The joint African, Caribbean and Pacific-European Union (ACP-EU) council in charge of development decided on Tuesday in Brussels to speed up the process for the Republic of South Sudan’s membership to the Cotonou agreement through a “flexible” procedure, according to a communiqué published at the end of a meeting in the Belgian capital, Brussels.
An extraordinary session of the council will be held on 9 July, the date slated for the proclamation of the independence of the Republic of South Sudan, to approve this country’s membership as the 79th member country of the ACP Group.
The ACP-EU ministers also discussed migration in a bid to strengthen cooperation between the two groups on the granting of visas and conditions for the re-admission to the countries of origin or transition of ACP nationals found to be illegally living in Europe.
According to the communiqué, the ministers had an exchange of views on the negotiations for the conclusion of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and the ACP, namely West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa and the Caribbean and the Pacific.
In view of the deadlock in which these negotiations were bogged down, the EU signed with Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire Cameroon interim trade agreements, compatible with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
