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Press Release

For immediate release
10 December 1998

Vienna last chance for EU to deliver promised trade deal to Mandela

As EU leaders prepare for the Vienna Summit this weekend, campaign group Action for Southern Africa will protest outside the European Commission offices in London at the EU's threat to block a promised trade deal with South Africa unless it surrenders its right to sell port and sherry under those names.

"The end-game is being dominated by this grubby scramble for monopoly rights in South Africa by vested interests in Europe," Rob Davies MP, Chair of the parliamentary trade and industry committee in South Africa, told ACTSA today.

South Africa has already conceded to stop calling its port, 'port' and its sherry, 'sherry' in the European market and has agreed to phase the terms out in other markets. But some European governments insist that it must stop using these terms at home and in the Southern African market - even though South Africa has used the terms for 200 years and that WTO rules recognise their right to continue doing so. But at a Foreign Ministers meeting on Monday, the group of EU states made it clear they might veto a deal unless they get their way. President Mandela and the South African cabinet have vowed not to bow to European threats on the issue.

"Spanish and Portuguese haggling over port and sherry is shameful and they should respond to the representations made to them by President Mandela", Glenys Kinnock MEP argues today.

The trade deal, which covers hundreds of products across many sectors, has been thrashed out over three years of talks, following the pledge of EU leaders to support the new South Africa in 1994. With South Africa now preparing for its second democratic elections and unless the vested interests on the issue are faced down, EU leaders in Vienna would have to admit to failing in their Cardiff Summit pledge to 'bring the negotiations on a comprehensive trade, development and co-operation agreement with South Africa to a successful conclusion no later than the autumn of 1998'.

"EU leaders must seize the opportunity at Vienna this weekend to deliver on their promise to President Mandela. It is unacceptable that a comprehensive trade deal for the new South Africa is held back over arguments over the names of a couple of drinks. Port and sherry are usually associated with the Christmas spirit, but EU leaders are threatening to make them symbols of European bullying and meanness", said Ben Jackson Director of ACTSA.

ENDS/.

For more information contact:

Ben Jackson  0171 833 3133 (d)  0171 582 3722 (e)
Aditi Sharma  0171 833 3133 (d)  0171 703 4051 (e)




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