acp-eu cooperation (~) euforic current issues, food for thought, background information
the partnership
The cooperation with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries is an important part of the EU's external action, being a specific and separate policy area under the responsibility of DG Development.
Based on a long history of cooperation, the current ACP-EU partnership is defined by the Cotonou Agreement, signed in 2000 to establish a comprehensive framework including trade relations, aid allocation and political cooperation, with the overall objective of poverty reduction. Comprising also a clause for revision every five years (the first revision has been concluded in February 2005) the importance of the Agreement lies in the search for more participatory approaches to development, through the active involvement of a wide range of civil society and non-state actors in policy formulation and implementation.
Article 20 of the Agreement specifically identifies the development of the economic sector and social and human development as main areas of cooperation. Along with these, attention is also paid to cross-cutting issues and trade.
Initiated by the Georgetown Agreement and Lomé Conventions and improved by the Cotonou Agreement, the EU-ACP partnership is shaped by several actors.
The ACP Group disposes of specific decision making, consultative and executive bodies, created to serve the Group’s objectives and interests, including:
The Summit of Heads of State/Government, the highest organ in the ACP Group’s institutional structure, which defines the main policy guidelines of the Group and instructs the Council on their implementation;
The Council of Ministers, the main decision making body, formed by government representatives of each ACP state, is responsible for the implementation of the policy guidelines as defined by the Summit;
The Committee of Ambassadors, a second-level decision making body, which assures the continuity of the ACP institutions’ work;
The ACP Parliamentary Assembly, the advisory body of ACP Group’s institutions, groups the ACP parliamentarians that are members of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly;
The ACP Secretariat, based in Brussels, assists and facilitates the work of the ACP institutions and the joint ACP-EU institutions. It puts into practice the decisions taken by the other ACP institutions, to fulfill the tasks assigned to these institutions and to monitor the implementation of the EU-ACP Partnership Agreement.
Along with these, the Cotonou Agreement establishes the creation of three joint EU-ACP institutions, formed by an equal number of EU and ACP representatives, plus a member from the Commission. These include:
The ACP-EU Council of Ministers: a decision making body, responsible for the adoption of decisions necessary for the implementation of the Agreement. Regular meetings are held once a year;
The ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors, formed by the permanent representatives of each Member State, a representative of the Commission and the head of mission of each ACP country to the European Union, supports the Joint Council to fulfill its tasks;
The Joint Parliamentary Assembly, a consultative organ, meets in plenary twice a year, discussing the promotion of the democratic process, the dialogue between peoples and awareness raising of development issues; issues related to the implementation of the Agreement, also by adopting resolutions and recommendations to submit to the Council of Ministers. The continuity of its work is assured by the Bureau of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly and by three Standing Committees. The Joint Assembly is also responsible for carrying out the dialogue with representatives of social and economic partners and civil society actors.
