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In 2000, the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, otherwise known as the ACP group, adopted the Cotonou Agreement, which is a framework treaty on trade, aid and political cooperation. It replaced the previous Lomé Convention, providing for a general set of privileged relations between the EU and the ACP countries in matters of market access, technical assistance and other issues. The objective is to facilitate the economic and political integration of the ACP countries into a liberalised world market over the next 20 years.
Under the Cotonou Agreement, the parties agreed to negotiate a separate set of individual bilateral treaties between the EU and the participating ACP countries. Those individual arrangements, dubbed "Economic Partnership Agreements", would provide specific rights and obligations tailored to six arbitrarily defined clusters of countries (West Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa, Central Africa, SADC, the Caribbean and the Pacific). The EPAs are meant to be comprehensive free trade agreements, laced with rethoric about "development" and "regional integration". The negotiations on these EPAs started in September 2002 and were supposed to be completed by 31 December 2007, as a WTO waiver on the non-compatibility of the EU’s preferential trade relations with ACP countries would expire by then. (The EU pushed "WTO compatibility" as a frame for the talks and ACP countries accepted it.) As the talks advanced, ACP governments became caught between a rock and a hard place. They wanted the bits of market access that the EPAs offered, but would have to pay an extremely high price in terms of loss of customs revenue, destabilisation of their economies from the expected flood of EU imports, unclear financial aid commitments from Brussels, reduced political autonomy, etc. Civil society, labour unions and business groups in the ACP countries studied the implications and came out with vigourous campaigns to stop the signing of the EPAs. The 31 December 2007 deadline for the EPAs to be signed came and went with much drama. A number of states — including Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire — initialled interim EPAs before the deadline. Others, like Senegal, swore they would not sign until development concerns were seriously taken on board. In 2008, negotiations continued to secure full acceptance of interim EPAs and move them towards agreed comprehensive EPAs. A state of play as of October 2009 (courtesy of Marc Maes at 11.11.11) is provided below:
last update: October 2009 Articles
West African lawmakers have cautioned against any decision to open up the region’s market “too wide and hastily” to the European Union as part of the concession for reaching a trade agreement between the two regions.
Bahamas ’did not yield in areas of unease’ over EPA
| 28-August-2010
The Bahamas "did not yield in areas that would cause the population some unease" in its Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) services offer, a government minister telling Tribune Business that the ’watering down’ of this nation’s initial position that European Union (EU) firms joint venture with Bahamian companies in numerous sectors had done "no harm". 
The Southern African People’s Network summit ended with a call from more than 350 grassroots representatives for regional governments to reject the imposition of the Economic Partnership Agreements. 
Speaking at a Civil Society gathering code named ‘The Southern African People’s Solidarity Network’ a trade and justice activist in the region, Dot Keet, said EPA has the potential to derail efforts to unite both SADC and Africa’s goals of integration.
MINICOM sensitizes on Economic Partnership Agreements
| 18-August-2010
The Ministry of Trade and industry has started a sensitization campaign on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) in all sectors of economy.
Association says EPA negotiations promote economic integration in West Africa
| 18-August-2010
National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS) on Monday said the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations had created some reliefs that could promote regional economic integration in the ECOWAS sub-region.
Africa-EU economic agreement stalls
| 15-August-2010
A meeting in Brussels in late July set a new—and ambitious—end-2010 deadline for conclusion of a full SADC EPA agreement. However, as only four countries have so far signed an interim EPA, conclusion of a full agreement still appears a distant goal.
New push to conclude fraught SADC-EC trade deal by year-end
| 12-August-2010
A recent Southern African Development Community (SADC)-European Commission (EC) meeting on the future of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) governing trade between the two regions has been described constructive by a top South African trade negotiator.
More time needed for EPA talks - Motlhale
| 11-August-2010
Ahead of the August round of negotiations between the SADC EPA group and the EU, the Acting President of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Parliamentary Assembly says the region should be afforded more time to reach a final decision on a comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU. 
Europe, unlike the Caribbean, is moving forward to establish the bodies and appoint the individuals that will from its perspective manage the implementation of the EU-Caribbean trade agreement. |
Le stand de l’UE à la conférence sur le sida "saisi" par des militants défenseurs des génériques
| 21-July-2010
Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the U.S.- South Korea Trade Agreement
| 30-June-2010
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