ACP EU development cooperation

The two participants in this development cooperation are the ACP and the EU. Let us know a bit more about each of them:

The European Union

Beginning in the 1960s, a group of 6 nations in Western Europe – France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg – created the European Economic Community (EEC). These member states began expanding, with the adoption of the United Kingdom, developed into the European Community, a group of 15 nations and was the foundation for the modern-day European Union.

The African, Caribbean and Pacific States

The African, Caribbean and Pacific states (or the ACP countries) are a group of countries that signed the Lome Convention with the European Commission. The Lome Convention was signed in 1975 as Europe wanted to maintain its predominance in the regions and also as it felt a sense of responsibility due to its colonial past.

The History

The history of ACP EU development cooperation can be encapsulated in three agreements signed by both groups. These agreements are:

The Yaounde Agreements

The regulations set out by the treaty of Rome for the EDF were designed for a period of five years. However, as the time period drew to a close, the political situation had changed a lot and it became necessary to set out a new set of rules. Many of the OCT’s had regained independence and thus the Yaounde agreements were used to make new arrangements (1963 and 1969).

The Lome Convention

The second of the Yaounde agreements expired in 1974 and a new convention was held in the capital of Togo, Lome. The Lome Convention was an attempt to rectify the inefficiencies created in Yaounde and to address the various points of criticism it had been subjected to. As a result of the enlargement and in line with the more global development policy of the EC, a group of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries joined forces to enter into negotiations. The Agreement was signed in February 1975 after 18 months of negotiations by the nine EC Member States and 46 developing countries, which became formally known as the ACP countries.

The Cotonou Agreement

The Cotonou agreement is the latest in the steps of having a better and more equitable relationship between the ACP and the EU. The importance of the ACP countries for the European countries had diminished by the end of the Lome Convention agreements. Many changes were incorporated in the latest agreement, the most radical of which was the establishment of the so-called Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA's), which have taken effect in 2008.

The ACP EU has a Joint Parliamentary Assembly every year and the last one was held at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. To know more about the 16th ACP EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, please visit http://www.pngacpeu.com.