Eu Africa Agreement

The creation of a reciprocal trade agreement poses the EU the problem of how to reconcile the special status of the ACP group with the EU`s WTO obligations. The proposed solution to this dilemma is an agreement that is reciprocal only to the extent necessary to meet WTO criteria. In reality, the ACP countries will have some room for manoeuvre and will be able to maintain limited protection for their main products. The extent to which trade should be liberalised under the new EPAs remains widely debated and it remains to be seen whether the WTO provisions governing regional trade agreements will be revised at the end of the Doha Round in favour of the EPA system. Trade relations between Africa and the EU have entered an era of progressive and positive momentum. Other countries in sub-Saharan Africa have Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the EU. They are flexible and customizable tools that meet the development needs of our African partners. They also need to evolve – their modernisation has already begun, with the EU and five Eastern and Southern African countries negotiating an upgrade to their EPAs, including provisions on services, investment, trade and sustainable development, as well as other issues. Regional economic integration remains at the heart of these agreements, which are also building blocks of the path to continental integration. The experience and instruments developed by African countries in negotiating and implementing trade agreements with the EU can be put to good use at the African continental level. However, the road ahead is not easy and there are many challenges ahead.

Under the Cotonou Agreement, the EU has negotiated a series of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These agreements aim to create a joint partnership on trade and development, supported by development support. In this sense, the President of the European Commission, as Commissioner for Trade, has given me another priority: bridging the gap between negotiations and implementation. In this regard, I am appointing a Chief Trade Enforcement Officer who will focus on identifying and putting in place barriers to our trade agreements in order to achieve their objectives. In Africa, we are experiencing a similar implementation gap. The EU and African countries should cooperate to bridge this gap by implementing and improving our existing trade agreements and preparing for the implementation of the AfCFTA even before it is fully implemented. . . .