A New EU-ACP Partnership Agreement Signed in Samoa

The agreement recently signed in Samoa is the overarching framework for the EU relations with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. The new partnership agreement will serve as the new legal framework for EU relations with 79 countries. This includes 48 African, 16 Caribbean and 15 Pacific countries. Around 2 billion people are covered by the agreement. The agreement aims to strengthen the capacity of the EU and the ACP countries to address global challenges together.

On 20 July 2023, the EU Council greenlighted the signature and provisional application of the partnership agreement, as the new legal framework for the next twenty years, succeeding the Cotonou agreement. The new agreement was officially signed in Samoa on 15 November 2023 by the EU and its members states and the OACPS members. Its provisional application starts on the first day of the second month after the signature.

It lays down common principles and covers the following six priority areas:

• democracy and human rights
• sustainable economic growth and development
• climate change
• human and social development
• peace and security
• migration and mobility

The agreement includes a common foundation at ACP level, combined with three regional protocols for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, with a focus on each regions’ specific needs.