afrol News, 16 October - Countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) have been asked not to cling to their current trade deals with the European Union (EU) but to accept a new form of partnership that replaces "a relation of dependence". This was said by the European trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, today. Their preferential access to the EU market could become history by 2008.

Mr Mandelson at a Luxembourg meeting of European ministers for trade and development said APC countries should not stick to the past, but look forward to new ways of cooperating with the EU. From the beginning of 2008, the EU "must imperatively revise traditional relations with these 75 developing countries, generally old colonies, guided by the Lomé Convention then the Cotonou Convention, which is based on a preferential access to the [European] Community market."

The preferential trade treatment for APC countries on the EU market is based on an exemption from the World Trade Organisation (WTO), he explained, which was to expire on 1 January 2008, and practically did "not have any chance" of being renewed. "The key reason to move quickly is that the world changes and that these preferences are subjected to a permanent erosion", reasoned Mr Mandelson.

Multilateral negotiations at the WTO were causing generally lowering customs tariffs on a world-wide level. This had systematically undermined the effect of the APC countries' tariff advantage on the European market, thus reducing its importance.

Reforms of the EU's common agricultural policy, in particular sugar subsidies following direct pressure of WTO, had made it difficult to implement a preferential policy of importation quotas. The EU thus had offered to the ACP states to negotiate their "economic partnership agreements" by the end of 2007. Mr Mandelson said this would basically change the EU's relation of the dependence to opportunity. "In short, we want to transform recipients of development aid into prosperous trade partners".

Answering criticisms of organisations like Oxfam or ActionAid, often referred to by ACP countries and several EU member states, the European trade commissioner defended himself saying he was pursuing "mercantilist goals", while maintaining that agreements of liberalisation, for example of the service sector, were good for development.

In Luxembourg, the 25 EU states confirmed their commitment - entered into in Hong Kong in December 2005, at the margin of a WTO ministerial conference - to devote two billion euros annually to a "trade help package" intended to help ACP countries to adapt to the new environment. The contribution of the European Commission was to be revised in 2008, whereas that of the member states would gradually increase until 2010.

According to Actionaid however, only euro 700 million of the promised 2 billion was representing new funds, which mostly was devoted to adjustments to the new trade liberalisation. The groups referred to calculations that APC countries indeed would need euro 9 billion to adjust to this new trade regime over the next ten years.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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