Europeans say their treaties secure better treatment for Dominicans than DR-CAFTA

http://www.dominicantoday.com 20/10/06

Santo Domingo.- European Union ambassador in the country Dino Sinigalia yesterday said that, in contrast with the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) that Europeans seek with Caribbean nations, warrants better treatment.

Sinigallia stated that trade accords with the European Union (EU) secure for ACP countries - Dominican Republic, included – the opportunity to augment its trade activity with the 25 nations that make up the European block, by gradually opening markets, and forging cooperation and development.

In the company of Financial head of the EU delegation in the country, Francisco De las Heras Borrero, and by Jonathan Pitts, Communications director, the diplomat added that the Europeans are the greatest donors in the world, and Dominican Republic’s principal investor.

De las Haras said that the big difference consisted in that the agreement with the EU not only is commercial, but that it entails an important aid component to governance, transparency; “it is commerce, and more.”

The European Union negotiates economic agreements with six commercial blocks: four of these blocks assemble African nations according to their different economic conditions; a fifth one with the Caribbean and a sixth with the Pacific.