For better for worse.....Challenges for ACP-EU relations in 2009
The year 2009 is set to bring major changes in the context in which the European Union (EU) conducts its international affairs, and these changes will inevitably affect Europe’s relations with Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP).
First, the year is one of the EU’s periodic moments of institutional change when many key figures leave their posts and move on to other tasks. European Parliament (EP) elections will be held in June 2009 and a new set of European Commissioners will take office in November 2009. Moreover, changes are expected in the way the Council of Ministers is run, though these continue to be obscured by the lack of a solution to the future of the Draft Treaty of Lisbon. Further changes seem likely to emerge from the new US administration, one aware of the need to rebuild bridges in international affairs and reconnect with popular aspirations around the world. Equally the rise of China and other emerging powers is driving changes in the international order. Closer to home, 2009 brings the second review of the ACPEU Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA). In this, a clearer place will be sought for the African Union (AU), recognising the increasing importance of this institution in Africa-European relations.
Authors: James Mackie, Eleonora Koeb, Veronika Tywuschik,
Publisher: ECDPM InBrief No. 22, December 2008
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