To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment has been made by his Department on compliance with the Cotonou Agreement by the EU in its negotiations of economic partnership agreements; and if he will make a statement. (142183)

The DTI and the Department for International Development work closely together on issues relating to the Cotonou Agreement, in particular on economic partnership agreements.

Article 37.4 of the Cotonou Agreement states that the parties should carry out a formal comprehensive review in 2006. The UK was active in ensuring that the ACP had full participation in the review. All six EPA regions completed their reviews by April this year and these were endorsed by the EU-ACP Council of Ministers on 25 May 2007.