THE COTONOU PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

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THE COTONOU PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

• South African Head Office
• Foreign Affairs ZA

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Introduction

• The CPA as successor of the Lome Conventions
• A Partnership between the 77 ACP states and the
  15 member states of the EU
• Builds on 25 years of ACP-EU cooperation under
  four successive Lomé Conventions
• Has a lifespan of 20 years and contains a clause
  allowing it to be revised every five years

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Introduction (continue)

• The financial protocol indicates the total
  resources that are available to the ACP through
  the European Development Fund (EDF)- the current
  ( 9th ) EDF amounts to Euro 15.2 billion
• Central objective to reduce and eventually
  eradicate poverty while contributing to
  sustainable development and to the gradual
  integration of ACP countries in the world economy
  
• Three pillars Political dialogue, trade and aid
• Signed on 23 June 2000 in Cotonou, Benin

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South Africas qualified status

• Full ACP membership
• Qualified CPA membership- special protocol
• Excluded from trade and aid pillars (alternative
  instruments TDCA, EPRD)
• Included in Political Dialogue, i.e.Full member
  of the Joint Institutions
• Council of Ministers
• Committee of Ambasadors
• Joint Parliamentary Assembly

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Political dialogue

• Political foundation of the partnership based
  on
• equality of partners and ownership of
  development strategies
• participation (central government, civil society,
  private sector and local government)
• dialogue and mutual obligations
• issues of mutual concern.
• essential elements (respect for human rights,
  democratic principles and the rule of law)
• fundamental element (good governance)

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Opportunities for South Africa

• Common objectives of CPA and MAP/NAI
• Coordination with the high level OAU-EU dialogue
• Underutilised EDF resources (some 10 billion
  euros unspent)
• South-South cooperation
• Sharing South Africas experience of negotiating
  an FTA with the EU
• Ensuring that the so-called EPAs achieve maximum
  synergy with the TDCA, SADC Trade Protocol, AGOA
  etc