Rally against partnership agreement
Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation
Rally against partnership agreement
Sunday, 26 March 2006
Members of the islands public sector union and other Barbadians will be showing their dissent towards the most recent process of negotiations between Barbados and Cariforum countries this week.
The NUPW and the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC) will be holding a rally on Tuesday morning to coincide with the start of negotiations for a new economic partnership agreement in Barbados.
Senior programme officer at the CPDC Shantal Munroe-Knight says civil society is concerned that the process has not been transparent.
She says women’s organisations, church groups and farmers from around the region will also be participating in the 9 a.m. rally moving from the NUPW headquarters to Pebbles Beach.
Ms. Munroe-Knight made the comments following a service at the St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, marking the start of the economic partnership agreement negotiations.
Ms. Munroe-Knight says even though the Regional Negotiating Machinery and the E.U. officials have agreed to meet them on Tuesday, the CPDC is still dissatisfied with the level of engagement.
She says the organisation is concerned that issues dropped at the WTO level will be reintroduced in the EPA and the reported reluctance of the EU to negotiate certain agricultural issues.
