Accra - Ghana — ECOWAS has restated its resolve to ensure that economic relationships with partners such as the ongoing negotiation of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union for the creation of a free trade area of the two regions, contributed to the realization of West Africa's development objectives. "Let me restate that our regional focus on the Economic relationship or partnership agreement with the European Union or any other region for that matter remains immutably economic development, the reduction and eventual eradication of poverty, sustained regional integration and the ultimate integration of the ECOWAS region into the world economy," the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador James Victor Gbeho said on Tuesday, 31st August 2010 in Accra.
Opening a three-phase stakeholder sensitization on the EPA, he said the region would also ensure that such trade arrangements or relationships were "compatible with the rules and procedures of the World Trade Organization." He said that this comprehensive sensitization programme for parliamentarians from the region, private sector operators, civil society representatives and the media was part of a "new regional concept of transparency and accountability" that demanded that "we inform and explain to you what we have done so far and contemplating in carrying out the directives of our leaders." The sensitization is part of the efforts by the region to engender public appreciation of the issues in the negotiation and ownership of the process. "Failure in the past to interact with our constituents has only given free rein to misinformation, misrepresentation and misreporting on the useful and vital service that we, as your institutions, are performing on behalf of the West African region and indeed Africa generally," he said.
Specifically, he said the weeklong workshop would help ensure "that all levels of stakeholders to be affected by the conclusions of the EPA negotiations are adequately and accurately informed on the progress, challenges, expected effects of the agreement and measures being put in place to ensure that the economic interests of West Africans are adequately protected and our common and interlocking future is not mortgaged." He assured the parliamentarians that the negotiations were proceeding smoothly as the experts were making concerted efforts to resolve outstanding areas between the parties and that they had "deftly directed the negotiations along four thematic areas namely the rules of origin, the tariff dismantling calendar aspect of the West Africa market access offer, the EPA Development Programme and a few other unresolved issues in the draft text of the agreement." Ambassador Gbeho recalled the decision of the July 2010 Summit of regional leaders in Sal, Cape Verde relating to the need for the two regions to reach consensus on the divergent issues and ensure that the agreement provided for the development dimension, excluded the ECOWAS and UEMOA Community levies from the definition of customs duties for purpose of the tariff dismantling process, as well as the exclusion of the Most Favoured Nation status from the text of the agreement in order to promote South-South trade.
He further recalled the decision of the Summit that the non-execution clause in the text of the agreement should be expunged and restricted to the political dialogue provisions in the Cotonou partnership agreement between the African, Caribbean and pacific countries and the European union. Issues to be covered in the sensitization include an overview of the trade development in West Africa, the status of the negotiations, the draft text of the agreement, the EPA Development Programme, West Africa's market access offer and the negotiations on the rules of origin and mutual administration assistance. The second phase of the sensitization later in the week will involve private sector operators and representatives of the regions civil society while the concluding phase is for members of the academia and the media.
