Abstract
The departure of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) will see the introduction of new trade policy for the UK and changes to existing EU external policies, particularly its Development Cooperation Policy. The latter was due to be refreshed as the 2000 Cotonou Agreement comes to an end and the UK’s departure will have a significant impact on the future shape of that policy as there may be fewer resources available for EU development activities and it will have to deal with the nascent UK trade policy which will focus on “old friends and new allies”. Looking at future EU and UK relations with Africa, this contribution examines the future of the new relationships which both parties are seeking to forge with that continent in the years to come which seems to focus on greater investment as Africa itself moves towards greater regional integration. Whether these proposed ambitious plans will be realised remains uncertain as does the future scope of cooperation in the realm of development, which is referenced in the Political Declaration outlining the scope for an ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership between the EU and the UK to be negotiated by the end of 2020.
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Notes
- 1.
The results for the whole of the United Kingdom were 51.9% in favour of leaving and 48.1% in favour of remaining. For further details see, for example, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/eu_referendum/results.
- 2.
See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prime-ministers-letter-to-donald-tusk-triggering-article-50. The events and facts referred to in this article are up-to-date until 23 February, 2019. At the time of undertaking final proofs and authorising printing of this volume in August 2019 the UK newly appointed PM, Brois Johnson, has begun meeting European leaders making a case for a new Brexist agreement between the UK and the EU.
- 3.
Ibid, the fourth proposed negotiating principle also references third countries. It reads, in part; “Investors, businesses and citizens in both the UK and across the remaining 27 member states – and those from third countries around the world – want to be able to plan.”
- 4.
Document XT 21001/17, Draft guidelines following the United Kingdom’s notification under Article 50 TEU (31 March 2017), para 4.
- 5.
- 6.
When Development Cooperation was first introduced in the Maastricht Treaty the objectives were: “To fight against poverty in developing countries; to enhance the social and sustainable development of developing countries, particularly the least favoured among them; and to further the integration of developing countries into the world economy.”
- 7.
See also Article 210(1) which provides, inter alia “In order to promote the complementarity and efficiency of their action, the Union and the Member States shall coordinate their policies on development cooperation and shall consult each other on their aid programmes, including in international organisations and during international conferences” and Article 211 which provides “Within their respective spheres of competence, the Union and the Member States shall cooperate with third countries and with the competent international organisations.”
- 8.
Article 21(3) TEU. The principle of consistency was added by the Amsterdam Treaty to the principles of complementarity, coordination and coherence set out in the Maastricht Treaty.
- 9.
Article 21(2)(d) TEU. Also, of interest here is paragraph (e) which encourages “the integration of all countries into the world economy, including through the progressive abolition of restrictions on international trade.”
- 10.
Article 212 references the provisions on Development Cooperation (Article 208-211 TFEU) to indicate that economic, financial and technical cooperation should not prejudice provisions these provisions.
- 11.
Article 179 of the Maastricht Treaty provided that “The provisions of this Article shall not affect cooperation with the, African, Caribbean and Pacific countries in the framework of the ACP-EC Convention.”
- 12.
Article 3(k) Treaty of Rome establishing the EEC. These countries were defined in Article 131 as “non-European countries and territories which have special relations with Belgium, France and the Netherlands.”
- 13.
Zartman characterised the relationship as “designed to share among the European six, at least to some small extent, the burdens and benefits of the colonial past and to provide some limited benefits for the African colonies. It was a means of protecting colonial markets and assuring supplies of primary products for the six instead of the metropole alone and of opening the colonies to greater trade and investment.” “Europe and Africa: Decolonization of Dependency?” (1975–1976) 54 Foreign Affairs 325, 327.
- 14.
See for example, Zartman (1971), Ch 3 for discussion of the negotiations with Commonwealth Africa. See also Twitchett (1978). It should be noted that in 1969 an agreement was concluded between the EEC and the three members for the East African Community (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) – the Arusha Convention—which offered these countries benefits similar to those in the Yaoundé II Convention.
- 15.
[1971] EC Bull Supp 5/71. See also follow-up communication, [1972] EC Bull Supp 2/72.
- 16.
[1976] OJ L 25 for the text of the first Convention which was signed by 46 ACP States. The second Convention was signed by 58 States, the third by 65 and the 70 ACP States signed the 1995 mid-term review of the Lomé IV Convention of 1990.
- 17.
See [2000] OJ L 317/3, [2005] OJ L 209/27 and [2010] OJ L 287/3 respectively. The agreement has also been amended on a number of occasions by decisions of the ACP-EC Council of Minister, see for example, Decision 1/2003 ([2003] OJ L 141/25) and most recently, Decision 1/2018 ([2018] OJ L 148/7).
- 18.
[2008] OJ L 289/3 as amended by Decision 1/2012 of the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council, [2012] OJ L 335/2. The ACP members are Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Dominican Republic.
- 19.
[2009] OJ L 272/2. The other Pacific countries are the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federal State of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
- 20.
See http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2009/september/tradoc_144912.pdf for an overview of EPAs as of June 2018.
- 21.
[2009] OJ L 59/3 and [2016] OJ L 287/3, respectively.
- 22.
[2009] OJ L 57/2. The other countries in this region are Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and São Tomé & Principe.
- 23.
[2012] OJ L 111/3. Comoros signed the EPA in 2017. The other countries in this region are Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi, Sudan and Zambia.
- 24.
[2016] OJ L 250/3. Angola has the option of joining this grouping.
- 25.
See the Annexes to COM (2016) 63 for details of the Agreement. South Sudan joined the EAC in 2016.
- 26.
[2012] OJ L 303/31, Recital 3. The Regulation has been amended on a number of occasions, for example Commission Delegated Regulation 2017/217, [2017] OJ L 34/7 which removes Samoa from the list of EBA beneficiaries as from 1 January 2019.
- 27.
Ibid, Annex IV. See http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2017/july/tradoc_155840.pdf for the current list of EBA beneficiaries. Article 19 lists five grounds allowing for the withdrawal of preferences, these include, for example, serious and systematic violation of principles laid down in various human rights and labour rights conventions.
- 28.
Mendez-Parra, M, P Papadavid and D Willem te Velde, Brexit and development How will developing countries be affected? (2016) available at https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/resource-documents/10685.pdf.
- 29.
Available at http://www.tcd.ie/Economics/TEP/2018/tep0318.pdf.
- 30.
Ibid, p. 20.
- 31.
COM (2017) 713, The Future of Food and Farming, p. 25.
- 32.
Signed 7 June 2017. See https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/european-consensus-on-development-final-20170626_en.pdf, para 55.
- 33.
Above n 31, p. 10 at which the Commission note: “The CAP objectives would fulfil the EU Treaty obligations but also the already agreed objectives and targets on for instance the environment, climate change (COP 21), and a number of the SDGs.”
- 34.
COM (2018) 392, National Strategic Plans, Proposal for a Regulation.
- 35.
Ibid, Articles 91 and 92. See also Article 98(2) which details a system of conditionality as comprising for each Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition standards a description of the way the EU standard is to be implemented and a description of the overall contribution to the specific objectives in Article 6(1) (d) to (f).
- 36.
COM (2018) 394. As for other elements of that Decision on export credits, export credit guarantees and insurance programmes, agricultural exporting state trading enterprises and international food aid, it should be noted that measures in these areas adopted by Member States must respect both EU law and the WTO Ministerial Decision (WT/MIN(15)/45); https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc10_e/1980_e.htm.
- 37.
PE619.225v02-00 (AD\1151893EN.docx), Rapporteur M Noichl, para 10.
- 38.
Ibid, para 19.
- 39.
Council Document 6277/18, pp. 3–4. See also July 2018 Council meeting, Council Document 10200/18.
- 40.
“Fair Play: The Recent Common Agricultural Policy and Its Limited Effect on Development” available at https://www.swp-berlin.org/fileadmin/contents/products/comments/2018C21_rff_bruentrup.pdf, p. 4.
- 41.
Blanco, M The impact of the Common Agricultural Policy on developing countries (2018) available at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2018/603862/EXPO_STU%282018%29603862_EN.pdf p. 21.
- 42.
Ibid, p. 34. See also Matthews, A The development-related impacts of EU agricultural subsidies (2017b) available at http://www.tcd.ie/Economics/TEP/2017/tep1617.pdf.
- 43.
JOIN (2016) 52 A renewed partnership with the countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, p. 6. See also SWD (2016) 250 Evaluation of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement.
- 44.
Ibid, p. 9. See also pp. 16–17 on EU priorities for economic opportunities for economic development.
- 45.
- 46.
See https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/soteu2018-speech_en_0.pdf. See also COM (2018) 643 a new Africa – Europe Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs: Taking our partnership for investment and jobs to the next level.
- 47.
Available at http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-8094-2018-ADD-1/en/pdf. The Agreement would continue to be one concluded by the EU and the Member States despite the endorsement by the Council in May 2018 that in future the EU should negotiate free trade agreements (an area of exclusive competence) and separate investment agreements between the EU and the Member States on the one hand and third countries on the other. See http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-8622-2018-INIT/en/pdf, Council Doc 8622/18.
- 48.
Ibid, p. 26.
- 49.
- 50.
Ibid, para 73. See also paragraph 9 which set the overall objectives for the agriculture and food security partnership; paragraphs 44 and 47 on SPS and TBT standards and paragraphs 64 and 65 on food security, land degradation and desertification. These objectives can also be found in the EU’s negotiating directives, above n 47, pp. 37 and 46.
- 51.
- 52.
- 53.
- 54.
Ibid, para 64. One of the objectives listed in the negotiating objectives for the regional partnership with Africa (above n 47) is to support preparations for Africa's Continental Free Trade Area.
- 55.
Joint DEVE/AGRI Hearing on “The Impact of the CAP on Developing Countries”—27th February 2018, Brussels. See https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2014-2019/hogan/announcements/speech-joint-deveagri-hearing-impact-cap-developing-countries-27th-february-2018-brussels_en.
- 56.
- 57.
Ibid, Chapter 7. See also associated Press Release “Africa-Europe Alliance: European Commission committed to a sustainable African agri-food sector” available at http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-1569_en.htm.
- 58.
See for example, Medinilla, A and J Bossuyt Charting the course to 2020: Fundamental Choices for the negotiation of a future ACP-EU Partnership, (2018) available at http://ecdpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Charting-the-course-to-2020-Fundamental-choices-for-the-negotiation-of-a-future-ACP-EU-partnership-Medinillla-Bossuyt-ECDPM.pdf and Keijzer, N and A Medinilla, Can the EU prioritise both the African Union and the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific group? (2017) available at http://ecdpm.org/wp-content/uploads/ETTG-Brief-Keijzer-Medinilla-November-2017.pdf.
- 59.
- 60.
Ibid, para 53.
- 61.
Ibid, paras 55 and 56. See also paras 57 to 59 give examples of UK leadership on development and paragraphs 60 and 61 for its contribution on external migration.
- 62.
Ibid, para 79.
- 63.
Ibid, para 81. There would also be continued coordination on external migration (para 82).
- 64.
See https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development/about for details of DfID’s objectives.
- 65.
- 66.
Ibid, Objective 3.
- 67.
- 68.
Ibid, p. 17.
- 69.
Ibid, Boxes 7, 8 and 9. See also Examples of DFID’s Global Flagship Programmes on Inclusive and Sustainable Commercial Agriculture available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/examples-of-dfids-global-flagship-programmes-on-inclusive-and-sustainable-commercial-agriculture.
- 70.
This is a project led by the International Fund for Agricultural Development, for further details see https://www.ifad.org/web/guest/asap.
- 71.
For further details, see http://www.gafspfund.org/.
- 72.
Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-future-of-uk-aid-post-brexit. What is proposed is “a new national conversation to find out more about how the British people might want their savings and pension to be used to support the Global Goals and end poverty” and the development of indicators on how the social and environmental impact of investment is measured and flagged to the public.
- 73.
Ibid. She estimated that aid totalled $150 billion of which one third was devoted to Africa.
- 74.
- 75.
Above n 72, she argued that a 1% increase in their share of global trade would equate to an additional £130 billion to deliver the SDGs.
- 76.
See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-international-trade&publication_filter_option=consultations for details of the consultations.
- 77.
See https://www.gov.uk/government/announcements?departments%5B%5D=department-for-international-trade for announcements with respect to these countries.
- 78.
See https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ambitious-new-innovation-partnerships-with-african-countries. There was also the announcement by the Department for International Trade of the appointment of a dedicated Trade Commissioner to Africa who will lead a team providing expert in-country investment and export advice for UK and African companies.
- 79.
See https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-on-uk-and-eastern-and-southern-africa-epa and the agreement was signed on 31 January 2019, see https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-signs-eastern-and-southern-africa-trade-continuity-agreement. See more generally, Razzaque M and B Vickers Post-Brexit UK-ACP Trading Arrangements: Some Reflections available at http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/news-items/documents/5jln9q109bmr-en.pdf.
- 80.
See https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-on-uk-sacu-and-mozambique-epa. See also https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-southern-african-trade-boosting-uk-and-african-economies for a joint South Africa-UK statement that a trade agreement will be ready to enter into force as soon as the EU deal no longer applies to the UK.
- 81.
- 82.
See link available in news story “Brexit: UK, EU Propose Cooperative Approach to WTO Commitments” Bridges Vol 21 No 33 (21 October 2017) available at https://www.ictsd.org/bridges-news/bridges/news/brexit-uk-eu-propose-cooperative-approach-to-wto-commitments. Australia has also joined the list of countries criticising the arrangement, see Australia knocks UK Brexit Trade Plan, (25 November 2017) available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42121442.
- 83.
COM (2018) 312 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the apportionment of tariff rate quotas included in the WTO schedule of the Union following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union.
- 84.
Ibid, Recitals 4 and 5 of the Preamble to the proposed Regulation.
- 85.
See https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news18_e/mark_24jul18_e.htm. The UK has also submitted a request to join the Government Procurement Agreement along with a market access offer, see https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news18_e/gpro_27jun18_e.htm. See also “WTO Negotiators Look to Lay Groundwork on Post-Brexit Food Import Quotas” Bridges, Vol. 22, No. 34 (18 October 2018) available at https://www.ictsd.org/sites/default/files/review/bridgesweekly22-34c.pdf.
- 86.
- 87.
See Matthews, A Establishing the UK’s non-exempt limit on agricultural support after Brexit (2017a) available at http://capreform.eu/establishing-the-uks-non-exempt-limit-on-agricultural-support-after-brexit/. Article 6(5) of the Agreement could also be used to allow for the continuation of product-specific support, which currently operates only in Scotland.
- 88.
See https://www.chogm2018.org.uk/sites/default/files/CHOGM%202018%20Communique.pdf paras 16 and 17.
- 89.
The Strategic Plan was for the period 2017–2021, see http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/inline/CommonwealthSecretariatStrategic_Plan_17_21.pdf, para 32.
- 90.
See Razzaque, M, B Vickers and P Goel Brexit and Commonwealth Trade (2016) available at http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/news-items/documents/BrexitandCommonwealthTrade.pdf and Stevens C and J Keenan Trade Implications of Brexit for Commonwealth Developing Countries (2016) available at http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/news-items/documents/TradeImplicationsBrexit_0.pdf.
- 91.
Ibid, (Razzaque et al) SDGs and a Lost Decade of Trade Gains: What Commonwealth Role Post-Brexit? p. 15.
- 92.
- 93.
Ibid, para 1 for the Council position. For details of the Chequers Plan, see https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/723460/CHEQUERS_STATEMENT_-_FINAL.PDF.
- 94.
Above n 47 and see also http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-8622-2018-INIT/en/pdf, Council Doc 8622/18.
- 95.
It has been estimated that the UK contributes just less than 11% to the EU Budget and around 15% to the EDF. See D’Alfonso, A European Development Fund - Joint development cooperation and the EU budget: out or in? (2014) available at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/EPRS/EPRS-IDA-542140-European-Development-Fund-FINAL.pdf, p. 14. The overall contribution is about £1.5billion, above n 72.
- 96.
Olivié I and A Pérez, Possible impacts of Brexit on EU development and humanitarian policies (2017) available at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/578042/EXPO_STU(2017)578042_EN.pdf.
- 97.
Ibid, p. 23.
- 98.
COM (2018) 460. The Regulations include those establishing the Instrument contributing to Peace and Stability (Regulation 230/2014, [2014] OJ L 77/1), the Development Cooperation Instrument (Regulation 233/2014, [2014] OJ L 77/44) and the European Fund for Sustainable Development (Regulation 2017/1601, [2017] OJ L 249/1).
- 99.
See http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2018-0226 for the European Parliament Resolution of 30 May 2018 on the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and own resources and http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-11871-2018-INIT/en/pdf for a note by the Council President of 18 September 2018 on the state of play concerning the MFF proposals.
- 100.
- 101.
Ibid, paras 98, 108 and 109 which references a dialogue between the UK and the EU on strategies for the programming and delivery of development and coordination between their delegation in third countries. Such cooperation will offer continued support for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the European Consensus on Development (para 93).
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McMahon, J.A. (2019). Africa Post-Brexit in EU Development Cooperation Policy and UK Trade Policy: Investing in New Relationships?. In: Yihdego, Z., Desta, M., Hailu, M. (eds) Ethiopian Yearbook of International Law 2018. Ethiopian Yearbook of International Law, vol 2018. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24078-3_8
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