In June 2000 the European Union (EU) signed a co-operation agreement with the
African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of countries known as the Cotonou
Agreement. The Agreement provides the framework for the EU’s co-operation with
78 ACP countries until 2020. As a successor to the Lomé Conventions, the new
Agreement covers most aspects of the EU’s co-operation with the ACP, including
trade, aid and political dialogue.
Title II of the Cotonou Agreement defines the objectives and principles of the new
trade arrangements between the EU and the ACP countries. According to the
Agreement, the Parties agreed to conclude new World Trade Organization (WTO)
compatible trade agreements, which aim to progressively remove barriers to trade and
enhance cooperation in all areas relevant to trade. These trade arrangements are
supposed to replace the preferential non-reciprocal trade system foreseen by the Lomé
Conventions. The objective is to enable ACP States to play a full part in international
trade and advance poverty eradication and sustainable development in the ACP. To
this end the ACP and the EU began negotiations on Economic Partnership
Agreements (EPAs) in September 2002, and are supposed to end these negotiations
by December 2007 at the latest. EPAs, which are an integral part of the Cotonou
Agreement and are supposed to embody the new ACP-EU trade arrangements, are
based on four main principles: partnership, regional integration, development, and
compatibility with the WTO. However, a serious point of concern is on their ability to
contribute to the general objective of the ACP-EU partnership - poverty eradication.