Why EAC Summit adopted new principle

The buzz in the media suggests that the tenth EAC Heads of State Summit was a letdown for its failure to sign the draft common market protocol ahead of its implementation in January 2010।

While the signing was extended to give negotiating teams more time to complete annexes to the protocol, the disappointment seems to be borne on the fact that the presidents did not come out strongly on Tanzania, the country opposed to right of land ownership, right of residence, and use of national identity cards as travel documents।

However, what such people seem to forget is that by choosing to take the principle of variable geometry, the summit set a precedent for future negations.

The summit agreed in principle that Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi can go ahead with use of national Identity Cards as travel documents when traveling within the region.

However, this rule will not apply in Tanzania and to Tanzanian Citizens since their government could not reciprocate in equal measure.

Known as the principle of variable geometry, it allows states that are ready to go ahead with implementation of agreed clauses without necessarily bulldozing parties that are reluctant to cede their sovereign interests.

The principle came up in February when the EAC Council of Ministers formally sought the opinion of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) on the interpretation of the EAC Treaty in regard to the principle of variable geometry.

Justice Johnson Busingye of EACJ thus ruled that the principle should be applied to guide the regional integration process, setting the stage for the decisions taken at the Summit.

The give-and-take scenario will perhaps dispel selfish interests in the negotiations unless a country is sure enough that it has more to gain in adopting a particular stance.

Although hidden in diplomatic lingua, the EAC Presidents applied this principle when they announced that Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi will go ahead with the implementation of some of the contentious parts of the protocol.
This therefore protects Tanzania’s sovereign interests without actually compromising the spirit of integration.

It is also a move away from the consensus principle that has been often times bogged down EAC negotiations.
The principle of variable geometry was at the heart of European Union integration process and was also used in the adopting the Euro as currency for EU member states. It is therefore important that we learn from history.