On the 14th of March 2008 the Secretary General of the ACP Group has given a speech at the 12th Session of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly in Ljubljana, Slovenia. There, he underlined again the current discussion around the implementation of the EPAs between the ACP countries and EU. According to him, the EPAs, if not properly implemented, will have long term negative effects on the economic, social, and political realms of the ACP States and Regions.
Thus, in his speech he stipulated that in some of the regions the incompatibilities between EPAs and the existing Regional Integration Agreements have contributed to the on-going difficulties in EPA negotiations. In this regard, the Motion for a Resolution on ´Experiences from the European Regional Integration Process relevant to ACP Countries`, states clearly that EPAs should support and promote existing ACP regional integration processes, and not lead to the disintegration of ACP Regions.
Furthermore, he continues that the fundamental changes to the ACP Group’s external environment, the global re-alignments and the major shifts in EU policy orientations such as the EU’s separate strategies for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Regions and South Africa , are the issues that the ACP Group need to follow very carefully said the Secretary-General of the ACP Group. According to him, the ACP Group has much potential and should never put themselves in a position that any other party or entity can deconstruct the ACP Group.
Eventually, the final analysis would be to look at the impact of EPAs, EU initiatives, and of the perceived downgrading of the preferential status of the Group by the EU on the ACP Group, the ACP-EU Relations and the political situation in ACP States.
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