The EU approves the new framework for relations with countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific after two years of blockade

BRUSSELS, 20 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Member States of the European Union approved this Thursday the new framework for relations with countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, known as the post-Cotonou agreement, which will allow financing the cooperation policy with 79 countries for the next 20 years.

After two years of political blockade, the EU takes this step to modernize the general framework of relations with the countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, with which it seeks to go “beyond” development policy and focus on areas such as peace and security, job creation, economic development or climate change.

The approved framework has a common base for the three regions and then consists of their own protocols for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, based on the specific needs of each region. In this way, the new document seeks to guarantee a coherent development policy at the national and subregional level and to structure long-term initiatives in developing countries.

After the green light from the EU as a bloc, now the agreement has to be signed by each of the Member States and the 79 partners involved in the cooperation framework. It will enter into force two months after the official signing.

The Post-Cotonou agreement comes to renew the previous document, which has been in force for 20 years, although its approval by the EU has been blocked for two years due to the reluctance of several Member States, mainly Hungary, which denounced that the framework implied interference in migration and sexual minority policy.