AFTER four years of tough negotiations and months of grandstanding over the final details, the European Union on Wednesday approved an historic free trade pact with South Africa, the first with a developing nation and likely to be a precedent for others. The decision came at a summit of EU leaders in Berlin. President Nelson Mandela was informed of the decision in a telegram from German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and European Commission President Jacques Santer. “The European Union regards this agreement as a further step towards consolidating the strong partnership between the European Union and South Africa in the political, economic and commercial fields,” the telegram stated. Spain, the most hardline opponent of the terms for the draft deal, dropped its threat to block the deal over the degree of access it accords to a range of South African agricultural products.