Mitarbeiter sonstige

The future of the ACP-EU partnership post-2020: options for Germany and the EU

Furness, Mark / Christine Hackenesch / Niels Keijzer
Mitarbeiter sonstige (2014)

Interne Stellungnahme für das BMZ

One of the most eye-catching features of European external action is a comprehensive and legally binding international partnership bringing together the EU and its 28 member states and 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Signed in 2000 in Benin, the Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA) intensifies long-standing cooperation between the EU and the ACP countries in the areas of political dialogue, economic and trade cooperation, and development. In response to change at the global level as well as recent institutional, political and socio-economic changes in the EU and ACP, stakeholders on both sides are reflecting whether cooperation under the CPA has sufficiently delivered on its desired objectives, and what evolutions or revolutions may be necessary to cater for ACP-EU cooperation in the time to come.
Given changing external and internal environments, three basic assumptions should inform considerations of the partnership’s future:
•    Continuation of the status quo is NOT an option
•    The partnership is in search of relevance 'beyond aid'
•    For the ACP countries, any future partnership with Europe will exist alongside other cooperation frameworks, especially with emerging economies