The European Union has signed new economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with many members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group, but some countries harbour serious reservations about the new deals.

"The reality is that this current commission will be finishing next year, so before then I think (trade) commissioner (Peter) Mandelson is going to be very keen to conclude the agreements," said Glenys Kinnock, a Labour MEP and co-president of the ACP-EU joint parliamentary assembly.

The five year terms for current EU commissioners, who are nominated by their member state countries and selected to a particular portfolio by the EU president, expires in 2009. "I think that his perception (Mandelson's) is that in the next few months full EPAs will be agreed by all the regions. He has put inordinate pressure on ACP countries," she told Reuters on the sidelines of a EPA workshop in Cape Town, organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Government officials, trade negotiators and policy-makers are attending the two-day meeting to assess EPAs and the impact they may have on the EU and poor countries.

So far only 35 out of 77 ACP countries have signed interim agreements, with major developing countries such as South Africa arguing the agreements may harm their economies and hamper regional integration.

The EPAs are aimed at promoting sustainable development of ACP states, reducing poverty and fostering integration of countries, but concerns over market liberalisation and trade preferences remain serious stumbling blocks.

The agreements replace Europe's long-standing preferential trade arrangements with the ACP countries that are no longer protected by a World Trade Organisation waiver.