EU eyes interim southern African trade pact
2009-06-03 Reuters
Resources > By Topic > REGIONAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS > EPA
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he expects to sign an interim trade pact with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Thursday."I look forward to Botswana's signature on the interim economic partnership agreement (EPA) on June 4," Barroso said after meeting Botswana's President Seretse Khama Ian Khama in Brussels.
Khama confirmed the signing of the provisional EPA to liberalise trade between Brussels and a number of SADC nations, such as Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland estimated to be worth around two billion euros. South Africa -- the economic powerhouse of the 15-nation SADC -- will not be part of the initial deal between the the two trading partners, since Pretoria has its own coveted bilateral trade agreement with the 27-nation bloc.
"It is hoped that South Africa will be part of the long-term deal in some way which will cover all SADC countries and worth billions of euros to their economies," an EU official familiar with the negotiations said. The interim agreement had to be postponed at least three times in the last two months over South Africa's reluctance to agree a regional deal with Brussels and EU officials said Pretoria had put unnecessary pressure on its poorer neighbours to resist initialing the pact.
Published in: Resources > By Topic > REGIONAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS > EPA