Synopsis: |
The European Union's role as a major development actor continues to grow, and it is the second largest distributor of overseas development aid behind the US. This document sets out the Government's reply to the Committee's report on European Union development and trade policies (HCP 271, session 2006-07; ISBN 9780215033093) which was published in March 2007. Amongst its findings, the Committee's report argued that the EU should be guided by development needs in international trade negotiations; and that in its negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements with regional groupings of African, Caribbean and Pacific states, it must not abuse its position of strength to force the pace of progress and should have contingency plans in place, including extension of the WTO waiver, should the negotiations not be concluded within the deadline. |