Proposal for a Council Decision on the signing and provisional application of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the East African Community Partner States, of the one part, and the European Union and its Member States, of the other part

The attached proposal for a Council Decision constitutes the legal instrument for the signing and provisional application of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the East African Community (EAC) Partner States, of the one part, and the European Union and its Member States, of the other part (EAC EPA). The EAC Partner States are Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

The negotiations were completed at the level of the Chief Negotiators in Brussels on 14 October 2014. The Agreement was initialled on 16 October 2014 in Brussels.

Kenya currently benefits from the scheme contained in the Market Access Regulation (MAR). The other countries of the region currently benefit from the 'Everything But Arms' initiative, since they are classified among the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

The Agreement will provide a uniform access regime for the EAC Partner States as soon as it enters into force.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2016)63: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2016:063:FIN

ESO: Background information: EU strikes a comprehensive trade deal with East African Community http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-eu-strikes-a-comprehensive-trade-deal-with-east-african-community/

EUR-Lex: COM(2016)64: Proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the East African Community Partner States, of the one part, and the European Union and its Member States, of the other part http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2016:064:FIN

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