By Elinor Blair - 20th January 2005
EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson plans to take development policy seriously during his five year term in office, he said on Thursday.
Mandelson argues that the introduction of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with poor countries are “potentially a crucial, highly positive contribution that Europe can and must make to trade and development”.
The EPAs are trade policies which will apply to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACPs) most of which are former colonies of EU member states, and will come into force in 2008 when existing agreements are set to expire.
“Until now, the EU-ACP relationship has simply not delivered on trade,” said Mandelson.
“I want the EPAs to be tools of trade and development building regional markets among developing countries, strengthening regional producers and integrating those markets and producers into the global trading system.”
“They are not classical, hard nosed, free trade agreements, the purpose is the successful integration of the ACP countries into the global economy.”
But support for EPAs is not shared amongst all development policy advocates.
A group of NGOs launched a scathing attack on the proposals last year creating a “Stop-EPA” campaign - many fear that the plans will be of little benefit to developing countries and will undermine multilateralism.
A spokesman for Oxfam International responded to the proposals arguing, “there is a broad consensus in the international community that the impact of trade agreements between unequal partners is counter-productive for poor countries.”
“It is odd therefore to see the EU pursuing deals that go against this consensus and threaten to undermine development,” he said.
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