End spin against trade campaign, Mandelson told

Fighting poverty together ActionAid International news release For immediate release: Brussels, Wednesday, 28 September 2005 End spin against trade campaign, Mandelson told European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson should admit the extent and seriousness of opposition to his free-trade proposals for Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries, the anti-poverty agency ActionAid International said today. Mr Mandelson is in St Lucia for talks with Caribbean ministers on the EU trade plans, amid growing pressure on poor nations to open their markets. ActionAid is dissatisfied with the European Commission’s answers to an open letter in which campaigners claimed that Mr Mandelson was issuing misinformation on their campaign. The EC alleged that anxiety over its proposed Economic Partnership Agreements was confined to the five UK non-governmental organisations which signed the open letter in the British daily newspaper The Guardian. Last June the ACP Council of Ministers expressed “grave concern that the negotiations have not proceeded in a satisfactory manner” and regretted “the disconnect between the public statements of the Commissioners of Trade and Development on the development aspect of EPAs and the actual position adopted during EPA negotiating sessions”. Also, African Trade Ministers called for investment, procurement and competition – rejected at the World Trade Organisation summit in Cancun – to be dropped from the EPA talks at the African Union Summit last June. The Stop EPAs drive involves 200 groups from Europe and throughout the ACP region. This international coalition came about after the call by the Africa Trade Network for a “No to EPAs” fight. In a joint effort to counteract to what many consider a development disaster, Caribbean NGOs will protest in St Lucia under Operation Get Up! Stand Up! named after the song by Jamaican reggae star Bob Marley. “As reciprocal trade agreements, the EU free-trade proposals are utterly unfair: they require countries in substantially different economic situation to engage on an equal market access basis. Also, they would expose farmers in poor countries to the unfair competition of heavily subsidised European agricultural products and African infant industry to powerful European companies. This is definitely not the basis for a development deal”, said Moussa Faye, ActionAid International GCAP Coordinator. ActionAid also countered EC assertions that the UK NGOs wanted the entire EPA process shelved and that ACP countries are “willingly signing up to” the agreements. In fact in the open letter, the Stop EPA coalition demanded, “the EU's current plans for EPAs be shelved”. With no alternative on the table, ACP countries are engaging in talks about EPAs but this does not imply that they will sign up to them. Aftab Alam, ActionAid’s Head of International Trade Campaign said: “Democracy requires genuine options and debate on planned agreements. But Mr Mandelson should not resort to hyperbole and half-truths in a bid to persuade developing countries that opening their markets to European big business will help the poor. Instead, he must show his anti-poverty credentials. The ACP countries need to be assured that none will lose EU aid if they reject one of these agreements. The commissioner should request a new development mandate from EU states and press for WTO rules to allow regional agreements without reciprocal opening of markets. And Mr Mandelson must start work on potential alternatives to these agreements.” End CONTACT: Paul Collins, ActionAid UK media unit: +44 (0)20 7561 7614, mobile +44 (0)7753 973486 Alexandre Polack, ActionAid based in Brussels: +32 (0) 2 503 24 22, mobile: +32 (0)473 8618 92

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