Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs participated in the official signing ceremony of the revised Cotonou Partnership Agreement in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 22-23 June. The Cotonou Agreement forms the basis for EU development co-operation with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states.

“The revised Cotonou Agreement is our common instrument in the fight against poverty. It will help to tackle the challenges of regional integration, climate change and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in these countries,” said Mr. Piebalgs.

The 2010 amendments seek to improve EU policy coherence for development and the role of national parliaments and non-state actors in cooperation. Cooperation and political dialogue is also enhanced in the areas of the Millennium Development Goals, climate change, food security, state fragility, HIV/AIDs. The revision further contains enhanced regional integration provisions and makes the African Union a partner to the agreement.

The parties also adopted joint statements on the Millennium Development Goals and on climate change. However, a briefing paper from NGO network Concord criticized the lack of transparency that has marked this second revision of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement.

“Full transparency would have enabled a better involvement of the European Parliament, the EU-ACP JPA, ACP national Parliaments and civil society in the EU and in the ACP countries. This would not only have enhanced legitimacy and democratic participation, but also enabled citizens to hold their governments to account”, Concord says.

• Concord position on the revision of the Cotonou agreement (doc):
• Second revision of the Cotonou Agreement (pdf):
• The Joint Declaration on Millennium goals with regard to development and climate change (pdf - french)

Source:

• European Commission