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European Union adopts Economic Partnership Agreements regulation

11 December 2007

Related pages:  A rough guide to EPAs | Millennium Development Goal 8: Aid, Trade, Growth and Global Partnership
 

The European Union (EU) has voted in favour of a regulation that will help bring new trade opportunities to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

Improved access to European markets

At a meeting on 10 December, the external linkEuropean General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) adopted the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Regulation by qualified majority. This formalises the offer of 100% duty-free, quota-free market access to the EU, with improved "external linkrules of origin", for ACP countries that have signed World Trade Organization (WTO)-compatible agreements. The European Commission will continue negotiations with those ACP countries that have yet to sign.

To date, 17 countries have signed WTO-compatible agreements:

  • East African Community: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi
  • East and Southern Africa: Zimbabwe, Seychelles, Mauritius, Comoros and Madagascar
  • Southern African Development Community: Botswana, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho
  • Pacific: Papua New Guinea and Fiji
  • West Africa: Ivory Coast

Those ACP countries that sign agreements before the end of 2007 will also benefit from this improved access to the EU from 1st January 2008. The European Commission reported that there is a good possibility that Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, Namibia and the Caribbean will sign agreements in the coming week. The UK, along with the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland, made a declaration setting out our continued concern for those countries that have not yet initialled an agreement (see the Declaration below). The Commission will report back to the GAERC in January 2008.

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The GAERC declaration on EPAs

"Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom welcome the vigorous efforts made by ACP countries and the European Commission to complete EPA negotiations by the close of 2007.

We are pleased that to date 17 ACP partners have secured significantly improved market access and opened up strong prospects for regional integration through the EPA framework.

We are also pleased that all Least Developed ACP countries will continue to receive duty free and quota free market access through their inclusion in the Everything But Arms initiative.

We regret that a number of other developing country ACP partners who are still involved in negotiations on EPAs have not been included in the Regulation and therefore face the risk of higher tariffs from January 2008. We continue to urge the Commission to show flexibility in reaching agreements on goods market access by the end of 2007, and to avoid ACP countries being made worse off from the 1st January."

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Find out more EPAs