The EU will work towards an in-depth agreement, with a common basis at ACP level, in conjunction with three tailor-made regional partnerships for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. (Source: European Parliament Briefing – Overview of the Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and the ACP countries by Ionel Zamfir) There is also an argument over money. The Cotonou Agreement also regulated financial relations. Over the past six years, OACPS has received a total of more than €30 billion ($35 billion) in development assistance from Brussels. The governments of poor countries want this to continue. “ACP countries have insisted that a financial protocol be part of the agreement,” keijzer said. On the other hand, the EU is cautious and only wants to make general commitments. In the future, the money would come from the regular budget. However, this must be decided annually by the Member States. A risk for OACPS. “The agreements are perceived as unfair in Africa,” Maré said. The application of the Cotonou Agreement has been extended until December 2020. With the deal originally set to expire in February 2020, but with negotiations on the future deal still ongoing, this was postponed until the end of the year.

Negotiations with the countries of the Southern African Development Community were also successfully concluded in July 2014. The agreement was signed in Kazan, Botswana, on 10 June 2016. It entered into provisional application on 10 October 2016. Things have not been as simple as they were in 2000, when the Cotonou Agreement entered into force. “Africa and Europe intend to develop and deepen their relations.