Overview of the regional EPA negotiations: Central Africa-EU Economic Partnership Agreement

The purpose of this InBrief series is to provide a synthesis of the main elements and issues at stake for the 6 African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) groupings negotiating an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU). Each InBrief offers an overview of the economic and regional integration dynamics influencing the structure, pace, and outcome of the EPA negotiation process for each region. It also focuses on the main issues and challenges to be tackled by each region in order to make the new trade arrangement a development oriented instrument. Each regional InBrief is complemented by an update on the ongoing EPA negotiation process. 

Central Africa covers a vast geographical area with a population of roughly 32 million inhabitants. Despite diversity in size, population density and economic profile, the region’s eight countries share a number of distinctive features and challenges. A major common concern is the high poverty incidence, which has not declined over the past decades. All countries but Cameroon and Gabon are classified as least developed.