Economic Partnership Agreements
The relations between the EU and 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states are defined in the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, signed in 2000 as a successor of the Lomé Conventions, first signed in 1975. Under these agreements, ACP countries have enjoyed preferential trade relations with the EU. However, these trade preferences were not compatible with the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as they were not reciprocal and they discriminated against other developing countries. Therefore, when signing the Cotonou Agreement, the EU and ACP agreed to negotiate new arrangements, the EPAs, intended to progressively create free-trade ACP-EU areas through a gradual removal of barriers to trade and to support the gradual integration of the ACP economies into the international trading system.
EPAs are conceived as instruments that promote regional integration and economic development in the ACP countries; they are based on the principle of asymmetrical opening of markets and the provision of substantial financial resources to support economic policy reforms in the ACP states. They should cover trade in goods, services and trade related areas. In 2002, negotiations were launched with six regional groupings of ACP countries: the Caribbean, the Pacific and 4 African regions.
By the end of 2007, it was possible to agree on one full regional EPA (CARIFORUM) and a number of partial WTO compatible interim agreements that avoided the risk of disruption in the EU-ACP trade flows. Out of the 78 ACP signatories of Cotonou, only 10 were in 2008 subject to the standard Generalised System of Preferences; this includes 7 Pacific states (with relatively small trade volumes with the EU), Nigeria, Gabon and Congo Brazzaville.
Six out of eight initialled EPAs have been signed so far: the full EPA with CARIFORUM states (October 2008), the interim EPAs with Cote d'Ivoire (November 2008), Central Africa (January 2009), SADC EPA States (June 2009), the Pacific States (July 2009) and Eastern and Southern Africa States - ESA (August 2009). The signature of the two outstanding initialled EPAs (with Ghana and East African Community - EAC) is expected in the forthcoming months.
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