Is the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), a free trade agreement negotiated between West Africa and the European Union (EU), really coherent with the development of West Africa?
CONCORD regrets that the EU, the largest economic zone in the world, is trying to obtain disproportionate commercial concessions from one of the poorest regions in the world. With this EPA, West Africa will have less policy space to use important tools for the development of certain economic sectors, in order to improve the living conditions of its people. At the same time the EU has not undertaken any formal commitment to allocate additional long term funding that would be needed to enable West Africa to cope with competition from imported European products, and to compensate for the loss of fiscal revenues. As a result, the EPA is incoherent with the development of West Africa. CONCORD therefore recommends that Members of the European Parliament do not ratify the EPA.
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