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Regional NGOs Campaign For EPA Renegotiation |
21 July 2008, www.barbadosadvocate.com
Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the (Caribbean) region are opposed to the CARIFORUM signing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Commission (EC) in its current form and are circulating petitions promoting its renegotiation. The NGOs are seeking to reach 5000 signatures, and the effort in Barbados is being spearheaded by the Barbados Association of Non Governmental Associations (BANGO) with plans to submit the petition to Prime Minister David Thompson and his Cabinet, and regionally by the Caribbean Policy Development Centre.
The NGOs are calling for the EPA to be limited to make it World Trade Organisation (WTO) compatible, and renegotiation to make specific legally binding provisions for financial and technical assistance for developing regional industries, agriculture, and services by the European Commission. They also want the insertion of legally binding criteria to measure the socio-economic impacts of the EPA on specific segments of society such as women, children, farmers, workers, and fisher-folk. Finally, the NGOs are calling for a mandatory review of the EPA provisions that allows for the possibility of renegotiation within three years of signing the agreement.
The EPA is expected to be signed by the CARIFORUM countries (CARICOM and the Dominican Republic) in Barbados by the end of August, with the exception of Guyana and Grenada, who will carry national consultations before signing on, therefore the NGOs are encouraging people to sign the petition within the next 30 days. Thus far the CPDC petition has received 307 signatures, while BANGO has received 27, with many saying the document is anti-developmental and would negatively impact the Caribbean and signatories coming from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, and across a range of professions.
Among the reasons being cited for the need to renegotiate the EPA is a recent report to President Sarkozy of France, on the document by Christiane Tauriba, a member of the French National Assembly. In an examination of the Tauriba report, Professorial Research Fellow at the Institute of International Relations, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Norman Girvan, argues that the report, despite being focused on Africa, contains criticisms that equally apply to the CARIFORUM EPA. Girvan also says that these criticisms support the case for the four-point renegotiation argument made in the petitions, including the call for greater emphasis on social and economic development.
Noting that the report contained criticisms of the pressure placed on African countries to scrap most of the taxes levied on imports from Europe despite their dependence on these revenues, Girvan said that the same situation applies in several Caribbean countries, especially the OECS. Moreover, since the report says negotiations between the EU and African countries could continue for as long as 2009, the scholar argues that the rush to sign the CARIFORUM EPA is unnecessary. In terms of food security, Girvan highlights that the report calls on the EU to recognise the right of poor countries to feed themselves by excluding agricultural goods from trade liberalisation, and that it has criticised the tactics, pressure, paternalism and threats employed by the Commission to impose its points of view and its interests.
http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/NewViewNewsleft.cfm?Record=36133
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