Revision of ACP-EU partnership agreed
The countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group (ACP) and the European Union (EU) have reached agreement on the second revision of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA).
Agreement came during an extraordinary meeting of the Joint ACP-EU Ministerial Council on Friday March 19 in Brussels.
Seychelles was represented by Vivianne Fock-Tave, its ambassador in Brussels, who was accompanied by the counsellor at the embassy, Audrey Dine-Angras.
The second revision of the CPA was launched in May 2009 during the 34th Session of the ACP-EU Ministerial Council in Brussels.
The partnership agreement, which was signed in June 2000 between the ACP Group and the EU, is a 20-year cooperation accord to promote development and can be reviewed every five years.
The purpose of these revisions is to adapt the cooperation framework to developments in the international arena and within the ACP-EU partnership. The CPA was revised for the first time in 2005.
Almost all issues that were included in the negotiations have been agreed on by both sides. The parties also declared their willingness to continue talks on migration issues.
As part of this revision, fisheries and aquaculture have been given more visibility in the CPA in view of their socio-economic importance.
The new stand-alone article on fisheries and aquaculture, which also provides for high-level consultations between the two parties, has the ultimate aim of developing, improving and strengthening cooperation in these fields.
The second revised Cotonou Partnership Agreement is planned to be signed by the ACP countries and the EU at the 35th Session of the Joint ACP-EU Ministerial Council, which will be held in June in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.