EPAs
Plan África
El Plan África y las relaciones comerciales y de inversión entre España y el África Subsahariana en el contexto de los EPA. (Ainhoa Marín Egoscozábal (dir.); Carmen Lafuente Ibáñez, Patricia Garrido Llamas). Madrid, Fundación Alternativas. 2009.
Interview with Dot Keet
Mrs Dot Keet, Research Associate of the Alternative Information and Development Center (AIDC), based in South Africa, attended the Stati Generali, meeting held in Rome in October 2008, to give the representatives of the civil society and the Government the opportunity to discuss international cooperation and its new challenges and frontiers.
She talked about Africa and the financial crisis, about the unfairness of the Economic Partnership Agreements and the mechanisms hidden behind them, about investments and capital outflows.
Partnership for Change uploaded this interview on Arcoiris, a free Italian on-line television.
Glass half empty or half full? The move towards a comprehensive EPA
European Union member states came together in May to agree to a series of so-called conclusions on the Economic Partnership Agreements with the ACP. During what is supposed to be the last General Affairs and External Relations Council before the interim EPAs are signed, ministers reconfirmed their desire to finalise comprehensive regional EPAs while getting the interim agreements signed and notified to the WTO as soon as possible.2 EU trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson subsequently said he expects to begin this process for the seven interim agreements “after the summer,” a timeframe that he deems “will stretch WTO patience.” 3.
San Bilal and Victoria Hanson
TNI - 7. Number 5 / June 2008
TNI_EN_7-5.pdf 932.97 kB
EPAs Will Benefit Europe at the Cost of Both ACP and Latin American Countries
Currently the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries are locked in negotiations with the European Union (EU) for the so-called Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) as part of the implementation of the Cotonou Agreement that was signed in June 2000...
Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre
SOUTH BULLETIN - Reflections and Foresights, 16 June 2008, Issue 17
South centre bullettin n 17.pdf 308.25 kB
Partnership or Power Play: How Europe should bring development into its trade deals with ACP countries
A good summary of EPAs and whether the proposed rules are fair and provide a good basis for shared prosperity and development. The report argues that EPAs risk ‘locking ACP countries into current patterns of inequality and marginalistion, and further bias the multilateral trading system against the interests of developing countries’. It also suggests ways of adapting existing preferences to ensure the needs of developing countries are met.
Oxfam Briefing Paper, April 2008
www.oxfam.org
Partnership or power play.pdf 753.36 kB
EU and the Caribbean seal economic partnership with ground-breaking trade deal
The European Union and countries of the Caribbean region have signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) which will strengthen ties between the two regions and promote regional integration in the Caribbean. The EPA is the first genuinely comprehensive North-South trade and development agreement in the global economy. It includes a package of measures to stimulate trade, investment and innovation, and to promote sustainable development, build a regional market among Caribbean countries and help eliminate poverty.
EPA signed and sealed
With much pomp and ceremony, 13 Caribbean states on Wednesday took a bold step forward in cementing their future trade with Europe, leaving Guyana and Haiti alone to further contemplate their participation in the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states were notably absent from the official EPA signing which took place at the Sherbourne Centre, just outside the capital, between officials of the European Commission and CARIFORUM -- the grouping that links CARICOM to the Dominican Republic.
Undercutting Africa
Report from Friends of the Earth which looks at the impact EPAs may have on Africa's environment. It argues that EPAs are part of a the EU's GLobal Europe strategy to secure raw materials.
undercutting_africa.pdf 1.33 MB
Working document on the development impact of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)
Working document on the development impact of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Committee on Development
Rapporteur: Jürgen Schröder
1.7.2008
ACP expresses concern on most aspects of EPAs
The 87th African, Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) Council of Ministers Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia opened today (June 9th) with the Group expressing concern about the way most aspects of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) have progressed.
The President of the Council of the Ministers and Minister In Charge of National Solidarity of Djibouti, Mr Mohamed Ahmed Aweleh, when opening the meeting said the EPAs in their current form risk distorting regional integration.
ACP PRESS STATEMENT 2
June 9 2008