The European Union (EU) is committed to maintaining the unique partnership that exists with the Pacific ACP group of states post-2020.

So says EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica.  

The Commissioner, who was present at the Pacific ACP –EU high level political dialogue on the post-Cotonou agreement yesterday, said the input and outcome from the dialogue will assist the ACP central negotiating group to wrap up the post Cotonou framework.  

The dialogue provided a platform for leaders from the Pacific to exchange views on issues of priority and concerns to the region, which will help the negotiations in the formulation of a new treaty with the EU when the Cotonou agreement ends in 2020. 

“For the EU, the main goal of a future post-Cotonou arrangement is to preserve, to strengthen the unique role, the unique partnership, negotiating partner role of the ACP group of countries,” he said. 

“Keeping, preserving the integrity of the ACP Group, for us, is to be reflective and to be strengthened by our future post-Cotonou agreement." 

“We (EU) would like our future agreement to be based on the common foundation of our contractual relations, but also to strengthen the regional components of the Pacific Caribbean pillars of our cooperation.”

Mr. Mimica said this approach with the regional protocols and pillars will not fragment the ACP group but “is an attempt to give flesh and muscles to the bone and skeleton of our true partnership with ACP countries. 

“This is about strengthening and focusing on the more concrete and more specific regional interests, priorities, challenges that are to be translated into very political and contextual text of the future agreement.” 

ACP lead negotiator, Pro. Robert Dussey said within the post-Cotonou, there will be possibly three specific partnerships linking each ACP region with the European Union.

“The other important innovation in the current negotiation lies in the latitude for each of the ACP regions to take charge of the negotiations on its pillar,” Prof. Dussey said.  

“On the current negotiation, the ACP countries have adopted the principle of decentralisation of distribution of responsibilities, in order to bring the process in line with the regional and continental research for development.”

He added the negotiation files a conclusion of a new economic, political and strategic partnership agreement between the ACP groups and the EU.