PLATFORMA declaration on the revision of the EU-ACP Cotonou Partnership Agreement in 2020
KEY MESSAGES:
In the position adopted, PLATFORMA members:
- remind that the 2000 EU-ACP Partnership Agreement, the so-called “Cotonou Agreement”, was one of the few EU development agreements that include local and regional governments as key stakeholders
- stress that the current revision process must be the opportunity to go one step further in the involvement of local and regional governments
- call on Member States and partner countries to commit to empower and strengthen local and regional governments’ capacities
- stress that that the new framework must be supportive of decentralised cooperation between EU and ACP local governments
- recommend the creation of a dedicated instrument under the new framework, to grant direct financial support to local and regional governments’ projects for territorial, economic and human development
Since 2000, the EU-ACP Partnership Agreement is the institutional and operational framework for cooperation between the European Union and 79 countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
The European Commission launched on the 6th of October 2015 an open consultation in view of adopting the EU position on the revision of the Cotonou Agreement in 2020. PLATFORMA Political Council’s position will be used as a basis for lobbying during the coming negotiation process (2016-2017).