The European Union's Africa Policies: Norms, Interests and Impact by Daniela Sicurelli

Author:Daniela Sicurelli [Sicurelli, Daniela]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781351890205
Google: GqGoDQAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 33344274
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2010-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

Regional integration

Like in the case of free trade, different visions emerged within the EU in the promotion of the principle of regional integration. The proactive role of the European Commission in the negotiations has indeed contributed to the European commitment to promote regional integration. At the same time, though, the Commission and the member states had different views of the way regional economic integration in SSA should be strengthened. Contrasting positions emerged within the EU also on the right way to tackle the problem of the fragmentation of the African regional groups taking place during the EPA negotiations.

The European commitment to strengthening regional economic organizations in Africa is not surprising if one considers that the EU is also involved in the promotion of regional integration in other parts of the world. This trend has become visible especially since the 1990s, when favourable international conditions for intervention in third countries emerged (Meunier e Nicolaïdis, 2006). As a matter of fact, after the end of the Cold War, intervening in the domestic politics of other countries was no more perceived as a threat for the international order. More specifically, the EU member states appeared more and more interested in promoting regional integration in Africa. Building trade relations with sub-regions of African states rather than with single states would allow European states, and especially those with former colonial ties in SSA, to have access to markets that otherwise would be isolated. Inter-regionalism provided the EU member states with the possibility of access to broader markets and to create “economies of scale in dealing with regional groupings rather than separate countries” (Smith, K.E., 2003, 70). In so doing, the EU tried to increase its comparative advantage with respect to other economic actors, such as for example the US or China, that usually opt for bilateral relations with SSA countries. From this point of view, according to Sapir (1998), the EU would also gain from playing the role of hub in an expanding network of EPAs. In that context, it would have two relevant advantages over its counterparts, namely preferential access to all of their markets and an advantage in terms of attracting investment over any of the countries in the network. Similarly, according to Farrell, inter-regionalism is a tool in the hands of the EU to compete with other economic powers in an environment of increased interdependence and intensified international competition. In this context, “the EU must fight to defend and extend its position internationally. One way of securing these economic interests and ultimately the power of the EU is through inter-regional cooperation” (Farrell, 2004, 4).

These external conditions in favour of inter-regionalism strengthened the idea that the EU should negotiate the EPAs with existing African regional organizations. That said, different interpretations emerged within the EU of what level of regional integration should be involved in the negotiations. Since the mid 1990s, the European Commission proposed the SSA countries revise the Lomé Convention with new partnership agreements for African sub-regional organizations. In so doing, according

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