Elizabeth Morgan | Whither the ACP/OACPS at 50?

On June 6, the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), formerly the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, will mark 50 years since the group was established at a Ministerial Conference in Georgetown, Guyana, when the Georgetown Agreement was adopted on June 6, 1975. This will be ACP/OACPS Foundation Day.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ACP GROUP

With Britain formerly joining the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973, the former colonies of the EEC members from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, about 46 countries, had formed an alliance to negotiate the first trade, aid and cooperation agreement, which became known as the Lomé Convention. This groundbreaking agreement was signed in Lomé, Togo, on February 28, 1975. The aid came through the European Development Fund (EDF), which was provided specifically in the Treaty of Rome to fund former colonies.

The Gleaner of June 5, 1975 carried a report on the opening of the Georgetown conference in which the head of Ghana’s delegation said that this conference would build a bridge for ensuring greater trade, social, cultural and other exchanges. He saw it as a bridge to further develop their political solidarity which was necessary for any economic commitment because without the political will, the ACP group would not have been formed. Forbes Burnham, then Prime Minister of Guyana, called on the ACP to initiate measures for cooperation among themselves in key areas through collective self-reliance to take the group beyond the Lomé Convention. Burham was promoting intra-ACP cooperation.

The ACP group has its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The first secretary general was Tieoule Konare of Mali, 1976-1980. There have been 13 secretaries general with two from the Caribbean, Edwin Carrington, 1985-1990, and Patrick Gomes, 2015-2020. Carl Greenidge of Guyana was deputy secretary general and secretary general, ad interim. The current secretary general is Moussa S. Batraki of Chad, who was elected in February. He replaced Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti of Angola, 2000-2025 .

The ACP had a structure of Council of Ministers and Committee of Ambassadors. It had joint meetings with the European Community, including at the level of parliamentarians.

From 1975-2000, four Lomé Conventions were negotiated. Lomé IV was extended for 10 years (1990-2000).

Through the years, the membership of the ACP Group increased, as did the membership of the European Union, which through the years, moved from the EEC to the European Union (EU) as it deepened its level of regional integration.

In 2000, a new ACP/EU agreement was negotiated for 20 years. This was the Cotonou Agreement signed in Cotonou, Benin, in June 2000.

ACP MEETINGS

ACP meetings were held twice yearly in the Council of Ministers with the agenda focused mainly on the relationship with the Europeans and the implementation of the various agreements. There were discussions on administrative and financial matters and some attempts to focus on intra-ACP cooperation.

It was decided that the ACP needed to elevate its policy-making to a higher level. The first ACP Summit of Heads of State and Government was held in 1997 in Gabon. There have now been 10 ACP summits. Only one has been held in the Caribbean – the second, which was held in the Dominican Republic in November 1999.

CHANGE IN THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE EU

The market in the UK for bananas, secured for producers from mainly the Caribbean (the British West Indies), was coveted by US banana producers in Latin America since the 1930s. When the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was established in 1947, the access of Latin American bananas to the UK market was one of the first issues on the agenda. With Britain in the EU, a formal case was brought against the European Commission (EC) in the 1990s. With the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 with its stronger dispute settlement mechanism, the case was initiated in the WTO. The EC lost this case and was required to reform its non-reciprocal banana regime to make it WTO compatible.

The case against EC’s sugar subsidies was brought by Australia, Brazil and Thailand between 2002-2005. The EC also lost this case and was required to reform its sugar regime. The reform of the EC’s banana and sugar regimes affected the ACP’s non-reciprocal exports into the EU markets, particularly for the Caribbean producers.

Note that the ACP has an office in Geneva which assists in coordinating the group’s activities at the WTO.

NEGOTIATING EPAS AND THE POST-COTONOU AGREEMENT

The EU then required the negotiation of reciprocal regional trade and economic partnership agreements, moving trade out of the existing Cotonou Agreement. The Caribbean Forum of ACP countries was the first to conclude a comprehensive EPA with the EU in 2008. This heralded the change in the relationship between the ACP and EU.

Negotiations for a post-Cotonou Agreement commenced in 2018. This would see a new agreement negotiated emphasising a partnership of equals and focusing on the regions. In fact, there were some in the EU and ACP who wanted to focus almost completely on the regions. In the case of Africa, the negotiations would have been between the African Union and the EU. It was finally decided that the negotiations should remain within the ACP framework, although there would be separate regional protocols.

The aid part of the arrangement was also changed as the EDF was terminated, severing the aid link with the Cotonou Agreement. Aid was moved to the general EU overseas development assistance budget.

Negotiation of the Post-Cotonou Agreement concluded in December 2020. It is now the Samoa Agreement, which was opened for signature in 2023.

THE REVISED GEORGETOWN AGREEMENT

At this point, the ACP moved to strengthen its alliance to enable the group not just to be active in Brussels and the WTO in Geneva, but to increase coordination in other multilateral bodies, thus increasing its presence as a body of the global south. The Georgetown Agreement was thus revised to create the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). This Revised Georgetown Agreement was endorsed at the 9th ACP Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya, in December 2019. The OACPS came into effect on April 5, 2020 (OACPS Day).

THE FUTURE OF THE OACPS

So, the ACP Group was transformed into the OACPS. It now has 79 members. In 2022, South Africa decided to leave the OACPS which was a blow to the organisation. However, it does not appear that the OACPS is achieving the goals which it set itself in the Revised Georgetown Agreement.

The OACPS failed to take the advice of Forbes Burnham from 1975 to focus on strengthening the Intra-ACP relationship. The focus had remained on the relationship with the EU. The Caribbean has been trying to strengthen its relationship with Africa. One would have thought that bodies such as the ACP and the Commonwealth, would have provided opportunities for strengthening that south-south cooperation.

In 2016, the UK decided to leave the EU (Brexit). This weakened the link of the CARICOM countries with the EU as most of the CARICOM member states were trading with the UK.

A major challenge for the OACPS seems to be financing. The OACPS needs its member states to honour their commitment to financing the organisation. It seems that this is a very serious problem. The organisation must be able to finance itself. On the administrative side, it appears that there is an imbalance in employment at the secretariat as the Caribbean and Pacific seem to have fewer employees in the organisation.

Member States need to demonstrate their commitment to this organisation. That there is the political will to make it viable. It was noted that over several years, few heads of state and government have attended the summits.

As the OACPS marks its 50th anniversary, the new secretary general and the member states need to decide on the value of this organisation and consider whether they are determined to work together to address the problems and achieve necessary reforms.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Send feedback to c olumns@gleanerjm.com