THE relationship between the European Union (EU) and the African Carribean Pacific (ACP) countries has moved beyond development cooperation and trade over the last two decades, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, has stated.
She said it was therefore, time to assess their cooperation to identify new ways for their partnership on the common challenges and interests that they all shared.
The EU representative said this when she and the European Commission launched a public consultation on the future of the partnership between the EU and ACP countries after 2020, when the current EU-ACP Cotonou Agreement will expire.
Cotonou Agreement
A statement issued by the EU Office in Accra today said the Cotonou Agreement is the most comprehensive partnership agreement that the EU has to govern the relationship between the EU and the 78 developing countries in ACP.
It includes a political dimension, an economic cooperation and trade dimension, as well as development cooperation which is, in turn, linked to a financial instrument called the European Development Fund (EDF).
Different stakeholders and interested parties are consulted on more than 40 questions, going far beyond development cooperation and trade issues. Issues such as peace and security, the fight against terrorism and organised crime, sustainable and inclusive growth, migration, political cooperation and many others are on the agenda for consultation and reflection. This consultation will run for 12 weeks from now, the statement said.
Public consultation
For his part, the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Mr Neven Mimica said: “By launching the public consultation, we are opening a debate to see which issues a future partnership could focus on and how this could be turned into an effective vehicle to promote our common interest, given the so many challenges we are confronted with.”
This consultation will be a major component of the analysis the omission will carry out in 2016. It will assess the strengths of this Partnership Agreement as well as the possibilities for improvement.
EU-ACP relations
According to the statement, the relations between the EU and the ACP are long standing, dating back to 1975 and the first Lomé convention.
The latter was a successor to the first Convention of Yaoundé in 1963, binding the then European Economic Community and former colonies of some of its member states. Successive partnership agreements have shaped the relationship up to the present time.
The current EU - ACP Partnership Agreement was signed on June 23, 2000 in Cotonou, Benin.
Since then, it has been the framework for the EU's relations with 78 countries from sub-Saharan ACP. It was revised in 2005 and 2010, in accordance with its provisions and concluded for a 20-year period. It will expire on February 29, 2020.
The agreement is a legally binding instrument which establishes joint institutions and provides a framework for dialogue with each of its members. In addition to its political dimension and economic and trade cooperation dimension, the framework provides for development of finance cooperation, attached to which is the European Development Fund (EDF).
