The ACP and EU officials reached the consensus during an informal dialogue hosted by the German EU Presidency on the pro-development agenda of the EPAs currently being negotiated between the two blocs.
 

The meeting was co-chaired by Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Minister Hans Joachim Keil of Samoa on behalf of the ACP on 13 March in Berlin, said a statement from the ACP secretariat in Brussels at the weekend.
 

The EPAs are going to provide a new basis for trade and economic relations between ACP countries and the EU, and negotiations are expected to end by 31 December 2007 in order for the EPAs to take effect in 2008.
 

The central common goal of the EPAs is to fight poverty, promote sustainable development in the ACP partner countries and foster their fair share of the global economy.
 

The ACP and EU officials agreed further to work to develop concrete mechanisms for effective implementation of the development component of the EPAs and that the development impact of the EPAs should be monitored in the course of the implementation of the agreements.
 

Monitoring instruments will be developed regarding market access of ACP States into EU markets, while the EU agreed to provide improved market access. Both sides agreed that ACP countries could make use of long transition periods and the asymmetry of tariff dismantlement and its coverage, with the EU reaffirming that it will dedicate a substantial part of the increase in aid for trade to EPAs.
 

The EU Presidency shall take up and actively promote further elaboration of the ACP proposal for the creation of regional EPA funds, with the preferred delivery mechanism being the existing regionally owned financing mechanisms.
 

To avoid legal vacuum in the trade arrangements, the ACP and EU made a commitment to exert effort to conclude the negotiations by 31 December 2007, mindful of the importance of ensuring that ACP development concerns are fully addressed as an integral part of the EPAs, the statement noted.
 

It said ministers and heads of delegation from over 30 ACP States representing all the negotiating regions and EU development cooperation ministers from the 27 EU Member States attended the meeting. EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel were also present.
 

German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul stated in a concluding press conference with Hans-Joachim Keil, Associate Trade Minister of Samoa, that "many questions" had been "successfully clarified" during the dialogue. "There is a consensus and common understanding among EU and ACP member states that EPAs are to be an instrument for fighting poverty," he noted.
 

The ACP's Hans-Joachim Keil added: "We have made a lot of progress today. With the meeting we had today, the will is there and the understanding is there. Everybody is cooperating now to make sure that negotiations are completed within the tight timeframe of 2007." 19 March 2007 - PANA