Conference of European Churches - Office of Communications
Press release No. 07-44/e |
19 November 2007 |
CEC CENTRAL COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS: THE ECONOMY SHOULD BE AT THE SERVICE OF PEOPLE
The Central Committee of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) which met in Vienna from 14-17 November 2007, appealed to the European Union (EU) to ensure that the trade negotiations towards Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific “will not be stumbling blocks but stepping stones and building blocks for a more just and equitable global trading system.” CEC particularly appeals for an extension of the 31 December 2007 deadline for the EPAs negotiations. “The EU bears a heavy responsibility to ensure that the EPA negotiations are conducted in a way which is commensurate with its own values to poverty eradication, equal ownership and real partnership as stated in many official documents of the EU, values which are shared by the churches,” the Central Committee of CEC stated.
The full text of the statement of the CEC Central Committee follows.
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The EU Economic Partnership Agreements must become instruments of partnership and poverty alleviation
Public Statement
The economy should be at the service of people, and not the other way around. By the same token, trade policies should be instruments for promoting human well-being and enhancing livelihoods, especially of those who are most in need.
In the view of the Conference of European Churches and its sister churches in Africa, principles like these should be at the basis of, and guide the trade negotiations towards Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) which are presently being conducted between the European Union and six regions of the countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP countries).
Repeatedly, ACP and EU negotiators have emphasised that development should be put first at every stage in the negotiations. If EPAs are to be development tools, they cannot simply be trade liberalisation agreements but must include concrete measures and benchmarks to ensure that poverty is combated, food security is ensured, equity is established, and the environment is protected. To achieve this, a trade deal between unequal partners such as the EU and the ACP countries needs to be asymmetrical and allow for a maximum level of flexibility so that the ACP countries can implement nationally and regionally owned models and policies aimed at sustainable development in their continents.
The trade negotiations are taking place in the context of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement between the EU and the ACP, and are due to be finalised by the end of 2007 when a waiver of the World Trade Organisation ends. The Conference of European Churches shares the concerns of African sister churches that the EPA negotiations have, so far, been conducted without any meaningful consultation and participation of anyone other than the small circle of negotiators. We are convinced that it would be counterproductive to push ACP countries into signing ambitious trade agreements for which they have limited negotiation capacity. They often lack a sound basis for making informed choices and negotiate under enormous time pressure.
Therefore, we join our sister churches in Africa in appealing for an extension of the deadline for the EPA negotiations and for the EU to take the necessary measures to make sure that the ACP countries will not be worse off after 31st December 2007 than they are at present.
The EU bears a heavy responsibility to ensure that the EPA negotiations are conducted in a way which is commensurate with its own values to poverty eradication, equal ownership and real partnership as stated in many official documents of the EU, values which are shared by the churches.
We appeal to the EU to ensure that trade deals with the ACP countries will not be stumbling blocks but stepping stones and building blocks for a more just and equitable global trading system.
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The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of some 120 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches from all countries of Europe, plus 40 associated organisations. CEC was founded in 1959. It has offices in Geneva, Brussels and Strasbourg.
For more information:
Luca M. Negro
CEC Office of Communications
Phone +41 22 791 64 85 or 791 63 25
Fax +41 22 791 62 27
e-mail: Luca.Negro@cec-kek.org
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