(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM) and the European Union (EU) convened the Second Meeting of the Trade and Development Committee (TDC) under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on 27 September. Both sides characterized the intensive one-day Meeting as “successful.”
The Meeting was chaired by Mr Peter Thompson of the European Commission, on behalf of the EU. He also headed the EU delegation. The CARIFORUM delegation was led by Ms Miguelina Estevez, a Senior Official of the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Dominican Republic, which currently holds the Chairmanship of the CARIFORUM regional bloc.
The TDC crafted a number of joint decisions for adoption by the Second Meeting of the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council (JC) which will be held in Brussels on 26 October, but recognized that agreement was not possible in some areas at this time.
In reflecting on the ground covered during the TDC, Mr Thompson pointed to a “positive balance sheet.”
Among the areas in which agreement was achieved at the TDC were the following:
(i) The incorporation of the commitments of The Bahamas into Annex IV of the EPA which addresses Investment, Trade in Services and E-commerce;
(ii) The admission of the Caribbean Export Development Agency as a permanent observer of the TDC;
(iii) The approach to arriving at a list of arbitrators;
(iv) The establishment of membership of the Consultative Committee, an Institution that provides a platform for insertion of civil society in EPA implementation.
While there was agreement on submitting certain items for endorsement by the JC, some issues will be subject to further negotiations as they were not resolved.
At the TDC consideration was given to a number of issues related to trade under the EPA, and good progress was made in clarifying positions.
With respect to Development Cooperation, CARIFORUM reiterated its commitment to regional cooperation and integration. In addition, CARIFORUM reported that projects have been identified with respect to 82% of resources under the Regional Indicative Programme of the 10th European Development Funds (EDF).
CARIFORUM raised the issue of differentiation and expressed concern with this EU policy position, noting that negative movement in the quantum of resources made available under the National Indicative Programmes (NIPs) may add to the challenges that the Region faces given its limited resources. CARIFORUM stressed that the action of the EU in the area of differentiation impacts on the Region’s capacity to implement the EPA. The EU took note of the statement by CARIFORUM and agreed that Ministers at the JC must have an opportunity to exchange views on the implications of differentiation for the Region’s economic development and its capacity to implement the EPA.
Regarding monitoring implementation of the EPA, the EU and CARIFORUM acknowledged that monitoring is enshrined in the Agreement and is critical to achieving its development goals. CARIFORUM indicated that it has been involved in a range of consultations to identify a regional organization which would undertake the task of monitoring, an exercise which would also call for activity at national level, including the generation of data. There will be effort to advance the process towards undertaking monitoring by the time of the meeting of the JC in October.
In concluding the TDC both sides indicated that they are looking forward to the next meeting of the JC, which is the highest of the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Institutions which oversee the implementation of the EPA.
CONTACT:
Nand C. Bardouille Alexander Walford
nbardouille@caricom.org Alexander.Walford@ec.europa.eu
CARICOM Secretariat European Commission
(CARIFORUM Directorate) Directorate General for Trade)
