Context
When the Lomé Convention expired, the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states held negotiations with the European Union (EU) on new partnerships to secure the continuation of preferential market access. The resulting Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) usher in a new era of trade agreements that go beyond purely economic goals: their purpose is to support sustainable development and combat poverty, promote regional integration in the partner regions, and link trade policy with development instruments.
In 2008, the EU signed an Economic Partnership Agreement with CARIFORUM (Caribbean Community countries and the Dominican Republic). In the Eastern and Southern Africa region (ESA), five states have provisionally applied an interim agreement: Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe have done so since 2012, and Comoros since 2019. Six Southern African Development Community (SADC) states – Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa – also concluded an agreement with the EU in 2016.
Governments, businesses, and civil society must have the skills, resources and capabilities to implement the provisions of an EPA appropriately and to review their social, environmental and economic impact. Implementation must be supported by an appropriate development policy so that states are able to exploit the opportunities that free trade offers sustainable development and measures to combat poverty and to reduce risks.
Objective
Regional organisations, member states, civil society and the private sector are implementing EU Economic Partnership Agreements, thereby contributing to sustainable development.
