The European Commission announced on Wednesday 10 June that negotiations had been concluded to deepen the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and four East African states (the Comoros, the Republic of Madagascar, the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of Seychelles) in order to turn it into a free trade agreement.
This new agreement is intended to be more ambitious than the existing Economic Partnership Agreement. Presented in a joint statement as the first “modern and comprehensive” free trade agreement concluded with partners in sub-Saharan Africa, it extends its scope beyond trade in goods to also cover services, investments, digital trade and sectoral cooperation.
On Wednesday, the parties stressed its potential to strengthen trade, improve the resilience of supply chains and support sustainable development. The agreement also includes provisions designed to promote local processing of products, industrialisation and the creation of added value in those states.
The Union and its African partners said they wished to move quickly to launch the necessary procedures for the text to be signed and enter into force. The future agreement will remain open to the accession of other states in the eastern and southern Africa region that may wish to join it at a later stage. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)