The meeting, which will run from Thursday to Friday, stems from a decision made at the SACU Heads of State meeting in Namibia on April 22. The Gaborone meeting will, among other things, discuss the response of the European Union Trade Commissioner, Karel de Gucht, to issues raised by the regional bloc in a letter written in February. The crux of the correspondence relates to SACU and the SADC EPA's desire to finalise outstanding issues in the EPA negotiations instead of EU's focus on securing implementation of last year's interim EPA from the four countries that signed it. Botswana, along with Mozambique, Lesotho and Swaziland, signed the iEPA last June while South Africa, Namibia and Angola declined to sign, citing various concerns to the EU's proposals.
It is understood SACU Trade Ministers influenced the SADC EPA group - five of whom are from SACU - to inform the EU of the region's position that EPA negotiations should focus on the outstanding issues that have seen three out of seven states decline to sign the interim EPA. The SADC EPA letter to de Gucht last February was essentially to request more time in the negotiations to allow for the resolution of outstanding issues in the interests of maintaining regional cohesion within SADC.
Yesterday, Botswana's Chief Negotiator, James Masisi, revealed that the EU Trade Commissioner responded in May, essentially rejecting SADC EPA's overtures.
