Paper short abstract:

The EU-Africa relationship to date has operated as asymmetric partnership, which derives directly from the imbalance of power between Europe and Africa. How is EU-Africa cooperation and the continental integration relationship influenced by these currents and developments?

Paper long abstract:

The EU-Africa relationship to date has operated as asymmetric partnership, which derives directly from the imbalance of power between Europe and Africa. The Cotonou Partnership Agreement and the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) are currents in the EU-Africa relationship which bear allegiance to the ideal of unrestricted free trade. An evaluation of Africa-Europe relationship within the EU-ACP framework presents mixed outcomes. It is possible to argue that there has been some positive aspects of the EU-Africa relationship, mostly traceable to the days of the Lomé Conventions. On the other hand, the EU-ACP framework is severely constrained and its impact on Africa development has remained minimal. The world is changing rapidly and facing new challenges, and Africa is indeed reflecting these changes. Can the patrolling logic underlying the EU-ACP framework accommodate these changes and new realities which include increased globalization, regionalisation dynamics, rise of nationalism, and far-reaching changes within the EU as illustrated in Brexit. Also, there is an assumption that the EU promotes regional integration in Africa, supporting the reproduction of its model of regional integration in the ACP regions, and working with existing initiatives towards increased regionalisation. How is EU-Africa cooperation and the continental integration relationship influenced by these currents and developments? How are the EPAs promoting the growth and development of regional integration in Africa? At a broader level, this paper examines the relevance of Euro-Africa cooperation to the growth and prospect of regional integration in Africa within the framework of the EPAs.