What are the alternatives? Does the alternative to Cotonou have to be EPAs?
In theory, no. But there is simply no alternative that offers either the same development benefits or can improve on ACP market access to Europe. The WTO waiver covering the Cotonou preferences expires on 31st December 2007 and the EU can no longer continue these trade arrangements. This is one reason the ACP and EU agreed in the Cotonou agreement itself that EPAs are the best option. In the event any Least Developed Countries decides not to sign an EPA they can benefit from EBA but would lose out on all the regional integration benefits of EPAs. The EU gave a commitment to consider alternatives for any non Least Developed Country that indicated they would not sign an EPA. However, no country actually requested this and all continue to negotiate EPAs. In 2006, ECDPM, ENDS and Oxfam international have published a report ‘Alternative (to) EPAs – Possible scenarios for the future ACP trade relations with the EU’ that evaluates alternatives to EPAs as possible scenarios for the future ACP
