The Lomé IV Convention, which provides the framework for development co-operation between the European Union (EU) and 71 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states, expires in the year 2000. The form that a successor arrangement would take, will be of considerable importance to the ACP countries, more than half of which belong to the Commonwealth. This study examines the possible options for the next phase of ACP-EU co-operation, addressing the diverse trade and development interests of ACP countries.
Authors from different backgrounds (including law, political science and economics) analyze the forces that gave rise to the new agreement as well as the negotiating process of the new agreement, and the negotiations that are taking place to produce the planned Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) that are to replace the existing non-reciprocal trade preferences that are incompatible with WTO law.
The focus of this book is on the fifteen-member European Union but its coverage extends to many other bodies which form part of today's Europe, such as the Council of Europe, the European Economic Area and Western European Union.
This volume offers new perspectives on the evolution of the trade–development nexus in the European Union against dramatic changes in the international context. Without disregarding them, it seeks to go beyond the controversial and extensively researched Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). In particular, it focuses on the reform of the Generalised System of Preferences, the negotiation of various Preferential Trade Agreements, the application of trade sanctions, the allegedly ambitious agendas on decent work, Aid for Trade and aid untying, and the implications of the changing balance of power in global economic relations. Taking diverse approaches and, at times, reaching different conclusions, contributors directly or indirectly address one or more of the three general themes of the book: differentiation, coherence, and norms. This book was published as a special issue of Contemporary Politics.
Three papers presented at a meeting of African, Caribbean and Pacific Fisheries and Trade experts in April 2003. The meeting s primary concerns were the future of relations between the ACP and the EU, and preparing ACP countries for Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations. The first paper, The Future of European Union-ACP Fisheries Relations, looks at the increasingly complex ACP/EU relationship. The second, WTO Fisheries Subsidies Negotiations: Implications for Fisheries Access Arrangements and Sustainable Management, outlines a possible fisheries framework agreement. The third paper, Elements of an ACP-EU Framework Agreement on Fisheries Arrangements, looks at the WTO fisheries subsidies negotiations, considers the impact they will have on developing countries and suggests risk-mitigation strategies."
This book analyses the rapidly increasing role of African states, leaders and other political actors in international politics in the 21st Century. In contrast to the conventional approach of studying how external actors impacted on Africa’s international relations, this book seeks to open up a new approach, focusing on the impact of African political actors on international politics. It does this by analysing African agency – the degree to which African political actors have room to manoeuvre within the international system and exert influence internationally, and the uses they make of that room for manoeuvre. Bringing together leading scholars from Africa and Europe to explore the role and conception of African Agency, this book addresses a wide range of issues, from relations with western and non-western donors, Africa’s role in the UN and World Trade Organisation, negotiations over climate change, trade agreements with the European Union, regional diplomatic strategies, the character and extent of African state agency, and agency within corporate social responsibility initiatives. African Agency in International Politics will be of interest to scholars and students of Africa’s international relations, African politics, development, geography, diplomacy, trade, the environment, political science and security studies.
First report of Session 2010-11 : Documents considered by the Committee on 8 September 2010, including the following recommendations for debate, the Cotonou Agreement; a twelve-point EU action plan in support of the MDGS; European security and defence pol
This book constitutes a systematic and critical assessment of the nature, evolution, and prospects of the development partnership between the 79-member African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) group of states and the 28-member European Union (EU). A core theme that runs through the work is that the ACP’s partnership with the EU remains an important framework for addressing development challenges in the African, Caribbean, and Pacific regions, but needs to adapt to changes in the global political economy, as well as internal developments in both the ACP and the EU, to sustain its relevance and effectiveness. This is crucial for the ACP group, in particular, given its origins in, and core focus on, development cooperation with Europe. The authors in this volume examine the history of the ACP-EU partnership since 1975; the EU’s relationship with the African, Caribbean, and Pacific regions individually; ACP experiences with economic partnership agreements with the EU; and new political issues, in particular, security, migration, and diasporas. Shedding light on the future prospects of this relationship, this book will be of interest to both scholars and policymakers working on the ACP-EU relationship and related development issues, including trade, aid, security, and migration.
This book is the product of a conference that provided an analysis of the initiatives seeking to integrate small and medium economies of the ACP (African, Caribbean, and Pacific group of nations) with the powerful forces of the greater markets, such as the European Union. Least developed nations tend to represent a vulnerable side in trade relations with greater economies, thus increasing a need to encourage the use of responsible trade practices and creating integration in a manner supporting the most vulnerable while guaranteeing the investments. Arbitration and mediation mechanisms play a decisive roll, providing an alternative to the imparity of justice administration in the different regions.
This volume explores the foreign policy environment facing developing nations and their particular foreign policy-making structures and processes. By defining foreign policy broadly to incorporate the activities of a range of state actors and non-state actors, the book broadens the range of analytical frameworks for studying foreign policy-making in developing nations. Thus, the actions of small groups of elites, international institutions and transnational networks are seen to be part of foreign policy-making, as well as the traditional operations of foreign ministries. The volume is comprised of an extensive introduction, four thematic chapters, six country studies and a conclusion that ties together common themes. These serve as a useful contribution to the analysis of foreign policy-making in developing nations, a neglected area in the comparative study of foreign policy.
