ACP, EU set early 2010 deadline for concluding EPA talks
William Haomae, co-president of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers and foreign affairs and external trade minister of Solomon Islands, reiterated ACP EPA demands at a meeting of the Joint ACP-EU Council of Ministers meeting held on 29 May 2009 in Brussels.
The two key demands are greater flexibility in the negotiations and guarantees that no country should be worse off at the end of the process. Haomae welcomed assurances by EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton that these concerns would be accommodated in future consultations. "The ACP side is looking for decisive steps - guided by political will - that can move the process forward," Haomae added. The Joint Council agreed to continue EPA negotiations with a view to concluding deals by early 2010.
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