A4-0150/95

Resolution on South Africa's future economic and trade relations with the European Union

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the Treaty on European Union, in particular the provisions on a common foreign and security policy (Title V), and to the objectives outlined in Article 130u of the EC Treaty,

-having regard to the statement of the European Union of 19 April 1994 on cooperation with South Africa,

-having regard to the final declaration of the EU-Southern Africa Foreign Ministers Conference in Berlin (5-6 September 1994),

-having regard to its opinion of 30 November 1994 on the proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of South Africa (COM(94)0402 - C4-0171/94 - 94/0216(CNS)),

-having regard to South Africa's application to join the Lomé Convention and the Georgetown agreement, supported by the ACP Group,

-having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on External Economic Relations (A4-0150/95),

A.whereas the democratic Government of National Unity in South Africa has now been in office for a full year,

B.aware that the election of a representative Government has created high expectations amongst large sections of the South African population, especially with regard to employment and improved access to public services,

C.conscious of the fact that South Africa's ability to improve its economy and trade relations will be crucial to the consolidation of its fragile democracy and to ensuring political stability in the Southern African region as a whole; conscious also that economic and social democracy has yet to be achieved, particularly for the majority of black South Africans,

D.recognising that many of South Africa's problems are similar to those of developing countries and that social indicators such as the UNDP human development index show social conditions amongst the majority black population to be broadly comparable with those of poorer surrounding countries,

E.applauding the concerted efforts of the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) aimed at bringing political stability and sustainable economic development to the region,

F.recognizing and supporting the South African Government's efforts to promote peace in all the countries of southern Africa,

G.recalling the position adopted by resolution at the Joint Assembly (Libreville, October 1994) which supported the inclusion of South Africa into an appropriate relationship with the Lomé Convention and which in stressing the developmental needs of South Africa called for preferential trade access to European Union markets in line with the Lomé Convention,

1.Re-iterates the importance of close economic and trade relations between the EU, South Africa and Southern Africa and welcomes the official start on 30 June 1995 of negotiations on a framework for long-term economic and trade relations between the EU and South Africa;

2.Welcomes the South African Government's commitment to its GATT obligations and emphasizes the need to encourage the process of South Africa's integration into the world economy;

3.Recalls the objectives of Article 2 of the interim agreement between the European Union and South Africa aimed at "promoting harmonious, balanced and sustainable development", inter alia through increased trade cooperation;

4.Recognizes that the GSP treatment extended to South Africa in September 1994 is insufficient to promote the expansion and diversification of South African exports, which will be necessary to establish the foreign exchange base for sustainable economic growth and economic restructuring, which are essential to the consolidation of democratic political change;

5.Stresses the need to support the process of economic restructuring in South Africa, in particular the need to encourage the development of labour-intensive manufacturing industries, and recognizes that it will take time for these sectors of manufacturing industry to become internationally competitive;

6.Recognizes that socio-economic reform in South Africa will open up a range of trading and investment opportunities for European businesses, both in South Africa and in the whole of the Southern African region;

7.Calls for a strategy aimed at substantially improving market access for those commodities and sectors which will have a real impact on the economic recovery and development of South Africa in view of their potential contribution towards employment creation and export diversification;

8.Stresses that any future trade agreement should provide adequate and transparent safeguards for both EU producers and traditional ACP suppliers;

9.Stresses the importance of improving swiftly and substantially South African access to the EU market, if future EU trade policy is to support economic restructuring and the consolidation of democracy during the transitional period in South Africa;

10.Considers that future economic and trade relations between the European Union and South Africa should encourage the conclusion of bilateral agreements on the protection of investment; cooperation between customs services; the promotion of compatible systems of standards and certification and joint promotion of common products such as wine and cut flowers;

11.Calls on the Commission to take specific measures to promote socially and environmentally acceptable forms of production in agriculture and in the craft and industrial sectors and to make special resources available for projects of this kind (ecological farming, cooperatives - particularly to promote greater economic independence for women);

12.Fully supports the provision of Article 6 of the Interim Agreement which recognises the importance of the Southern African region and the need to harmonise cooperation within the regional context;

13.Stresses the need for a commitment to compatibility between the trade regime established for EU-South Africa trade and the trade regime applied to neighbouring Southern African countries with a view to ensuring that no obstacles are placed in the way of greater intra-regional trade in Southern Africa;

14.Welcomes South Africa's efforts to restructure regional trade in the interests of more balanced and equitable regional development and recognises the need to give priority to improving access for neighbouring ACP SADC states to the South African market;

15.Stresses that the EU in its deliberation on a future trade agreement with South Africa must take full account of the existing customs union relationship South Africa has with ACP SACU countries and should be sensitive to the delicate process of negotiations currently taking place amongst the SACU countries;

16.Calls for increased encouragement to inter-regional trade flows and investment through a comprehensive extension of the cumulation provisions of the Lomé Convention to South Africa and allowing South African companies to tender for EDF financed contracts;

17.Insists that any future trade arrangement should be negotiated in close consultation with the Southern African region and the ACP group;

18.Notes the intention of the negotiating partners to explore the option of starting "a process leading to progressive and reciprocal trade liberalisation with a view to establishing a Free Trade Area;"

19.Calls upon the negotiating partners to be vigilant in ensuring that the considerations stipulated in all the preceding paragraphs are fully taken into account in determining the pace and scope of any process of reciprocal trade liberalisation;

20.Calls upon the Commission to conduct a detailed sectoral analysis of the impact of a Free Trade Area on South Africa's industry and that of its SACU partners and insists that a reciprocal Free Trade Agreement would need to be acceptable to the SACU as a whole;

21.Considers that to a large extent the shape of the framework for future EU-South Africa trade relations will need to be determined through the process of negotiations itself;

22.Calls on the Commission and the Member States to maintain maximum flexibility in defining the negotiating mandate and not to exclude any options;

23.Calls on the EU Council to take immediate steps to ensure:

-the legacy of trade discrimination is removed through the granting of a full agricultural GSP offer to South Africa;

-the further inclusion of South Africa in the reformed agricultural General System of Preferences which - once in place - should take account of the recent GATT agreements on agriculture, the requirements of balance between the various benificiary countries and the reciprocal obligations under Free Trade Agreements in the European Union;

-a delinking of the cumulation and tendering questions from the negotiation of a long-term bilateral agreement and their comprehensive resolution in the context of the Lomé IV mid-term review;

24.Calls on the Council and Commission to adopt a special clause on South Africa's accession to the Lomé Convention during the mid-term review of the Convention;

25.Calls on the Council and Commission to inform and consult the European Parliament at each stage of the negotiations between the European Union and South Africa;

26.Calls for the inclusion of Members of the European Parliament as observers in the Community delegation for negotiations on a long-term agreement for trade and cooperation between the European Union and South Africa;

27.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission, to the governments and parliaments of the Member States, to the Government and Parliament of South Africa, to other governments of the Member States of the Southern African Development Community, to the ACP Council and to the ACP/EU Joint Assembly.