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| EPA: ECOWAS ministers seek commitment on development programme
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Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) -
Rounding off a one-day meeting here, ECOWAS Ministers re
sponsible for coordinating ongoing negotiations
of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) have ur
ged regional negotiators to secure unequivocal
commitment from the European Commission and EU member states to contribute to th
e funding of a development programme to ameliorate
the effects of the agreement on West Africa.
The Ministerial Monitoring Committee (MMC) said such contribution to the EPA Dev
elopment Programme (EPADP) should be “adequate
and accessible” beyond the commitment already made in the European Development F
und (EDF).
They stressed the need for a financing plan to be presented by the EU prior to t
he signing of the agreement.
The MMC, which comprises ECOWAS ministers of trade and finance, also called for
the “rapid mobilisation of resources required to implement
priority projects” that will improve the competitiveness of the regional economy
as it opens its markets to EU goods.
On the issue of the liberalisation of market access for European goods, the mini
sters reiterated their position of July 2007 that only between 60 and
70% of the regional economy should be affected over a transition period of 25 to
30 years, preceded by a 5 to 7-year period of moratorium.
They also urged the ECOWAS Commission to ensure linkages between the market acce
ss and the commitment expected from the EC on the
financing of the development package.
The committee also reviewed the legal text for the agreement already prepared by
regional experts and directed the Commission to elaborate a
programme with the accompanying road map for the preparation of the specific com
mitments and requests to be submitted to our European partner.
It said this should reflect the priorities of member states, and the Commission
should also prepare a regional legal assistance framework in addition to subject
i
ng
existing text to consultation with member states.
It said a fifth band for a Common External Tariff (CET) that has been agreed f
or the region should be re-negotiated with the World Trade Organisation (WTO)
under the leadership of the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions, which should also dev
elop a regional methodology to determine the 5th band products and
their re-categorisation.
Moreover, it called for the finalisation of complementary measures and safeguard
s that will enable ECOWAS member states to mitigate the effects of
tax reforms that will accompany the implementation of the agreement, adding that
this should be adapted to the realities of the region.
The Ministers urged member states to implement sectoral policies, particularly f
or agricultural produce, and ensure coherence between the ongoing work on
the CET and EPA market access.
The meeting was preceded by a three-day gathering of experts whose recommendatio
ns were considered by the ministers.
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| Abuja - 19/05/2009 |
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