attention specifically to the issues of food sovereignty and the right to food and does not favour agricultural and trade policy instruments which make for market regulation and the protection of sustainable family agriculture; stresses that these topics must be placed at the centre of the negotiations in order to ensure that trade policy and all the EU’s other policies are consistent with the principles of food sovereignty and the right to food;

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to clarify the actual distribution of funds throughout the ACP region stemming from the pledged priority spending within the increased Aid for Trade budget; 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 (EUR 2 000 000 000) annually by 2010 (EUR 1 billion from the Community, EUR 1 billion from the Member States); insists that the SADC region receive an appropriate and equitable share;

10. Calls for an early determination and provision of the share of the Aid for Trade resources; stresses that these funds should be additional resources and not be merely repackaging of funding under the European Development Fund (EDF), that they should conform to the priorities of the SADC States and that their disbursement should be timely, predictable and in line with the execution schedules of national and regional strategic development plans; opposes any kind of conditionality linked to the EPAs in the matter of granting European aid and calls on the Commission to guarantee that access to the funds of the 10th EDF is kept separate from the results and pace of the negotiations;

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

12. Calls on the Commission to make sure that EU-based transnational companies with production facilities in ACP countries abide by core ILO standards, social and environmental covenants and international agreements to achieve a worldwide balance between economic growth and higher social and environmental standards;

13. 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; calls on the Commission not to undermine the regional dimension;

14. Considers it important that, in the implementation of EPAs, an appropriate monitoring system should be established, coordinated by the relevant parliamentary committee 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; this parliamentary committee shall operate in a flexible manner and actively coordinate with the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly; considers that this monitoring should start after the adoption of each IEPA;

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

16. Is convinced that full EPAs should be complementary to an agreement on the DDA and not be considered as an alternative;

17. Respects the need for, and importance of, the chapter on trade defence with bilateral safeguards; calls on both parties to avoid abuse of these safeguards; calls on the Commission to accept, within the framework of the ongoing negotiations with a view to concluding a comprehensive EPA, a revision of the safeguards contained in the interim EPA in order to guarantee appropriate, transparent and quick utilisation provided that the criteria for their application are met;

18. 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;

19. Calls for the Commission to demonstrate flexibility in addressing Angola, Namibia and South Africa’s key substantive concerns on issues such as the MFN clause, as well as export taxes and infant industry protection;

20. Encourages the negotiating parties to take a flexible, asymmetric and pragmatic approach to the ongoing negotiations for a regional EPA satisfactory to both parties, without setting unrealistic deadlines and allowing SADC countries to renegotiate any provisions on contentious issues that they wish to amend or have withdrawn;

21. Notes with approval the progress made during the March 2009 technical negotiations in Swakopmund, Namibia, and welcomes the Commission's acceptance that contentious issues should be addressed prior to the signing of the Interim EPA; calls for outstanding questions, such as the MFN clause, the legal definition of the parties and residual agricultural market access issues, to be resolved in a way which enables all members of the SADC EPA group to sign the Interim EPA;

22. Recognises that a development cooperation chapter has been included in the EU-SADC IEPA covering cooperation 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; calls on the Commission to cooperate closely with the SADC States in order to be able to meet the objectives stated in this development cooperation chapter;

23. Stresses that any full EPA must also include provisions regarding a commonly accepted definition of good governance, transparency in political offices, and human rights, in accordance with Articles 11b, 96 and 97 of the Cotonou Agreement, as well as specific provisions for the most vulnerable groups such as local farmers and women;

24. Notes that the calendar for the ongoing negotiations concerning the transition from an interim to a final EPA between the EU and the SADC countries is based on the assumption that the agreement will be concluded by the end of 2009; urges the Commission not to put undue pressure on the SADC countries to accept liberalisation commitments and regulatory obligations regarding services and the so-called ‘Singapore issues’;

25. Calls for a strong regulatory framework to be put in place in the event of negotiations on services to ensure that there is universal service provision;

26. Supports the efforts of both sides to ensure the active participation of South Africa throughout the negotiating process; recognises that South Africa’s involvement is key to promoting economic coherence, regional integration and further developing trade and investment relations between the region and the European Union; calls on the Commission to maintain and develop this association in negotiating a full and comprehensive EPA;

27. Notes the intention of the SADC region to participate in the creation of a new Free Trade Area with the East African Community region and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA); calls on the Commission to follow developments in order to secure full EPA compatibility;

28. Welcomes the inclusion of a review clause within the EU-SADC IEPA, which affirms that a comprehensive review of the Agreement shall be undertaken no later than five years after the date of signature, and at subsequent five-yearly intervals, including an analysis of the costs and consequences of implementation of trade commitments; if necessary, amendments to the provisions of the Agreement and adjustments to their application must be undertaken, with respect to and in accordance with the rules and procedure of the WTO;

29. Encourages the negotiating parties to finish the negotiations for a full EPA as planned during 2009;

30. Insists that the Parliament must be fully informed and involved in the transitional negotiating process; wishes that this be done through an active informal trialogue with the Council and the Commission; asks the Council to refer the matter to the Parliament as soon as possible;

31. Stresses in particular the crucial role of ACP parliaments and non-state actors in the monitoring and management of EPAs and asks the Commission to guarantee their involvement in the ongoing negotiation procedures; this requires a clear agenda between the EU and ACP countries based on a participatory approach;

32. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and the 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 323 E, 18.12.2008, p. 361.

(10) Text adopted, P6_TA(2008)0252.