| This piece of good news came to us from the French Parliament. On the 5th of July the Delegation for EU Affairs of the National Assembly, the French Parliament, submitted the following report for information: Negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, the ACP. The report was introduced by Jean-Claude Lefort, MP. Here are a few excerpts. Mr Lefort started his presentation thus: “Ladies and Gentlemen, A threat is looming over Sub-Saharan Africa and other regions of our planet, among the very poorest: the threat of an all out free trade agreement. I am referring to the negotiations between the European Union and the 77 ACP nations. Far-reaching and complex trade negotiations, which are to be concluded by the end of 2007, are at present being held, outside the sphere of influence of national parliaments, with a view to liberalising trade between 25 rich nations (the European Union) enjoying a GDP of 22 000€ per capita and the poor ACP countries with a GDP of barely 424€ per capita.” …/… The rapporteur stated that one of the first steps that must be taken in support of the ACP countries is bringing the talks back to square one and start on a new basis. …/… During his various talks and missions among the parties concerned, he noted the high expectations of the ACP countries for the issuing of a strong statement from France and the United Kingdom on the EPAs. He concluded: We shall find out very quickly if Europe is about to commit an historical mistake or if it is prepared to save its partnership with the ACP. The French report is too long and in some aspects too technical to be quoted here unabridged. Therefore, we invite all those who take an interest in the future of Africa and the countries of the Caribbean and the Pacific, to read the document in extenso. It is available at: N° 3251-Rapport déposé par la Délégation pour l’Union européenne sur la negociation des accords de partenariat économique Summaries are available at: 1) Le résumé en français (French summary) 2) Le résumé en anglais (English summary)
3) Les conclusions adoptées à l’unanimité par la délégation (The conclusions, adopted unanimously by the Delegation - in French) 4)Les conclusions adoptées à l’unanimité par la délégation (The conclusions, adopted unanimously by the Delegation - in English) In view of the significance of these documents, we shall come back to them in future issues of this bulletin. We shall put forward some proposals for action, to see to it that this political declaration of support has its full impact. Thank you for spreading this information widely.
Paris, July 21 2006
Maurice Oudet
Director, SEDELAN | 
