African Agency and EU–African Economic Partnership Agreements
Negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and African governments have dragged on since 2002. They were confined by the framework of the Cotonou Agreement, a cornerstone of ACP–EU development cooperation on the one hand and limiting WTO rules on the other. The EPAs were meant not just to liberalize trade but also to promote development in Africa. However, high-flying expectations of creating a win-win situation in a partnership of equals were apparently dashed. Agenda-setting by Brussels left it with grandiose declarations about partnerships between equals , development orientation, promotion of inclusive growth and regional integration with due attention to WTO-compatible regulations. According to the EU's Roadmap 2014 to 2017 (EU 2014), all this should be realized by 2017 by way of exemplary EPAs. The major issues at stake have been especially pronounced in the ongoing negotiations on West African EPAs. Contentious issues were legion.
