MANDELSON’S NEGOTIATIONS LEADS TO THREATENED BREAKDOWN IN TRADE TALKS
Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson’s handling of vital trade negotiations threatens the breakdown of talks with some of the world’s poorest countries, said MEP Robert Sturdy.
Mr Mandelson has been strongly criticised for his readiness to discuss the possibility of trade deals with some developing countries while excluding others. Mr Sturdy said this went against the spirit of the critical trade agreements which needed to be reached between the EU and
ACP countries.
Economic Partnership Agreements, which will define Europe’s trade relations with ACP countries for the next 15 years and were due to concluded by the end of 2007, will now only be signed by some of the regions this year, with others to follow at a later date. Interim framework deals, which meets WTO rules on market access, will hopefully be signed and other issues, like services and rules of origin, will be considered during 2008.
Mr Sturdy said:
“Surely the whole point of the EPAs is to facilitate and promote regional integration. This is not about bilateral agreements. President Wade of Senegal has said that the system proposed by the EU for trade is not acceptable and that EU-Africa relations are broken. It doesn’t sound as though things are going particularly well.’
The European Commission negotiations, led by Peter Mandelson, have instead proposed sub-regional agreements.
Mr Sturdy urged Mr Mandelson to respond to growing concerns over his pursuit of half-measured trade agreements for the world's poorest countries. And Mr Sturdy expressed serious concerns about the watered down trade agreement which the Commission has admitted could result in chaos between the ACP regions.
EPAs were intended to link trade and development policy, incorporate sustainable development and contribute to poverty reduction through facilitating trade and enable countries to become better integrated into the global economy.
Mr Sturdy was also angered that Mr Mandelson completely ignored his questions on what the latest proposals would mean for regional integration, and said it was totally unacceptable for the Commissioner not to be fully accountable for what he was doing on behalf of the EU.
“These agreements will fail if they do not have the support of ACP countries which have to sign up to them. Yet they feel alienated from them and have accused the Commissioner of bullying because they do not feel that the talks are in their best interest.”
