From the Financial Times:

The European Union yesterday offered to open its huge market fully to poor countries that signed bilateral trade deals this year. Brussels is proposing to scrap tariffs and quotas on sensitive products such as beef, corn, fruit and vegetables for the 78 so-called ACP countries, mostly former colonies in the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions, from January 1 2008.

The International Herald Tribune has more on a story which doesn’t seem to have been widely reported:

The commission said the offer covered all products — including farm goods such as beef, dairy products, cereals and all fruit and vegetables — and will take effect through “economic partnership agreements” the EU is negotiating with six African, Caribbean and Pacific regions… The commission said it is not asking the affected nations to reply in kind.

If you can read French, there’s even more at Liberation in the shape of a Q&A about the deal with ACP Group co-ordinator Shree Baboo Chekitan Servansing, who doesn’t seem quite as enthusiastic as one might think…