On the implementation of the EU-Southern African Development Community (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)

The Committee on Development calls on the Committee on International Trade, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1.Welcomes the first ex post evaluation of the EU-Southern African Development Community (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA); stresses that the EPA envisages trade and investment contributing to the goal of sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions;

2.Points out that regional integration features prominently in the EPA; stresses that regional integration is essential to effectively integrate developing countries into the world economy; stresses, furthermore, that the EU’s development finance cooperation with SADC countries must assist their regional economic cooperation and integration efforts;

3.Points out that the EPA should contribute to diversifying value chains in SADC countries and their economies, creating added value and jobs locally and thereby helping to reduce and eventually eradicate hunger and poverty in a sustainable manner;

4.Underlines the importance of good governance and assistance in building capacity for sustainable development, in particular with regard to establishing sustainable fiscal systems and fighting tax evasion, in order to help unlock fiscal capacity for further economic and social development and to protect the environment;

5.Stresses that the EPA should contribute to establishing an effective, predictable and transparent regional regulatory framework for trade and investment, provide a sustainable foundation for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area and thereby attract private capital, which is indispensable for fostering sustainable development and achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda;

6.Highlights the importance of broadly, systematically and meaningfully involving local and regional civil society in the EPA’s implementation and the ex post evaluations thereof.