Mandelson in eggdance to placate SA, Namibia
Business Report, South Africa
Mandelson in eggdance to placate SA, Namibia
By Ethel Hazelhurst
5 March 2008
Johannesburg - EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson spoke of a "significant development" at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) ministerial meeting held in Botswana yesterday.
"South Africa has said it would not stand in the way of other SADC members, which had initialled an interim economic partnership agreement at the end of last year,’’ said Mandelson. ’’I assume the comment was sincerely made and that the other countries will not be obstructed."
He said the meeting reaffirmed the status quo. The deal was initialled by Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique on November 23 and later by Namibia - which means it had been agreed by the negotiators but not yet signed by the governments.
South Africa’s refusal to sign the agreement is controversial and threatens to damage relations in the region.
Mandelson said: "SADC members are happy to let the existing interim agreement stand. But Namibia, which has initialled the agreement and SA, which has not, want their concerns to be addressed.
’’The other SADC members said they want to share their concerns with SA and Namibia and, if they collectively come to me with their concerns, I will be flexible.
’’But I will only consider any adjustments in the context of the next stage of the negotiations between now until the end of the year," he added.
Mandelson repeated that he was not prepared to renegotiate the whole deal.
"They have got major advantages. To threaten disruption of their trade, to put at risk what has been agreed, would be unthinkable."
The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) gives the SADC countries greater access to EU markets than the EU has to theirs. SA has not yet initialled an agreement because it would give the EU the same access to local markets as it would to any future developing nation ally with whom it signs a trade agreement in future.
An EPA is defined as the major instrument of economic and trade co-operation between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.
