Bamako — The ECOWAS Commissioner for Trade, Customs, Industry and Free Movement of Persons, Alhaji Mohamed Darami on Monday, 3rd May 2010 called for an appraisal of the ongoing negotiations with the European Union for the creation of a free trade area between the two regions in order to determine the outstanding work that will help the negotiators comply with the directive by regional leaders for a "balanced, equitable and development-oriented" agreement.
"This is the time to do self-assessment of our work in terms of the achievements since the launching of the road map in Accra in 2004 and premised on three major axes and the numerous meetings and seminars," he said at the opening of a three-day preparatory experts meeting in Bamako that will be dominated by presentations on the status of the negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU and the outstanding issues.
The negotiations have been bogged down mostly because of disagreements over West Africa's demand for an EU-funded EPA Development Programme (EPADP) that will enable the region cope with the adjustment costs of the impending agreement as well as the issues of the modalities for opening the regional market. On its part, West Africa has continuously negotiated its market access offer which presently stands at about 70 per cent while protecting the remaining 30 per cent over a 25-year period after a five-year moratorium in order to shield certain products and industries from dumping.
Alhaji Darami said the two sides were "now involved in a chess game with each party meticulously watching the strategy or strategies employed by the other party and wanting the best possible outcome for their region in these crucial and delicate EPA negotiations". He acknowledged the importance of the Bamako meeting, which will be concluded with a two-day meeting of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee (MMC) responsible for the negotiations from Thursday, 6th May 2010, against the backdrop of five key factors.
These include the inability of the region to meet various deadlines by regional leaders to conclude work on a development-oriented EPA, the resolution of a number of unresolved or divergent issues, the global financial and economic crises that have complicated the negotiations and the turnover of ministers in Member States. At the opening, the Secretary General of Mali's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Baba Lamine Keita, said the meeting provided an opportunity to validate the decisions reached in the negotiations which carried high expectations as an additional mechanism for developing the region by improving its competitiveness and promoting product diversification. He added that the EPA is also expected to contribute towards the acceleration of regional integration relying on the existing complementarities and the inherent economies of scale of exporting to a larger regional market which will boost local production with all the benefits.
Mr. Keita expressed the hope that regional officials handling the agricultural aspect would meet the June 2010 deadline for developing a plan to protect West Africa's agricultural products, particularly the fishing industry from the onslaught of subsidized EU products. Some 70 experts, four from each Member State and representing the relevant interests, are attending the experts meeting.
Ambassadors of ECOWAS and West Africa's Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) in Brussels as well as officials of the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions are attending the preparatory meeting.
