bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

EU

Coalition proposes alternative to EU, ACP trade agreement
10-Apr-2006 Daily Independent
A coalition of non-governmental organisations, opposed to the ongoing negotiation between European Union and African, Caribean and Pacific countries, under the Economic Partnership Agreement, has soften its stance on the discussion.
Reasons to worry about bilateral trade pacts
6-Apr-2006 The Nation
An examination of the globalised approach by both EU countries and the US to bilateral FTAs shows that acceleration has occurred as the WTO has lost its effect. While it is easy to rationalise that the global north is acting independently because the WTO is failing, it is more fun to speculate that the global north is acting to stall the WTO since they get much better terms on a one-to-one basis in their agreements with developing countries.
Beirut begins implementation of EU Association Agreement
4-Apr-2006 Daily Star
The implementation of the Association Agreement-signed four years ago by the European Union and Lebanon-was announced Monday, and is expected to boost bilateral trade, increase the access of Lebanese exports to Europe, and strengthen institutional and political ties between the two sides.
Focus on bilateral trade deals, Bush is urged
4-Apr-2006
Bill Thomas, President George W. Bush’s most important congressional ally on trade liberalisation, is urging the administration to focus its energy on concluding bilateral trade deals, warning on Monday that the Doha multilateral round of talks was heading for failure because of conflicts between the US and the European Union.
EU-Latin America: Doubts arise over May summit
4-Apr-2006 IPS
The European Commission’s objective is to ’’establish an enhanced partnership through a network of association agreements (including free trade agreements) involving all the countries of the [Latin America and Caribbean] region and liable to contribute to the integration of the region as a whole.’’
UAE: Address abuse of migrant workers
31-Mar-2006 HRW
The governments of the United States, the European Union, and Australia are currently negotiating free trade agreements with the UAE. Human Rights Watch called on these governments to require improvement of UAE’s labor practices and legal standards before signing such agreements.
Saharan fish and the EU
31-Mar-2006 Znet
The EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement is similar to a host of deals being signed down the West African coast, allowing European fishing access to African waters to make up for the over-fishing of European waters in recent decades. But this deal has one exception: it will allow EU boats to fish in the illegally occupied water of a country which the West has done its best to forget.
’Ill feelings’ about EPA
30-Mar-2006 The Nation
There are a number of "misconceptions" circulating about the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) being negotiated between CARICOM, the Dominican Republic, and the European Union, according to the principal EPA negotiators.
Some European countries call for endorsing Association Agreement with Syria
23-Mar-2006 SANA
A source of the Higher Committee Specialized in Following up Issues of Partnership Association between Syria and EU has said that the EU has started to issue positive signals regarding agreement with Syria, particularly that some EU countries consider that there is no excuse for delaying signing the agreement after two years of initialing it.
EU eyeing free trade deals in Asia: Mandelson
22-Mar-2006 Financial Express
The European Union is exploring the prospect of free trade deals with Asian nations once the current round of world trade talks is over, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said on Tuesday.
Economic Partnership Agreement talks look at labor mobility to Europe
22-Mar-2006 PINA
Negotiations for possible movement of labour from the Pacific to Europe is part of discussions under the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) currently underway.
Pacific ACP countries propose new agreement With EU
21-Mar-2006 PNS
Pacific countries that are members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group have proposed an all embracing trade agreement with the European Union (EU) under the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) that will come into force in 2008.
Free trade pact with EU near
21-Mar-2006 Gulf News
The Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Union are close to sealing a free trade agreement after outstanding issues, including EU tariffs on exports of aluminium and petrochemicals, were resolved last week, a UAE ministry official said yesterday.
FTA with GCC within reach - EU
18-Mar-2006 Arab News
A free trade agreement (FTA) between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the European Union is within reach, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson told Arab News in a telephone interview from EU headquarters in Brussels.
Farmers plan to protest EPA talks
17-Mar-2006 CBC
Farmers from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean states have expressed interest in holding some form of action similar to that at the launch of the Economic Partnership Agreement in St. Lucia last September.
Decision on Asean-EU free trade pact in August
17-Mar-2006 Business Times
The European Union (EU) and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) are still studying the possibility of having free trade agreements (FTAs) either on a regional basis or bilaterally with individual countries, says European Commission ambassador and head of delegation Thierry Rommel.
EU says customs agreement with C. America prerequisite for free trade deal
5-Mar-2006 Red Orbit
A customs agreement with Central America should precede talks on the proposed free trade deal, said the European Union’s representative to Central America on Friday.
EU, Mediterranean ministers to meet in Morocco on free trade
5-Mar-2006 Xinhua
Trade ministers from the European Union and Mediterranean nations will meet late this month in Morocco to discuss an EU-Mediterranean free trade area, the Moroccan Foreign Trade Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
EU widens door for Jordanian farm exports
3-Mar-2006 MENAFN
The Kingdom and the European Union (EU) launched an agricultural trade agreement on Tuesday to increase the Kingdom’s agricultural exports to European markets.
Syria, EU hold talks on partnership association pact
1-Mar-2006 Xinhua
Syria and the European Union on Tuesday held talks on means to facilitate the final approval of an association agreement initialled more than a year ago.