by RICKEY SINGH

A HIGH-LEVEL TROIKA is to engage European Union (EU) states in urgent consultations to further review controversial clauses of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) negotiated with regions of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) bloc of countries.

This was one of the major decisions taken at the just-concluded Sixth Biennial Summit of the 79-member ACP in Accra, Ghana, with the president of Ghana, John A. Kufour, host of the three-day conference and new chairman of the ACP, advocating a "critial second look" at provisions for both interim and full EPAs.

Consistent with previous ACP/EU encounters, the troika will comprise representatives of the African Union, CARIFORUM (CARICOM and the Dominican Republic) and the Pacific Forum and will be led by Kufour as ACP president.

Addresssing the ACP summit Kufour was critical of what has so far resulted from EPAs negotiations between the European Commission and the ACP.

This includes the sole full EPA that has been concluded by CARIFORUM with the EC and for which a majority decision was taken last month at a special CARICOM summit to sign off on the negotiated text on October 15 in Barbados.

However, with the decision of the ACP summit to engage the EU in urgent consultations for reviews of EPAs before October 30, the absolute deadline that EC officials had earlier given, new questions have arisen over whether the proposed signing ceremony may still proceed as planned.