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Newsletter n.9 October 2009
Stop EPAs Day: 7 years to blame
The 27th September 2009 marked the 7th anniversary of the launch of the EPA talks. Since 2004 civil society organisations in the EU and the ACP countries have declared this Stop EPAs Day, a day of protest against the EU approach to EPAs.Mauritian body contests EPA pact
A Mauritian socio-political movement, "Rezistans ek Alternativ", Friday asked the Mauritian government to stop the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union, planned to be signed Saturday at Grand Baie. "We are asking the Mauritian government to call back the Parliament so that they discuss this document before this interim agreement is signed," said Messrs Roody Muneean and Ashok Subron, two leaders of the movement.EU-West Africa EPA: negotiators met in Brussels
European and West African negotiators met in Brussels from 21 to 25 September to discuss the way forward towards a regional Economic Partnership Agreement.Launching the COMESA Customs Union: The Secretary General Talks
TNI meets with Sindiso Ngwenya, Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), to discuss the much anticipated launch of the Customs Union and the signing of the Interim EPAsCOMESA advisor urges unity over EPAs
Chief technical advisor to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Dr Moses Tekere has said the decision by some countries not to sign interim economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with the European Union (EU) will undermine regional integration and cohesiveness in the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region.Zambia and Comoros refuse to sign the EPA
Commerce minister Felix Mutati on Saturday refused to sign the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union, saying Zambia will sign at a later date.East Africa: Six Countries to Ink EPA Deal
Six Eastern and Southern African (ESA) countries will this Saturday sign the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) in Mauritius. The interim EPA would be signed on August 29, 2009 between EU and Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zambia and Zimbabwe.They Want to Silence Us: The Impact of Governance on Trade and Rural Development in Cameroon
One of the major obstacles to the "harmonious and favourable integration" of ACP countries in global trade is lack of governance. Contributing to global trade presupposes many requirements that several ACP countries can’t meet due to poor governance, observed both in these countries’ institutions (executive, parliament, and justice) and in international fora where global trade rules are defined.Sacu takes united stand on EPAs
The Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) has decided to stay optimistic and tackle the unresolved issues in the economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) as a team to try and overcome the obstacles preventing Namibia and South Africa from signing even an interim pact with the bloc.Regional Trade Integration Is About Give and Take
Servaas van den Bosch (IPS news) interviews TSWELOPELE MOREMI, executive secretary of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU)EU trade agreements undermine regional integration, says SA official
In their current form, the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the European Union (EU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) would limit the SADC region’s policy space to promote industrial and agricultural development, would hamper efforts to promote trade diversification, and would undermine regional integration processes, a top official said on Monday.AGENDA - October
- Signature of ECOWAS-CE agreement on trade in goods and development cooperation (tbc)
- 1 EU-Caribbean Joint Ministerial Council, Barbados (tbc)
- 22-24 European Development Days, Stockholm
- 26-28 Pacific Forum Economic Ministers Meeting, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Partnership for Change project has two thematic focus connected to the heart of development policies and the struggle against poverty.
MDGs and EPAs, central themes of the project, were indeed both created as development policies: the first one, with the aim of committing governments in the South and in the North on punctual development objectives to be reached by 2015, the second one, proposing economic agreements of free trade as an access point to development for many ACP countries.
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