AFRICA and Europe's first summit in seven years ended in disarray yesterday, with no agreement on the key issue of trade and a defiant Robert Mugabe telling Africa to "fight the arrogance" of European countries opposed to his regime in Zimbabwe.
| Europe doesn't have the continental testicles to actually demonstrate its "arrogance" by closing its wallet. |
The EU wants to replace the expiring trade accords with so-called Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), which anti-poverty groups have criticised for failing to provide protection for Africa's poor farmers and its fragile industry. "It's clear that Africa rejects the EPAs," the Senegalese president, Abdoulaye Wade, said angrily. "We are not talking any more about EPAs, we've rejected them ... we're going to meet to see what we can put in place of the EPAs."