The European Union (EU)-African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA): Weakening or Deepening African Development

Abstract

The European Union (EU)-African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is a package put together to accelerate the integration of ACP into the global market economy. Africa with a large attractive market value is faced with the challenge of development. While admitting that networking and partnering with international organizations and donor agencies appeared to be a possible way of recovering from such challenges, the paper argued instructively that Africa countries lacked the capacity to effectively compete such as to attract the needed benefits to her continent from the Agreement. Using the dependency theory, attempt was made to analyze and identify the consequences of the Agreement as it pertains to the strengthening or weakening of African developmental process. Major constraints that currently affect the continent which will certainly make the Agreement implementation to be skewed in favor of the EU countries were also identified. It concluded by asserting that Africa will pay the prize by becoming dumping ground for EU finished products.