The ACP Group and the EU Development Partnership

"This is an original contribution, both thanks to its timeliness - as the EU and the ACP states are looking to reinvent their relationship - and its geographical scope - volumes focusing on the ACP region remain rare. It also fully delivers on its promise to offer an original ACP perspective, in great part thanks to its mix of academic and diplomatic authors from the ACP states. The coherence of its style and presentation further makes it very readable." (Marie Gibert, Visiting Fellow, Centre for European and International Studies Research, University of Portsmouth, UK) "This book is an important retrospective on a major landmark in North-South relations. It gives valuable insights into institution-building, transitions, adjustments, and the management of unequal power relations. Most importantly, it does so largely from the perspectives of ACP actors, filling a gap in the research on EPA negotiations and implementation. Well-organised and original, it concentrates on priority issues for ACP countries, and the strategic choices they face in developing their regional and inter-regional networks." (Jessica Byron-Reid, Director, Institute of International Relations, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago) "This book provides an authoritative account of the evolution, nature, and dynamics of a unique partnership between developing and developed countries in a complex multi-polar global context. It also provides insights into the impact of the partnership on development and regional integration in ACP regions, while shedding light on the emerging nucleus of a post-Cotonou framework in parallel ACP and EU processes. This book is essential reading for those interested in development studies and international relations." (Kaire Mbuende, Ambassador of Namibia to Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the EU)

This book constitutes a systematic and critical assessment of the nature, evolution, and prospects of the development partnership between the 79-member African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) group of states and the 28-member European Union (EU).This book constitutes a systematic and critical assessment of the nature, evolution, and prospects of the development partnership between the 79-member African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) group of states and the 28-member European Union (EU). A core theme that runs through the work is that the ACP’s partnership with the EU remains an important framework for addressing development challenges in the African, Caribbean, and Pacific regions, but needs to adapt to changes in the global political economy, as well as internal developments in both the ACP and the EU, to sustain its relevance and effectiveness. This is crucial for the ACP group, in particular, given its origins in, and core focus on, development cooperation with Europe. The authors in this volume examine the history of the ACP-EU partnership since 1975; the EU’s relationship with the African, Caribbean, and Pacific regions individually; ACP experiences with economic partnership agreements with the EU; and new political issues, in particular, security, migration, and diasporas. Shedding light on the future prospects of this relationship, this book will be of interest to both scholars and policymakers working on the ACP-EU relationship and related development issues, including trade, aid, security, and migration.