EU did not force SADC countries to sign EPAs - French Ambassador
Thématique :
APE,
EU,
SADC,
sud afrique
French Ambassador to South Africa Denis Pietton has firmly rejected claims that some Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries were forced to sign economic partnership agreements (EPAs) by the EU.
“The negotiations were imposed upon us and imposed on SADC by a World Trade Organisation (WTO) decision, which was triggered by an appeal by Brazil, which forced us to negotiate new agreements to comply with WTO regulations,” he said.
“It is a complex negotiation,” Pietton said on Friday, addressing a meeting in Pretoria hosted by the South African Institute of International Affairs.
He stated that the negotiations were not over and that they were continuing and that it was hoped there would be an agreement before the deadline, which was the end of this year.
Pietton stated that the EU was aware of South Africa’s concerns, which were about services, and tax issues among other things.
He pointed out that there was a wide diversity between the member countries of SADC, ranging from South Africa at one extreme to Lesotho at the other.
“Some countries have signed the agreement. They were not forced to sign. They signed because they saw the agreement to be in their interest,” Pietton affirmed.
The Ambassador defended the EU’s openness to products from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. He asserted that no other country, or region, in the world was so open to ACP products as was the EU.
He expressed the hope that SADC mediation (headed by South African President Thabo Mbeki on the Zimbabwe crisis would be successful, but cautioned that it should not be at the expense of the party (Movement for Democratic Change) that had actually won the election.
He added that, according to his information, a majority of members of the UN security council supported the imposition of targeted sanctions on the Zimbabwean regime.
“The negotiations were imposed upon us and imposed on SADC by a World Trade Organisation (WTO) decision, which was triggered by an appeal by Brazil, which forced us to negotiate new agreements to comply with WTO regulations,” he said.
“It is a complex negotiation,” Pietton said on Friday, addressing a meeting in Pretoria hosted by the South African Institute of International Affairs.
He stated that the negotiations were not over and that they were continuing and that it was hoped there would be an agreement before the deadline, which was the end of this year.
Pietton stated that the EU was aware of South Africa’s concerns, which were about services, and tax issues among other things.
He pointed out that there was a wide diversity between the member countries of SADC, ranging from South Africa at one extreme to Lesotho at the other.
“Some countries have signed the agreement. They were not forced to sign. They signed because they saw the agreement to be in their interest,” Pietton affirmed.
The Ambassador defended the EU’s openness to products from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. He asserted that no other country, or region, in the world was so open to ACP products as was the EU.
He expressed the hope that SADC mediation (headed by South African President Thabo Mbeki on the Zimbabwe crisis would be successful, but cautioned that it should not be at the expense of the party (Movement for Democratic Change) that had actually won the election.
He added that, according to his information, a majority of members of the UN security council supported the imposition of targeted sanctions on the Zimbabwean regime.
