The drastic change of the EU relationship with ACP countries in the context of international economic relations

• Date: 11 March 2014
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JITLP-05-2013-0015
• Published date: 11 March 2014
• Pages: 67-79
• Author: Ana Manero Salvador
• Subject Matter: Strategy,International business,International business law

The drastic change of the EU

relationship with ACP countries

in the context of international

economic relations

Ana Manero Salvador

University Carlos III, Getafe, Spain

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to analyze the adjustment of relations between the EU and ACP

countries to multilateral requirements.

Design/methodology/approach – Has been carried out an analysis of the previous situation,

the reasons and the result of the adjustment. To do this, they have been pursued literary and

documentary sources.

Findings – The European Union’s relations with the ACP countries have changed drastically.

Now there is no unity of action of ACP, and the relations with the EU relations are atomized.

Originality/value – The submitted article summarizes and critically analyzes the evolution of the

European Union’s relations with ACP countries. The relationship with the ACP has been historically

and currently lost its specif‌icity, so it is diluted in the context of the external action of the

European Union.

Keywords WTO, EU, ACP

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

The actions regarding development cooperation are probably those that have

provided the European Union the greatest international visibility. Now then, these

expressions are deeply heterogeneous and respond to a historical process by virtue of

which, to the degree that new members participated in the process of integration,

the development cooperation expanded itself geographically until being, as of today,

totally global.

Despite this expansion, relations with ACP countries have always been special.

This has led to the doctrine for distinguishing between “development cooperation

relations and development cooperation policy” while the legal basis of both

actions was different. Accordingly, although it was the 1992 Treaty of the

European Union where these actions were set forth in a treaty – Title XVII of the EC

Treaty – these provisions did not provideacomprehensivecoveragebecauseit

excluded “such qualif‌ication that, without a doubt, is its most emblematic action in

this area and that best represents the traditional regional conception of these

relations [...]TheLome

´Policy” (Sobrino Heredia, 1997, p. 108) that is the relations

with the ACP States.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/1477-0024.htm

This paper is framed within the research project “Gobernanza y reforma de las Instituciones

econo

´micas internacionales en la crisis econo

´mica” (DER 2010-20414-CO2-01).

Received 28 May 2013

Revised 3 December 2013

Accepted 20 January 2014

Journal of International Trade Law

and Policy

Vol. 13 No. 1, 2014

pp. 67-79

qEmerald Group Publishing Limited

1477-0024

DOI 10.1108/JITLP-05-2013-0015

Drastic change

of the EU

relationship

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