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In 2000, the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, otherwise known as the ACP group, adopted the Cotonou Agreement, which is a framework treaty on trade, aid and political cooperation. It replaced the previous Lomé Convention, providing for a general set of privileged relations between the EU and the ACP countries in matters of market access, technical assistance and other issues. The objective is to facilitate the economic and political integration of the ACP countries into a liberalised world market over the next 20 years.
Under the Cotonou Agreement, the parties agreed to negotiate a separate set of individual bilateral treaties between the EU and the participating ACP countries. Those individual arrangements, dubbed "Economic Partnership Agreements", would provide specific rights and obligations tailored to six arbitrarily defined clusters of countries (West Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa, Central Africa, SADC, the Caribbean and the Pacific). The EPAs are meant to be comprehensive free trade agreements, laced with rethoric about "development" and "regional integration". The negotiations on these EPAs started in September 2002 and were supposed to be completed by 31 December 2007, as a WTO waiver on the non-compatibility of the EU’s preferential trade relations with ACP countries would expire by then. (The EU pushed "WTO compatibility" as a frame for the talks and ACP countries accepted it.) As the talks advanced, ACP governments became caught between a rock and a hard place. They wanted the bits of market access that the EPAs offered, but would have to pay an extremely high price in terms of loss of customs revenue, destabilisation of their economies from the expected flood of EU imports, unclear financial aid commitments from Brussels, reduced political autonomy, etc. Civil society, labour unions and business groups in the ACP countries studied the implications and came out with vigourous campaigns to stop the signing of the EPAs. The 31 December 2007 deadline for the EPAs to be signed came and went with much drama. A number of states — including Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire — initialled interim EPAs before the deadline. Others, like Senegal, swore they would not sign until development concerns were seriously taken on board. In 2008, negotiations continued to secure full acceptance of interim EPAs and move them towards agreed comprehensive EPAs. A state of play as of October 2009 (courtesy of Marc Maes at 11.11.11) is provided below:
last update: October 2009 Articles
Kenya is considering breaking ranks with its East Africa partners and sign a framework on new economic trade pacts with Europe, citing its disadvantaged position should it fail to do so.
EU criticises EAC over pact
| 5-February-2010
The European Union has accused East Africa Community partner states of flouting World Trade Organisation rules by refusing to sign a framework Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU. 
Sa frêle silhouette hante les scènes où se joue l’avenir des entreprises agroalimentaires, particulièrement exposées dans le cadre de l’Accord de Partenariat économique qui se négocie encore. Elle ne lâche rien. L’APE a une bête noire, c’est Gisèle. 
It is imperative for the Southern African Customs Union to move towards aligning its internal activities faster before conclusion of a final Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union, says Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Jabulile Mashwama.
Haïti : au-delà des effets d’annonce
| 19-January-2010
Une annulation totale et inconditionnelle de la dette réclamée à Haïti doit être le premier pas vers une démarche plus générale. Un nouveau modèle de développement alternatif aux politiques des IFI et aux accords de partenariat économique (APE signé en décembre 2009, Accord Hope II …), est nécessaire et urgent.
EPA deal: Impasse on services persists
| 18-January-2010
Although the region has concluded a deal on market access to the European Union, there remain fundamental disagreements on trade in services. The EastAfrican has learnt that the matter will be left out of any deals signed this year as countries want it handled at a bilateral level. 
La coalition nationale « Bare Ape » dénonce la signature de l’Accord de partenariat économique (Ape) par le gouvernement haïtien et demande au parlement de ne pas ratifier le document.
Hervé Gaymard: «Les APE sont morts nés»
| 17-December-2009
Les croisés africains de la lutte contre les APE viennent de recevoir l’appui de la commission des affaires européennes du parlement français, qui estime que c’est un échec et préconise des « Accords de Partenariat de Développement Economique et Commercial ».
EU and Port-au-Prince sign economic partnership agreement
| 15-December-2009
By signing, on 11 December, an economic partnership agreement with the EU, Haiti has jointed the fourteen other member states of Cariforum, the organisation of Caribbean countries, that signed the EPA in October 2008.
Haiti signs the CARIFORUM–EU Economic Partnership Agreement
| 14-December-2009
Haiti today signed the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and joins the fourteen Caribbean States that signed the EPA in October 2008. |
Haïti-Ue-Ape : La coalition « Bare Ape » appelle le parlement à ne pas ratifier l’accord
| 22-December-2009
Warning to the government against the corporatization of the Land and the Sea: Blockade!
| 26-November-2009
Suspender la negociación del TLC de la Unión Europea con Perú y Colombia: freno a la injusticia y la desigualdad
| 20-November-2009
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