The Lomé Conventions are agreements laying down the framework for cooperation on development policy, economic poliucy, trade and industry between the EU and what are known as the ACP countries (countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific).
On 23 June 2000, the Lomé Conventions were replaced by the so-called Cotonou Agreement, which entered into force on 1 April 2003.
Ever since the foundation of the Community, cooperation with ACP countries has formed an important part of EU development policy. Since 1975, the framework for this cooperation has been laid down in a special intergovernmental agreement called the Lomé Convention. This agreement has been renegotiated several times, and the fourth and last in the series (Lomé IV) was signed in 1989, with a life of 10 years.
On 23 June 2000, the Lomé Conventions were replaced by a new 20-year partnership agreement between the EU Member States on the one hand, and the ACP countries on the other, which was signed in the capital of Benin, Cotonou – hence the Cotonou Agreement. The Cotonou Agreement continues the experiences of the Lomé Conventions, but also adds some new elements. The objectives of the Cotonou Agreement are to reduce and, in time, eradicate poverty, and also to promote sustainable development and the progressive integration of the ACP countries into the global economy.
The focus of cooperation between EU Member States and ACP countries is on economic/trade-policy cooperation and development cooperation, with an additional political dimension.
The Agreement was amended in 2005. A revision clause, article 95 of the Cotonou Agreement, foresees that the Agreement is adapted every five years (with the exception of the economic and trade provisions, for which there is a special review procedure). The amendment negotiations were launched at the ACP-EU Council of Ministers in Gaborone in May 2004 and were concluded on 23 February 2005. The amendments were limited to technical or minor adjustments focused on improving implementation of the Agreement.
Trade
As part of trade cooperation, the EU has made a number of the goods exported by ACP countries duty free, while ACP countries have been granted permission to retain their tariffs on goods from the EU. The Cotonou Agreement brings changes in trade cooperation, in that regional economic partnership agreements are to be established between the EU and various combinations of ACP countries with a view to improving the ACP countries’ market access to the EU and, at the same time, reinforcing regional cooperation among the ACP countries. The partnership agreements under the Cotonou Agreement are to enter into force no later than 1 January 2008
| Delays in the ratification process for the Cotonou Agreement meant that it could not enter into force until 1 April 2003. The fourth and last Lomé Convention expired on 29 February 2000, and so ACP cooperation was regulated by a series of transitional measures until the entry into force of the Cotonou Agreement. |
Development
The main objective of development cooperation is reducing poverty. The Cotonou Agreement lays down new principles for the distribution of resources based on need and on the realisation of the objectives of development cooperation.
The main source of funding for the development cooperation under the Cotonou Agreement is the European Development Fund. EUR 15.2 billion has been set aside for this cooperation over a five-year period commencing 1 March 2000.
Politics
ACP cooperation has a political dimension in addition to the development-aid and trade dimensions. For example, continuous political dialogue is taking place among the countries on human rights, democracy and good governance. The Cotonou Agreement also contains some innovations in this regard.
One innovation is that the Cotonou Agreement makes it possible to temporarily discontinue cooperation with a country as a last resort in particularly serious cases of violations of human rights or the principles of democracy or the rule of law, following consultation on the violations.
Administration of ACP cooperation
Three institutions have been set up to administer EU–ACP cooperation: the ACP Council of Ministers, the Committee of Ambassadors and the Joint Assembly. The ACP Council of Ministers consists of members of the Council of Ministers of the European Union, one member from each ACP country, and one Commissioner. The ACP Council of Ministers is where political debates are held and where decisions on the implementation of the agreements are taken.
The Committee of Ambassadors is a committee of officials whose job it is to assist and improve the work of the Council of Ministers.
The Joint Assembly is composed of Members of the European Parliament and Members of Parliament from the ACP countries. It is a consultative body which is to contribute to the area with dialogue and innovation. ‘Joint’ is a name for committees, boards etc. that have an equal number of representatives on each side.
ACP countries
‘ACP countries’ is an abbreviation referring to the countries in Africa (south of the Sahara), the Caribbean and the Pacific, with whom the EU has entered into special cooperation on development policy.
When the first Lomé Convention was signed in 1975, 46 countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific took part. Since then, many new participants have joined them, and the Cotonou Agreement now covers 78 ACP countries, listed below. In addition there is Cuba, which participates in parts of the cooperation.
| South Africa (not fully), Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Congo (Brazzaville), the Cook Islands, the Ivory Coast, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, the Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia (Federated States of), Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, the Seychelles, Surinam, Swaziland, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Zimbabwe. |
| Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Republic of Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Haiti, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Madagascar, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Timor Leste, Tuvalu, Togo, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia. |
The least-developed ACP countries are given special treatment under the Cotonou Agreement, as some are countries that have just emerged from conflicts and therefore have particular development needs. Special importance is therefore attached to certain fields in these countries, for example strengthening regional cooperation, the development of transport and communication infrastructure, and food supplies.
Further Information:
Updated: 14/03/2007/MAKT
Sidst opdateret: 22-07-2008 - ANSJ