Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-05-Speech-2-139"
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"en.19991005.8.2-139"2
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"It must be an almost unique situation for an agreement to be ratified by Parliament before it is actually signed. Today we seem to be preparing for exactly that. I feel honoured and privileged that the subject of this remarkable event is the agreement with South Africa, for which I now carry the responsibility within the Commission.
Mrs Kinnock’s report gives an excellent and largely accurate description of the potential and scope of the agreement. On some points though – and please forgive me for making some technical remarks – the wish seems to be father to the thought. I will give some examples.
Contrary to what the report claims on page 8, the regional safeguard does not apply to the whole SADC region, but only to the BLNS countries which belong to the South Africa Customs Union. Since these countries will in practice apply the same external tariff as South Africa, it made sense to offer them also the same kind of safeguard protection, but this mechanism does not apply in the whole SADC area. It is also not yet agreed that the EU will liberalise imports of South African automotive products within three years, as the report seems to announce on page 9. This option has been made dependent on South Africa’s own efforts in this area, which will be reviewed in the second half of the year 2000. If the South African side proposes meaningful market openings to the EU, we will be able to fully eliminate our tariffs by the year 2003. If not, the EU liberalisation of the motor car sector will take longer.
In contrast to what the report suggests on page 10, good governance is in strict legal terms not an essential element of the Agreement. Our negotiating mandate did not provide for this. The Agreement does, however, state that both parties reaffirm their attachment to the principles of good governance and sets this concept in the context of the essential element. But apart from some imprecisions of this kind, the report is, I have already said, very accurate indeed and very well written. And obviously, I fully share its positive conclusions.
This brings me back to the challenge ahead – how to implement this agreement as soon and as well as possible. Since it is of a so-called mixed nature, we need to await ratification of the Agreement by all fifteen national parliaments. I hope that the amazing precedent to be set here this week will inspire your national colleagues to put this Agreement quickly on their working agenda. Experiences on other agreements have, however, taught us that it may very well be two or three years before the last EU Member State ratifies the Agreement. Under these circumstances, I welcome the fact that Council has decided to provisionally apply certain parts of the Agreement, notably the trade and development sections, as from 1 January 2000. During the next few weeks and months, I will closely follow the preparatory process towards this date so as to ensure that the all-important EU trade concessions towards South Africa will indeed effectively kick in on this agreed date.
As for the other aspects of cooperation, a lot is already legally in place – development cooperation, Lomé, science and technology. But for many other aspects and subjects I am confident that the Agreement can provide immediate direction to our ambitions and efforts, even though in legal terms the Agreement may not yet be fully operational. Pending the formal ratification process and guided by the agreed text of this Agreement, it is my personal commitment to ensure that existing and upcoming areas of co-operation between the EU and South Africa will be quickly and effectively strengthened and deepened.
In a week from now I will have been in South Africa three times this year. My first visit was to celebrate the years of solidarity struggle. Speaking in the prisoners’ dining hall on Robben Island was a nice experience. The second time was when I was representing my country at the inauguration of President Mbeki. Now I look forward to taking part next Monday, in Pretoria, in the actual signing and launching of this agreement.
I want to thank Parliament and, in particular, the rapporteur of the Committee on Development and Cooperation, Mrs Kinnock, for the swift and smooth way it has prepared for the parliamentary assent to the outcome of our negotiations with the South Africans and for the very active and committed way it has assisted this process over the years.
Next week we will sign this agreement in Pretoria. Over the last few days we have heard suggestions by some people from some EU Member States that this joyful event might be affected by the fact that the parallel negotiations with South Africa on an EU/South Africa wines and spirits agreement have run into last-minute difficulties. Without going into the inappropriateness in principle of these kinds of suggestions, I wish to underline that both sides are working very hard to find a quick and mutually acceptable solution to the outstanding problems on the wines and spirits dossier. As a matter of fact, this Thursday negotiators of both sides will meet again in Brussels for a concluding session on the wines and spirits talks. I am confident that they will succeed.
To the question put by Mr Souchet and others on what would be the consequences if a wines and spirits agreement was not reached in time, I have the following remarks.
This was discussed in July and clarified in an internal declaration made by the Commission. Neither the special financial assistance – EUR 15 million – to the South African wine sector nor the duty-free wine quota of 32 million litres should come into play as long as the wines and spirits agreement is not operational. We have told this to the South Africans and we might wish to make it explicit in the exchange of letters that will be signed on the provisional application of the trade agreement.
The trade, development and cooperation agreement that we will sign on 11 October is, in my view, a very good agreement. It is a vibrant symbol of the EU’s political commitment to the new post-apartheid South Africa. For South Africa the bold move towards a trade, development and cooperation agreement with the EU is a symbol of its commitment to economic restructuring and to regaining its full place in the international community.
The agreement is one of the most ambitious partnership agreements that the EU has ever concluded with a third country. It confirms a clear determination by the EU to support the process of change and reform in South Africa and reflects both sides’ desire to further expand their political, trade and cooperation contacts to the benefit of South Africa and indeed the southern African region as a whole.
The agreement will break new ground for EU/South Africa cooperation in many areas. Seen from the specific angle of development cooperation it is my sincere hope that the agreement will contribute to the eradication of poverty and the promotion of prosperity in South Africa with full respect for democratic principles and fundamental human rights."@en1
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