Revision of the Cotonou Agreement, February 2005

The Cotonou Agreement, the successor to the Lomé Conventions, links the EU and 77 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. It was signed on 23 June 2000 at Cotonou in Bénin. It regulates the political, economic and development aspects of the co-operation between the European Union and the ACP States). It includes provisions on aid and the promotion of the civil society in these regions. The Cotonou Agreement focuses on poverty reduction as its principal objective, to be achieved through political dialogue, development aid and closer economic and trade cooperation. The Agreement included a Financial Protocol setting the overall amount of Community financial assistance for a five-year period beginning on 1 March 2000.

A revision process takes place in accordance with Article 95 of the Cotonou Agreement every five years (with the exception of the provisions on economic cooperation and trade which are subject to a separate procedure). The negotiating directives for revision of the Agreement were adopted by the Council on 27 April 2004 and negotiations began in May 2004. A first ministerial negotiating meeting took place on 3 December 2004. The ACP-EC Council of Ministers decided that negotiations should be concluded by 28 February 2005. These negotiations were successfully concluded in Brussels on the 23 February 2005.

This In Focus brings together information sources from the EU and stakeholder organisations on the background to and conclusions of the revision negotiations.

Further and subsequent information sources can be found from the hyperlink at the bottom of this In Focus.

EU: Background

	European Parliament: ACP-EU Joint Parliamenttary Assembly:
	European Commission: DG Development: ACP-EU Agreement
	European Commission: DG Press and Communications: Press Release: IP/05/211: Conclusion of the EU-ACP Negotiations on the Revision of the Cotonou Agreement, February 2005

International Organisation

Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

Stakeholder organisation

	Eurostep: Publications: Reports and Papers: ACP-EU co-operation
	CONCORD: Topics: Cotonou
	CONCORD: The review of the Cotonou Agreement. Does the ACP stand to lose again?, July 2004
	EUFORIC: Themes: EU-ACP co-operation
	European Centre for Development Policy Management: In Brief, No.12, December 2004: The good governance agenda of civil society: Implications for ACP-EU cooperation
	European Centre for Development Policy Management: The review of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement: What's at stake? (InfoCotonou No.7, 2004)

Commercial publisher and media

	European Voice, Vol.11, No.2, 20.1.05: Mandelson puts pacts to poverty test
	European Voice, Vol.11, No.3, 27.1.05: Mandelson pledges a new and better deal for Africa

Related Topic Guides / In Focus

	ESO: Information Guide: In Focus: EU-ACP countries sign new Partnership Agreement ('Cotonou Agreement'), Benin, June 2000
	ESO: Information Guide: In Focus: EU to negotiate Economic Partnership Agreements with ACP countries, June 2002
	ESO: Information Guides: Topic Guide: EU-ACP relations

Related Publications

Journal Articles

Drilling down to the detail: A case study into anti-corruption project records and record-keeping (Crime, Law and Social Change, Vol 41, No.1, February 2004, p1-14

From Lomé to Cotonou: Business as Usual? (European Foreign Affairs Review, 2004, Vol. 9, No. 1, p27-47)

The Cotonou Trade Régime and WTO Law (European Law Journal, Vol. 10, No.4, July 2004, p439

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