Civil Society accuses EU of `bribing` Africa…Says EU money will not right EPA wrongs
Lindile Ndlovu
right EPA wrongs
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have condemned the European Union
(EU) for abusing the December deadline to put unjustifiable pressure on
African governments to concede to its terms in the ongoing negotiation
in the Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and African
Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.
They cautioned African governments not to buy into the EU's false
claims. The CSOs from several African countries meeting in Accra
yesterday re-stated that Africa has everything to lose and nothing to
gain by signing Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the
European Union.
Contrary to European Union claims, African countries do not need to
sign the EPAs to maintain their current market access levels to the
European market.
Civil Society stressed that African countries can adopt the General
System of Preference plus (GSP+) which will enable African countries to
continue to have access to EU market at levels similar to what they
enjoy now, and even an improved one.
"The EU claim that only the EPAs can guarantee this continued access is
totally false", said Tetteh Hormeku of Third World Network-Africa
(TWN-Af).
He said signing onto the EPAs will trigger severe loss of jobs,
threaten the peace of the continent, and strangle Africa's right to
evolve and pursue its own development agenda and lead to recolonisation
of Africa by Europe.
According to him, the EPAs, if signed in its state now, will lead to
the elimination of tariff but any tariff reduction and elimination will
necessarily involve huge fiscal costs and many costs of implementation
to Africa and other African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.
The EU's promise of two billion euros under the European Development
Fund (EDF) to help with the cost of adjustment under EPAs was also
described as false, misplaced and at best self-serving.
He said in the first place, the so-called additional two billion euros
for adjustment is non-existent. “The additional funds is in fact only
700 million euros and this is meant to be shared between the 71-member
ACP group of countries and other developing countries in Latin
America,” he stated.
The Civil Society stressed that the EU money is not even sufficient to
cover ACP losses arising from EPAs. EU's promised aid "has nothing to
do with development. It is more about buying acceptance of agreements
by giving money", said Marc Maes (of 11.11.11, Belgium), adding "EU aid
will not right EPA wrongs".
It further noted that the EU is also manipulating the expiration of the
Cotonou waiver on December 31, 2007 to send panic waves to African
leaders that African exporters will lose access to the European market
after this deadline.
According to the outcome of the civil society meeting, the European
Union is bound by obligation under the Cotonou Agreement, which has the
force of international treaty, with the ACP to maintain market access
for countries that decide not to sign the EPAs.
"The EU has deceived our governments, private sector and the
horticultural sector that
They will lose their markets after December 2007 and about alternative
to EP As" said Jane Nalunga' of SEA TINI, Uganda.
The EU is hiding its own offensive interests in market access, service,
investment, and intellectual property interests. The EU contends that
it has no offensive interests in market access negotiations in West
Africa for instance. However the EU has raised concerns in its member
countries about 'buy national' products campaigns in ECOW AS countries,
said Ofei Nkansah of the Ghana Agricultural Workers Union.
Again EPAs claim to support regional integration was seen as false as
ACP producers will lose regional markets to cheap and subsidized
European products.
Civil Society went on to note that in spite of the obviously severe
handicaps of the EPAs and the damage they will inflict on African
economies and peoples, African leaders and regional blocks continue to
negotiate for the EPAs.
"This is too high a price to pay" said Thomas Deve, the Project Officer
of MWENGO, Zimbabwe. He said the Cotonou Agreement provides for
countries not to sign on EPAs, African and therefore CSOs call on
governments and negotiators to call the bluff of the EU and reject the
EPAs.
Source/Credits: Ghanaian Chronicle
Lindile Ndlovu
Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC)
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Jennifer Chiriga
Civil Society accuses EU of `bribing` Africa ...Says EU money will not right EPA wrongs