EU - ACP Assembly demands more time on trade deal

21st November 2007

EURO-MP Glenys Kinnock is to lead parliamentarians from across Europe and African Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP) in demanding the deadline for negotiations on EU-ACP trade deals be extended.

In a ‘Kigali Declaration', the 78 ACP and 27 EU parliamentarians of the EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly of which Mrs Kinnock is Co-President, will today urge the European Commission to ensure no country is left worse off after the expiry of the negotiation deadline for Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).

The ‘Kigali Declaration', to be adopted today by the Joint Parliamentary Assembly currently meeting in the Rwandan city of Kigali, states:

• That ACP states have been put under pressure by the European Commission to sign an EPA
• That the European Commission must acknowledge that more time is needed for ACP states to assess the implications of the agreements proposed
• That EU threats of export tariffs on goods from non-least-developed ACP countries risk the livelihood and welfare of millions of ACP workers
• That any agreement reached - either full EPA or interim agreement - must ensure that no country is left worse off after the expiry of the negotiation deadline
• That any ‘two-step' approach must not undermine ongoing ACP regional integration processes

GLENYS KINNOCK said:

"Negotiations on EPAs are now well-behind schedule and there is little prospect of conclusion in time for a smooth transition that would avoid a devastating disruption in the trade of many ACP countries.

"It would be politically and morally unacceptable for the EU to place vulnerable ACP states in the position of losing market access unless they accept a deal that they view as harmful to their economic interests.

"In this Kigali Declaration, European and ACP parliamentarians stand shoulder to shoulder in demanding that the EU extend the deadline and continue to negotiate with the ACP towards the conclusion of a fair agreement, without putting pressure on the ACP to accept agreements that they clearly consider unacceptable."

Notes

• Please see attachment for the full declaration of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
• Glenys Kinnock MEP is co-president of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
• For more information and interview requests please contact Lisa Stevens at the Labour European Office on 029 2022 7654 or 079 7367 8175

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