Martin Endjala
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia will not be signing the new partnership agreement between the European Union (EU), the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) in its current form.
The agreement was set to be signed on 15 November 2023.
Nandi-Ndeitwah announced this in Parliament yesterday, saying that due to concerns raised in 2021 by the government regarding several provisions in the New Partnership Agreement that are of fundamental concern to Namibia.
“In this regard, the Attorney-General Festus Mbandeka was asked to provide a legal opinion on the new partnership agreement,” she said.
She explained that the new agreement raised some concerns, in particular Article 97 which, states that, no treaty, convention, agreement or arrangement of any kind between one or more Member States of the European Union and one or more OACPS Members shall impede the implementation of this Agreement.
Moreover, Article 101 in particular Sub-Article 7 provides that appropriate measures shall be taken against a country not fulfilling its obligations under this agreement.
She said it was on this ground that the government stood its ground and decided not to sign the new partnership agreement between the OACPS, the member of the EU and the European Union Commission in its current form.
The legal opinion on the New Partnership Agreement identified further prescriptive provisions of note that impose certain actions that are not in line with the Namibian Constitution, its legal framework, and its international relations and cooperation policy.
Consequently, on 15 February 2022, Cabinet further passed a decision following concerns to be communicated to the European Union, underlining that the treaty does not have a glossary of terms or a definitions section, to ensure that all parties have the same understanding of terms, which may pose a problem in the implementation and evaluation phase.
“The agreement refers to over 80 regional and international treaties or strategies, initiatives and programmes that may not be legally binding agreements or processes, and our country may not necessarily be a party to.
Having these provisions in the gally-binding New Partnership Agreement may elevate non-binding agreements, strategies, initiatives, programmes and processes to a legally binding position or a treaty status,” she explained.
According to the legal opinion, Nandi-Ndaitwah adamantly argued that Namibia, as a Member State of OACPS, is not bound to sign the agreement if it is not comfortable with it, as a result, in February 2022, the government notified the EU that Namibia would not sign the draft agreement in its current form, should the identified concerns not be addressed.
Nandi-Ndaitwah reassured that Namibia will continue to have friendly relations and enjoy cooperation with the EU and its Member States, in various sectors, through other frameworks and arrangements.
