• EPA

EPA

There is continual criticism of the "reciprocal and non-discriminating" trade agreements to be offered by the European Union (EU) as being incompatible with WTO rules. In this paper, problems related to development and reciprocal trade are looked into. The paper is an attempt to identify issues where the grassroots can be involved and discuss how they can be involved. The paper deems that the grassroots must be engaged in the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

The paper reviews the Cotonou agreement which was signed in 2000; highlighting its four main principles: partnership, participation, dialogue and mutual obligations, and differentiation and regionalisation. It notes that the Cotonou has been subject to some criticism because it linked development cooperation to conditionality, which undermines the principle of equal partnership. The paper considers that the most radical change which the Cotonou agreement implied is the EPAs. The interim agreements between EU and ACP regional blocs are aimed at establishing the EPAs after 2008.

Regarding EPAs monitoring, the paper thinks that EPAs should be monitored by grassroots so that the ACP countries can:

• take advantage of new opportunities for community entrepreneurship and wealth creation
• increase community access to technical and financial resources
• ensure the health and safety of minority communities at hazardous waste sites
• provide more opportunities for minority technical experts to work with community groups
• evaluate state programs along criteria that are relevant to communities’ needs and to share these findings with ACP - EU members

Concerning Funding, the European Development Fund (EDF) supports the EU-ACP cooperation. The paper states that the following issues should be taken into consideration in order for the EDF to result in sustainable development:

• the financial facility should go beyond the ACP-EU negotiation period
• the EDF should be made easily accessible
• there should be a creation of an adjustments fund for the new EU-ACP partnership
• EDF should address supply side and structural constraints of ACP countries

Finally, the paper emphasises the following recommendations:

• it is essential to have an efficient participation methodology aiming at coordinating civil society’s position on the EPA negotiations from the ground up
• greater importance should be given to capacity building
• it is necessary to engage local governments in the process
• linking consumers and farmers through discussions is essential in order to come up with common solutions on the debatable issue
• it is very essential to have civil society's presence felt and highly considered
• simplification and harmonisation of rules of origins is needed in a way that wouldultimately help development
• considering gender Indicators for monitoring EPA is of great importance for development

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