New Era, Namibia
EU Keen on Namibian EPA
By Irene !Hoaës
12 May 2009
WINDHOEK - The European Union says it looks forward to concluding an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Namibia and other countries in the SADC-EPA region.
According to the Head of the Delegation of the Commission of the European Union, Ambassador Elisabeth Pape, the agreements will put trading relationships on a sustainable basis, which conforms to the international trade rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Pape dismissed earlier reports in one of the local dailies that the EPAs were supposed to be signed and concluded last week already had Namibia merely signed the agreement.
She said the parties were still trying to identify a suitable date for the signing.
Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Angola, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique are negotiating as the SADC-EPA block with the EU.
Namibia, South Africa and Angola have however, also formed the ANSA group because they share particular economic concerns regarding the EPAs.
“While Namibia and the others have voiced concerns with respect to certain provisions in the EPA, I am confident that substantive progress was achieved to address those and resolve the majority of them during the recent visits of Commissioner Ashton to the region and the senior officials meeting held in Swakopmund,” Pape, who was addressing guests at the Europe Day occasion, said.
She noted that with the goodwill of all parties, negotiations would be concluded in good time.
Namibia must overcome two stumbling blocks before it can sign the lucrative but controversial interim EPA with the European Commission (EC) to ensure continued quota and duty-free access for its products.
The issues still remaining unresolved for Namibia range from job and revenue losses, regional integration and capacity, after a recent meeting held in Swakopmund between the EC and SADC-EPA configuration, on May10 and 12, 2009.
Parties, however, managed to iron out an agreement on export taxes, infant industry protection and prohibition of quantitative restrictions, food security and free circulation of goods.
Pape said Namibia is one of the very few African countries which continues to meet the strict sanitary requirements for exports to the EU, as was confirmed again by a recent mission of the EU’s inspection team.
Namibia’s current market access has been granted on the basis of an interim agreement, which was concluded and initialed in December 2007 and will only be legally secured once the interim agreement is signed and notified to the WTO.
According to Pape, one important aspect which is almost totally neglected in the EPA discussion are the dynamic possibilities of the radically improved market access to a market of 500 million people with a relatively high purchasing power.
“More than in the impact of an EPA on current exports - mainly beef, grapes and fish - the real music in my view is the possibilities for new exports of goods and services opening up with the duty-free quota-free access,” the EU Ambassador said.
Pape believes that much more creative thinking is possible and necessary in this area with a view to fully exploit the possibilities in terms of investment, job creation, diversification of the economy and value-addition.
Namibia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Marco Hausiku, who was representing the government on the Europe Day celebrations, also mentioned that significant progress was made at the recent Swakopmund meeting with regard to the EPA negotiations.
“However, some issues such as the Most Favoured Nations Treatment, the Definition of Parties in the interim EPA text and Agricultural Safeguards and Rural Development will need a further round of negotiations in order to be resolved,” Hausiku said.
Hausiku stated that it was agreed at the latest negotiating round that all remaining issues of concern raised by Namibia under the interim EPAs could be revisited as part of the negotiations towards the final EPA.