‘EU is getting flexible on EPAs’
New Era | Tuesday, 12th of August 2008
‘EU is Getting Flexible on EPAs’
By Desie Heita
Windhoek
Namibia is ready to put behind the unpleasant treatment it received from European Union negotiators during last year’s marathon negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which resulted in the country’s refusal to sign until its protests were heard.
Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Dr Malan Lindeque, said the negotiation climate seems to be changing and the EU has come to accept that Namibia, along with other African countries, have cause for concern.
“We are engaging with the EU and there are some indications that the EU will make some concessions,” said Lindeque.
Lindeque further said the EU is getting flexible and has started to give impetus to developmental issues, on which initially African governments herald the EPA agreements.
“Development objectives of the agreement were watered down, hardly visible. The [agreement] became a trade agreement, which was not to be the case,” said Lindeque.
He was speaking at the launch of a booklet titled: ‘Economic Partnership Agreements: The New Game of Divide and Rule’ by the Labour Resources and Research Institute (LaRRI).
The booklet helps public and business people to understand the nitty-gritty of what Namibia is facing in the EPA with the European Union. It gives the background and problems faced by Namibia during occasions such as last year when the country at first refused to sign the initial EPA agreement but later initialled the agreement on condition the EU agrees to discuss the concerns raised.
The European Union and the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) countries are still crafting the best way for the EPA, with Namibia, along with South Africa and Angola, having lodged serious concerns that they want addressed by the EU.
Namibia’s concerns were, and so remain, over the most favoured nation treatment insisted upon by EU, the abolishment of taxes and levies, free movement of goods and the removal of Namibia’s protection of infant industries.
These concerns are serious, as they would affect governance, sovereignty and have implications on regional integration, said Lindeque.
Namibia signed the interim EPA agreement with an appended condition that there would be future discussions on the concerns raised.
Namibia exports fish, beef and table grapes to the EU. The last exports values are estimated at about N$2,3 billion worth of fish, N$300 million for beef, and N$300 million worth of table grapes.
In spite of such huge monetary benefits, signing EPA as initially given would mean that Namibia opens up almost 80 percent of its markets to European goods overnight. This is in addition to other clauses that would have had serious repercussions for Namibia.
The Director of LaRRI, Hilma Shindondola-Mote, said the booklet would greatly contribute to a nuanced understanding of where and how EPAs were conceptualised and their implications for Africa in particular.
“It is my wish that this reader attracts a broader audience and much-needed attention on the continent and beyond so that more people are better informed about the history, the reality and the consequence of the much-talked about but yet less understood EPAs,” said Shindondola-Mote.
