EPA ’merry-go-round’
Jamaica Observer | 23 August 2008
EPA ’merry-go-round’
Rickey Singh, Observer Caribbean correspondent
Bridgetown, Barbados — A day after Caricom chairman Baldwin Spencer proposed September 8 for the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) the Observer has learnt that the pact is now unlikely to be signed before either September 12 or September 19.
In what is now viewed as a "merry-go-round", what appears more definite at this stage is that a proposed special meeting of Caricom Heads of Government to deal with conflicting positions on the EPA could take place on September 8 with Barbados as host venue.
Spencer said yesterday before leaving for Guyana for last evening’s ceremonial opening of CARIFESTA X, that the Community Secretariat "would have by now informed all Heads of Government of our special one-day meeting".
Contrary to an earlier report, the proposed September 8 summit of Caricom leaders will first seek to arrive at a consensual position on the EPA/EU signing arrangement before officially indicating to the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, the "most suitable date, or alternative date", according to one ministerial source yesterday.
The argument is that there was no point signalling to the EU either September 12 or September 19 for the signing ceremony until the 15-member CARIFORUM group of countries (Caricom plus the Dominican Republic) "have firmly resolved differences and decided on the appropriate date".
The Barbados Government, which has complained in a letter to Spencer about "untenable inconsistencies" among some Community partners, has reaffirmed its commitment to host the proposed special meeting of Heads of Government.
Barbados also committed to concluding necessary arrangements, in consultation with the Caricom Secretariat and the European Commission, for the signing ceremony "once a mutually satisfactory date has been reached".
September 2 was the original signing date set at last month’s regular annual Caricom summit that took place in Antigua and Barbuda. But Guyana informed the meeting of its inability sign on so prior to a national consultation of stakeholders on the EPA. This has now been fixed for September 5-6.
Since then, Grenada, and subsequently St Lucia, have also made public that they could not be on board for a September 2 signing of the EPA, as further reviews of the accord were being conducted.
The Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery - an institution of Caricom - which had concluded the EPA negotiations with the EC in Barbados last December, said that it was not in a position to explain what "current initiatives" were being pursued to settle arrangements for signing of the accord since the September 2 date no longer seems to be on the table.
