ISDS Case Map
EU
European Union
An official from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs admitted that given the country's record of extrajudicial killings, the negotiating team is seriously concerned about whether the Philippines may qualify for a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with EU, a requisite for the country taking part in the EU-ASEAN free trade agreement.
"The talks might be called a Closer Economic Partnership Agreement as the European Union wants the agreement as a comprehensive package which will cover not only trade, but also services and investment," Thailand's chief negotiator said.
Statement of the Asia-Europe Peoples Campaign vs. FTAs on the 40th ASEAN Minister's Meeting in Manila (July 30-August 2, 2007)
Samoa's Deputy Prime Minister said the Pacific trade ministers "have had some schooling and know how to read English. It is untrue that the Pacific misinterpreted the meaning (of the EC warning)."
The EC's Head of Delegation to the Pacific has sent to the Pacific EPA negotiating team a letter dated Friday 3 August that states Pacific Trade Ministers have misinterpreted an earlier EC communication and there is no conditionality that would reduce the EDF funds available to the Pacific if the region does not sign an EPA.
Nigerian captains of commerce and industry have warned that the proposed trade agreements are not in the best interest of the growth of industry in the country.
The European Union and east African countries thrashing out a new but contentious trade deal will sign parts of it by a Dec. 31 deadline even if all is not ready by then, a Kenyan trade official said on Wednesday.
Pacific Trade Ministers have responded to a threat by the EC to cut development aid funds to the region if the Pacific does not conclude the EPA by the end of the year. In a strongly worded letter to the EC Commissioner for Development, they stated they would “not accept the EC imposing this linkage on the RIP with respect to the EPA.”
Just before the Pacific ACP Trade Ministers Meeting opened in Vanuatu on 31 July 2007, the Deputy Head of the Pacific desk in the EC's DG Development sent the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat an email that stated the Pacific's allocation of the European Development Fund would be cut by 48% if it does not sign up to an EPA and by 26% if a goods-only agreement is concluded.
After the emerging disaster of CAFTA, Central American countries recently launched into a new round of trade negotiations, this time with the European Union.
