Cotonou Agreement

The Cotonou Agreement (French: Accord de Cotonou) is a treaty between the European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). It was signed in June 2000 in Cotonou, Benin's largest city, by 78 ACP countries (except Cuba) and the then fifteen EU member states. It entered into force in 2003 and was later changed in 2005 and 2010.

After the 2010 change, the agreement was set to end on 29 February 2020. However, it was extended temporarily to no later than 31 October 2023. This was done while waiting for a new agreement, called the Samoa Agreement, to be created. The Cotonou Agreement aimed to help partner countries develop and work together with the EU.

Aims

The Cotonou Agreement was made to help reduce and end poverty. It also aims to support sustainable development and help ACP countries join the world economy slowly. The updated agreement also works to stop impunity and support criminal justice using the International Criminal Court.

Main principles

The Cotonou Agreement replaced the Lomé Convention, which helped countries work together on development since 1975. The Cotonou Agreement is much bigger and lasts for 20 years. It has four main ideas.

First, countries decide how they want to grow and improve. Second, many groups can help, not just the central government, like civil society, the private sector, and local governments. Third, countries agree to work together and follow important rules, like human rights. Last, help given to countries changes based on what they need and how they are doing. Special help goes to least developed countries or those that are landlocked or island states.

Political dimension

The Cotonou Agreement aimed to build a stronger political base for cooperation between the European Union and African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries. It included important discussions on topics like peace, security, and migration, which were new areas for development work.

The agreement also highlighted the importance of fair and honest government. If a country did not follow these rules, the EU could pause its support. Serious problems with honesty could also lead to talks and possible pauses in aid.

New actors

The Cotonou Agreement included a new way of working by letting groups that are not governments, like local groups and community leaders, help with development projects in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. These groups work together with the main governments to plan and carry out projects. They also get help to build their skills and access money to support their work.

The agreement also paid special attention to the private sector, which means businesses and companies, as a way to help economies grow and stay strong. New tools were created to help these businesses, including support from the European Investment Bank.

Trade cooperation

The Cotonou Agreement brought a big change to how the European Union and African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries trade with each other. Before this agreement, the EU gave special help to these countries without asking for anything back. But with the Cotonou Agreement, things changed. Now, both sides agree to trade fairly, meaning the EU lets these countries sell their goods without extra fees, and these countries also let EU goods in without extra fees.

However, not every country has to follow this new rule the same way. The countries that are less developed can choose to keep the old trading rules or use a special plan called "Everything But Arms." Other countries can decide to join a different trading system if they are not ready for the new rules.

Programming

The Cotonou Agreement changed how help is given to countries. Instead of giving the same amount to everyone, the European Union now looks at how well a country is doing before deciding how much help to give. This means countries that do a good job can get more support, while those that don’t may get less.

Help is given out every five years. In the years 2002 to 2007, about €13.5 billion was shared among these countries. For the years 2008 to 2013, the amount grew to €22.7 billion, with some of it used for projects to improve infrastructure in Africa. The agreement also allows more help to go to countries that improve their rules and systems.

Fight against impunity

See also: Anti-impunity

The Cotonou Agreement helps countries work together to stop people from getting away with serious wrongdoings. Both the countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, and the European Union promised to support justice through the International Criminal Court. This means they will try to punish very serious crimes either in their own countries or by working together worldwide. The Agreement also asks countries to share ideas about changing their laws to support the International Criminal Court and to work together to stop international crimes using international rules.

Revision

The Cotonou Agreement was updated twice to make it work better. The first update happened in Luxembourg on June 25, 2005, and it started being used on July 1, 2008.

The second update was signed in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on June 22, 2010, and it began working on November 1, 2010.

Samoa Agreement

The Cotonou Agreement was planned to be replaced by the Samoa Agreement. This new agreement has three parts. It keeps European money for the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States and lets the EU decide where to send its development funds. It also helps make it easier to send undocumented migrants back home. The new agreement was agreed upon in April 2021, but Hungary and Poland delayed its approval in the EU. In November 2023, 44 ACP states signed the agreement in Samoa.

Criticism

Some people believe that while the main goal of the Cotonou Agreement was to help reduce poverty, the money given to Africa through a special fund did not help most poor people very much.