/ 15 September 2011

Zimbabwe, Libya haunt SA-EU trade pact talks

Zimbabwe

South Africa and the European Union are meeting in the Kruger Park, looking to revive stalled trade talks — and likely tackling differences over Libya and Zimbabwe.

South African President Jacob Zuma and the EU’s Herman van Rompuy were on Thursday due to meet at Skukuza inside the national park, famous for its herds of elephants and other big game.

European Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht was also attending, after a swing through Namibia, where he said some “misunderstandings” about the long-stalled trade pact had been cleared.

Seven southern African nations and the EU have discussed a so-called Economic Partnership Agreement — basically a free trade deal — for years.

Officially South Africa won’t negotiate on behalf of its neighbours, but as the biggest economy on the continent, it carries the most weight.

Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland already have a customs union with South Africa. Angola, Africa’s second-largest oil producer, and Mozambique have joined with them to negotiate a common trade deal with the EU.

The talks have dragged on for years, with South Africa preferring to seal a regional deal rather than have individual nations negotiating on their own.

Recognising Libya’s government
Zuma’s meeting with the Europeans came one day after he hosted talks for the African Union’s panel on Libya, which has become the biggest diplomatic hurdle between South Africa and the West.

While the leaders of Britain and France were in Tripoli on Thursday to meet with Libya’s new leadership, the African Union has so far refused to recognise them, despite the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

After the AU meeting on Wednesday evening, the panel reiterated its call for “an inclusive national unity government” in Libya, but has yet to spell out exactly what that means.

Zuma has repeatedly criticised the Nato bombing campaign in Libya. South Africa voted for the UN resolution imposing a no-fly zone over the country, but accuses Nato of overstepping its mandate.

Zimbabwe in focus
The summit was also expected to look at the situation in Zimbabwe, where South Africa three years ago brokered the deal that created the power-sharing government between veteran ruler Robert Mugabe and his long-time rival Morgan Tsvangirai.

South Africa has taken up Mugabe’s call for Western nations to lift the travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo imposed against him and his inner circle over a series of flawed elections marred by deadly violence during the last decade.

Pretoria argues that lifting the sanctions would shore up the fragile unity government and show that the West is not playing favourites in Harare.

Leaders at the summit were also expected to discuss the upcoming UN climate talks in Durban, due to run between November 28 and December 9.

The EU has financed the talks to the tune of six million euros. A central debate in Durban will be whether nations negotiate new commitments to limit greenhouse gas emissions, and how the world should divide that effort among rich and developing nations.

Despite South Africa’s economic might on the continent, it remains a major beneficiary of European aid, notably a €126-million grant to the health ministry to bolster the public health system, especially in the fight against Aids and tuberculosis.

During 2007-2013, South Africa is set to receive €980-million from the EU, or an average of €140-million a year. — Sapa-AFP