COMMUNIQUE OF THE LABOUR UNIONS, THE ALTERNATIVES TO NEO-LIBERALISM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA (ANSA) PROGRAMME, CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS (CSOs), GLOBAL UNIONS, REGIONAL TRADE-RELATED NGOs, BUSINESS COMMUNITY, FARMER AND CHURCH ORGANISATIONS ON ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS (EPAs)

We, the representatives of labour unions, regional trade-related NGOs, civil society organisations (CSOs), global unions, business community, farmer and church organisations, met at a regional workshop organised by the Alternatives to Neo-liberalism in Southern Africa (ANSA) Programme from the 26th to the 27th of July 2007 at the Randburg Towers Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa, reaffirm and recommit issues raised at the regional workshop on EPAs held between the 16th and 17th of February 2006 in Gaborone, Botswana which culminated in the Big Five Declaration. 

The outstanding issues raised in the Big Five Declaration include:

• The inadequate involvement of trade unions and other civil society groups in the current EPA negotiations
• The reconfiguration of the African regional economic groups through the EPA negotiations;
• The fast tracking of the negotiations, which has given very limited time for the carrying out of impact analysis studies, including the building of national and regional capacities;
• Attempts to bring back the Singapore issues that were rejected at the WTO level;
• The reluctance of the EU to address the supply side constraints affecting SADC and ESA economies;
• The limited intra-regional trade; and
• The dire need to redress poverty, inequality and unemployment as a result of underdevelopment arising from colonisation, unfair and undemocratic trade practices, amongst others;
• The non-involvement of other stakeholders by our States in all matters that affect them, including the EPA Negotiations, and their embrace of neo-liberal policies.

We therefore agreed that EPAs are an elaborate EU strategy to promote neo-liberalism, foster the interests of Transnational Corporations (TNCs) in Europe which will evolve into harmful free trade areas for the SADC and ESA regions. Therefore, the SADC and ESA governments and civil society organisations at large should reject the imposition of the proposed EPAs on the basis of the following concerns:

• The deadline for concluding EPA negotiations by the 31st of December 2007 is looming whilst developmental concerns of SADC and ESA are not yet fully addressed;
• That our governments will be coerced into signing the EPAs;
• Lack of substantive involvement of non-state actors such as trade unions, farmer and church organisations, local business community, women’s groups, marginalised groups and the civil society organisations at large;
• The exploitation of weaknesses of different regions, where the EU is playing one region against the other;
• The bringing back of the Singapore issues through the back door and yet there is clear demand from the ACP countries to exclude them in the EPA negotiations;
• The reluctance by the EU to provide EPA-specific funding outside the European Development Fund (EDF) to address the supply side constraints of SADC and ESA economies;
• The lack of a common position on EPAs within the SADC and ESA governments and between the governments and CSOs in various countries;
• The lack of CSO’s unified position; 
• The negative effects of past neo-liberal policies and their impact on workers in particular, and the society at large;
• The signing of EPAs in their proposed form will promote a consensus to accept new issues (Singapore Issues) in the WTO; 
• The remaining time is insufficient to carry out Impact Assessment Studies before concluding the EPAs;
• Further concerned about the European Commission (EC)’s use of bilateral trade agreements meant to regain what they could not achieve in the multilateral fora like the WTO. Therefore, the EU neglects the core issues of development in Africa;
• EPAs are destroying regional integration initiatives such as SADC and COMESA;
• The offer of Duty Free and Quota Free (DFQF) provisions will be meaningless if the Rules of Origin (RoR) are stringent and the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) issues are not resolved; and,
• The erosion of market access by continuous tariff reductions under the multilateral and bilateral negotiations.

We therefore assert that:

• Human-centered development should be put at the centre of the negotiations;
• The Development Matrix should be binding as it is important for Africa to address the supply capacity constraints;
• Regional integration is important for Africa but, it should go beyond the Common External Tariff (CET);
• SADC and ESA countries should opt for the enhanced Generalised System of Preferences (GSP+) and the EC should honour this request;
• CSOs call upon African governments to protect their economies and people’s livelihoods; and,
• The developing countries should not sign the EPAs in their proposed current form and context.

We therefore commit ourselves to:

• Mobilise our constituencies and raise awareness on the negative aspects of EPAs in developing countries on the basis that they will evolve into harmful free trade areas;
• Mobilise our constituencies to participate in the Stop EPA Campaign and other upcoming events such as the SADC Summit in mid-August 2007 in order to build and strengthen a common position on EPAs; and,
• Reach out to labour unions in the North and other progressive groups with the aim of harmonising our positions and also putting pressure on European governments and the EC to take into consideration Africa’s developmental needs.
  
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