The possible shape of the agreement which will follow on from the Cotonou agreement between the EU and the 79 countries in the ACP group (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) which expires in February 2020, is emerging at the European Commission. In Strasbourg on Tuesday 12 December, the commission presented a recommendation to the Council which amounts to a draft negotiating mandate for Europeans in the talks that will begin with ACP nations by August 2018 at the latest.
As expected, the Commission is proposing an overarching agreement and three regional agreements made-to-measure for each of the three regions. The overarching agreement will be based on common interests, values and shared responsibilities for a renewed partnership adjusted to global challenges (see EUROPE 11780).
The negotiating mandate covers key elements to be taken into account such as democracy and human rights, economic growth and investment, climate change, eradicating poverty, migration, peace and security, explained Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen, after the weekly meeting of European Commissioners. The Commission's aim for this partnership is to achieve results in all domains.
The priorities suggested for each of the ACP regions take account of the specific needs of the said regions.
For Africa, this means achieving peace and stability consolidating democracy and good governance, making the most of economic opportunities, achieving human development standards, managing mobility and migration, and fighting climate change (in line with the EU-Africa summit).
For the Caribbean, climate change, vulnerability, citizen security, good governance, human rights, human development, and social cohesion will figure among the priorities, the aim is also to expand regional integration, stimulate sustainable growth, trade, job creation, tackle inequality and alleviating the impacts of natural disasters.
The priorities for the Pacific region include tackling vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change, good governance, human rights, sustainability and inclusive growth.
These negotiating guidelines emerged from a large-scale consultation exercise and ministerial debates that have taken place in Europe since the joint publication by the commission and high representative in November 2016.
The ACP doesn’t want to be divided. Preparations are intensifying among the ACP, but the negotiating mandate has not yet been finalised. A reflection document published at the summit of ACP heads of state in Port-Moreby, entitled "The ACP We Want" is still under discussion. It aims at a binding agreement for a solidarity-based ACP group, wishing to diversify partnerships and take a three-pronged approach, including trade, investments, industrialisation and services; development cooperation, technology, science, innovation and research; political dialogue and action (see EUROPE 11782).
We want to see the African Union-European Union partnership consolidated in the frame of a new post Cotonou agreement. This is not about dividing the EU from ACP nations, but about creating a common platform, said deputy secretary general for the ACP group, Léonard-Émile Ognimba, on 6 December, after the 106th sitting the Council of ACP ministers in Brussels, the day after the AEU-EU summits in Abidjan. Some 48 of the ACP nations are in Africa. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)