Unification of OACPS strikes back with Samoa Agreement
The African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP) and the European Union have maintained a longstanding partnership known as the ACP-EU Partnership.
The roots of the ACP-EU Partnership can be traced back to the 1975 Lomé Convention which established a framework for cooperation between the ACP states and the European Economic Community, predecessor of the EU. The Cotonou Agreement, signed in 2000 in Cotonou, Benin, replaced the Lomé Convention and is a comprehensive partnership agreement between the ACP states and the EU. It covers a broad spectrum of areas, including development cooperation, trade, political dialogue, and economic cooperation, with the EU providing substantial development assistance to ACP countries. In April 2020, the ACP Group of States officially changed its name to the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS), a change that aimed to better reflect the organisation's identity and purpose, and the diversity of its member states.
The Cotonou Agreement had a lifespan of 20 years, and its initial term was scheduled to end in 2020. This lead to negotiations for its successor. The post-Cotonou negotiations aimed to redefine the ACP-EU relationship in the context of changing global dynamics. Recently, on 15 November 2023, during the 46th session of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers, just before the official ceremony in Samoa, the EU and its Member States formally signed the 'Samoa Agreement', forging a partnership between the EU and the OACPS. The agreement aspires to fortify the capabilities of both the European Union and the ACP countries in jointly addressing global challenges. As a substitute for the previous Cotonou Agreement, the Samoa Agreement focuses on important issues such as democracy and human rights, sustainable development and economic growth, climate change, human and social development, peace and security, and migration.
The agreement comprises a shared basis that is universally applicable to all participating entities, complemented by three regional protocols tailored to address the distinctive requirements of Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. The provisional application of the Samoa Agreement is approaching and will start on 1 January 2024.
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