Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 342: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to the proposal of the European Commission, in terms of goods only economic partnership agreements due to be signed by 31 December 2007, which will mean that countries who did not sign the interim agreements will not have preferential access to the EU market from 1 January 2008 onwards and that article 3 of the Cotonou Agreement says that economic partnership agreements shall refrain from any measures liable to jeopardise development objectives which are poverty reduction, long term poverty eradication consistent with the objectives of sustainable development, gradual integration of the African Caribbean and Pacific countries into the world economy; the alternatives to goods only agreements he will support in order to meet these obligations while accepting that many African, Caribbean and Pacific countries call for more time to negotiate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32130/07]

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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The current trading arrangements under the Cotonou Agreement must come to an end on the 31st of December 2007 if the EU and our Africa Caribbean Pacific (ACP) country partners are to meet our international obligations in the World Trade Organization. Accordingly, the EU and the 6 ACP regions agreed some years ago to negotiate new arrangements, namely Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), to replace the existing Cotonou arrangements.

Recently, however, some of the ACP regions have indicated that it will be difficult for them to agree the terms of a full EPA by that deadline. For those cases, the Commission has issued, in October last, a Communication setting out its proposals for a two-step approach. This approach is to put in place new arrangements to deal with trade in goods after the 31st of December and to continue with negotiations for all other aspects of a full EPA into next year. Without such interim arrangements, some of the ACP countries will only be able to depend on the Generalised System of Preferences from the start of 2008.

Ireland believes that the negotiations must be conducted in a spirit of goodwill, flexibility and understanding. We have always said that any resulting agreements must be supportive of ACP countries' development needs and their poverty reduction strategies. In particular we have said that we do not want to see any ACP country suffer a diminution of its preferential access to the EU.

At the EU General Affairs Council of the 21st of November last, the Development Ministers considered the current state of the negotiations for EPAs and the Commission's proposals for a two-step approach. In its Conclusions, the Council described the Commission's proposals as pragmatic and endorsed the approach as an interim solution. On the issue of continuing negotiations for full EPAs into 2008, the Council called for a flexible and phased approach. Finally, the Council called on the Commission to report back to the December General Affairs Council with recommendations to address the situation of those countries that risk having their trade with the EU disrupted.

I, along with my colleagues in Council, will give serious consideration to any proposal that meets our two objectives, namely to continue preferences for ACP countries and to comply with our WTO obligations.