Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-26-Speech-4-035"
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"en.20020926.2.4-035"2
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". – Madam President, the Commission appreciates and welcomes the strong interest the European Parliament takes in EU-ACP negotiations of economic partnership agreements, as witnessed by the report of the development committee by Mrs Boudjenah and the opinion of the industry and trade committee by Mr Titley. I would like to thank the honourable Members for their work. The European Parliament has also shown an impeccable sense of timing by tabling this report just before the launch of the EU-ACP negotiations on the economic partnership agreements tomorrow.
From the Commission's point of view, the main strength of the report is that it puts ACP development at the centre of the EPA negotiations. This is exactly where the Commission wants it to be. EPAs shall be a tool for the smooth and gradual integration of ACP countries into the world economy, thereby promoting sustainable development and contributing to poverty eradication.
To this end, the ACP and the EU have decided to negotiate in a spirit of partnership the progressive removal of barriers to trade between them. The resulting agreements will extend to all areas relevant to trade, notably non-direct measures. The EPAs shall also be WTO-compatible and build on ACP regional integration initiatives as key instruments for ACP integration into the world economy. This is in a nutshell what was laid down in the ACP-EU agreement signed in Cotonou in June 2000, an agreement endorsed by the European Parliament.
In Cotonou the ACP and the EU agreed to enter into EPA negotiations and laid down objectives, principles and modalities for these agreements. Some of the questions raised in the report had thus already been settled at the time of the Cotonou Agreement. The Commission refers, for instance, to those parts of the report which call for the continuation of non-reciprocal trade preferences for the ACP. Non-reciprocal preferences have not achieved, and cannot achieve, the closer integration of ACP countries into the world economy.
A more comprehensive approach is needed aimed at enhancing ACP supply and trading capacities and the capacity to attract investment. This was the joint conclusion of the ACP states and the EU when negotiating the Cotonou Agreement, and that is why they agreed to conclude WTO-compatible trading arrangements to progressively remove all barriers to trade between them.
Trade liberalisation on both sides is an indispensable element of this undertaking, provided it is not pursued blindly but flexibly. In short, our common objective is to use trade for development. Likewise, retention, consolidation and possible extension of the commodity protocols is not in line with the Cotonou Agreement, which says we will review these protocols. The Commission is of the opinion that we should not prejudge this review. Lastly, any decisions on alternatives to the EPAs under the Cotonou Agreement are only to be taken in 2004 should the EPA negotiations show that EPAs do not offer the appropriate solutions for specific cases in the countries concerned.
The Commission agrees with the need, highlighted in the report, for analysis and assessment of the impact of the EPAs on sustainable development. This will require a thorough and sustained effort throughout the negotiations. The sustainability impact assessment foreseen in parallel with the negotiations is designed to achieve this goal. It will enable systematic analysis of the impact of the different policy options considered in the course of the EPA negotiations as they evolve, and will thus inform negotiators' choice. Its ongoing results should keep the negotiations on track towards genuine sustainable development.
The Commission also supports ACP countries and regions that want to undertake their own studies. We have ensured that considerable amounts of money are available under national, regional, and all other ACP programmes not only for studies but for trade-related assistance and capacity-building more widely. Meanwhile the Commission is going ahead with the sustainability impact assessment and we will do so in full transparency with regard to the European Parliament."@en1
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