African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) is a group of countries (currently 79: 48 African, 16 Caribbean and 15 Pacific), created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975. The group's main objectives are sustainable development and poverty reduction within its member states, as well as their greater integration into the world's economy. All of the member states, except Cuba are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement with the European Union.
The Cotonou Agreement (signed in Cotonou, Benin in June 2000) is the successor to the Lomé Conventions. One of the major differences from the Lomé Convention is that the partnership is extended to new actors such as civil society, private sector, trade unions and local authorities. These will be involved in consultations and planning of national development strategies, provided with access to financial resources and involved in the implementation of programmes.
Many small island developing states are ACP states; the fourth Lomé Convention was revised in 1995 in Mauritius and gives special attention to island countries in this agreement.
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[edit] States
[edit] Africa
The African ACP countries negotiate in five EPA groups[1] (West Africa, CEMAC, SADC, EAC, Eastern and Southern Africa) with the EU. The related EU OCTs are: Mayotte (for ESA[citation needed]) and the related EU outermost regions are: Réunion (for ESA[citation needed]), Canary Islands (for West Africa[citation needed]), Madeira (for West Africa[citation needed]), Azores (for West Africa[citation needed]).
| SADC group
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"CEMAC plus São Tomé and Príncipe, DR Congo group" (ECCAS related)
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[edit] Caribbean
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All countries of the Caribbean Community plus Dominican Republic group negotiate in the CARIFORUM EPA with the EU. The related EU OCTs are: Aruba, Bermuda,[2] British Virgin Islands, Netherlands Antilles, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat[3] and the related EU outermost regions are Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy.
[edit] Pacific
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All countries of the Pacific Islands Forum group negotiate in the Pacific EPA with the EU. The related EU OCTs are: New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia, Pitcairn islands.[3]
[edit] North Atlantic
In this region are located the EU OCTs of Greenland and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, but there are no ACP states.[3]
[edit] South Atlantic
In this region are located the EU OCTs of Saint Helena and Falkland Islands, but there are no ACP states.[3] Nevertheless Saint Helena is developing links with the SADC EPA group.[4]
[edit] Uninhabited territories
The uninhabited EU OCTs do not participate in regional integration and do not receive development funding from the EU.
- British Indian Ocean Territory, located in the Indian Ocean [3][5]
- French Southern and Antarctic Territories, located in the Indian Ocean[6]
- South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, located in the South Atlantic, thus in a group with the inhabited OCTs there[3]
- British Antarctic Territory, located near the South Atlantic, thus in a group with the inhabited OCTs there[3]
[edit] Special designations
Annex VI of the agreement lists the following designations:
[edit] Least-developed ACP states
- Angola
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Republic of Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoro Islands
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Djibouti
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Gambia
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haïti
- Kiribati
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mozambique
- Niger
- Rwanda
- Samoa
- Sâo Tome and Principe
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Tuvalu
- Togo
- Uganda
- Vanuatu
- Zambia
The Least developed OCTs are the following: Anguilla, Mayotte, Montserrat, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands, Wallis and Futuna, Saint Pierre and Miquelon.[7]
[edit] Landlocked ACP states
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Ethiopia
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Mali
- Niger
- Rwanda
- Swaziland
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
[edit] Island ACP states
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Cape Verde
- Comoros
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Fiji
- Grenada
- Haiti
- Jamaica
- Kiribati
- Madagascar
- Mauritius
- Nauru
- Papua New Guinea
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- São Tomé and Principe
- Seychelles
- Solomon Islands
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
[edit] See also
- ACP-EU Development Cooperation
- EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreements
- ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
- Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) with the ACP countries
- The Courier (ACP-EU) : The magazine of Africa-Caribbean-Pacific and European Union cooperation and relations
- Everything but Arms
[edit] References
- ^ EPA Groups
- ^ Bermuda
- ^ a b c d e f g OCT regional groups
- ^ Saint Helena
- ^ Because of forced population relocation the BIOT it is commonly associated with Mauritius that is currently in the Eastern and Southern Africa EPA group.[1]
- ^ TAAF The islands of the TAAF are located in the southern Indian Ocean and thus if applicable would be associated with the SADC EPA group. The antarctic territory is also located near the south-eastern edge of the Indian Ocean
- ^ Overseas Association Decision, Annex I B
[edit] External links
- Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
- ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
- ACP-EU cooperation dossier of Euforic
- Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA)
- African Voices: About EC Aid to Africa
- The Courier - The Magazine of Africa, Caribbean, Pacific and European Union cooperation and relations
- Website on EU cooperation for ACP countries
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