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		Nothing gained but broken sanctions Wednesday, 12th December 2007 The EU-Africa Summit, which the Portuguese Government pushed ahead with despite a visa ban on President Mugabe, has done little more than delay vital decisions for the future of both continents according to Conservative MEPs Roger Helmer and Chris Heaton-Harris. Only two out of 53 African leaders agreed to sign the Economic Partnership Agreements, which were a major goal of the summit from the EU trade perspective. Roger Helmer MEP said: "We were hoping for something concrete from the Lisbon Summit, but here it comprehensively failed to deliver. "The Joint Africa-EU Partnership promises nothing more than an endless series of new institutional mechanisms and meetings - a vague expansion of bureaucracy that will do little more than further postpone decisions that should have been taken many years ago". Chris Heaton-Harris added: "We know what Africa needs - good governance. However, by inviting Mugabe the EU has shown that it is prepared to legitimise African oppressors. No African government will now take seriously European exhortations about the need for good governance, democracy and human rights. "Instead of a deadline set for the introduction of democracy and the rule of law to Zimbabwe, a dangerous precedent of sanction-breaking has been bolstered by the prospect of future engagements on European soil with regime leaders from Harare."