12/02/2019 (Agence Europe) – Comoros accedes to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) of Eastern and Southern Africa, which already includes four countries on the African side: Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Zimbabwe. The agreement shall be applied on a provisional basis for the EU and the Comoros from 7 February 2019. According to the Commission, Comoros' accession to the EPA will strengthen its partnership with the EU and its preparations for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA). Samoa joins Papua New Guinea in the Pacific EPA. Samoa began to provisionally apply the Agreement on 31 December. The seven EPAs were negotiated under the Cotonou Agreement, which binds the EU and the ACP (Africa/Caribbean/Pacific) countries. They guarantee duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market for all products originating from the countries in question. (HD)