The making of the Samoa Agreement: Insights from the negotiations between the EU, Africa and the ACP states

On 15 November 2023, leaders of the European Union (EU) and 79 states in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific (ACP) met in Samoa to sign the successor to the Cotonou Agreement, which will govern their relations for at least 20 years across various policy areas, namely development, migration, environment and climate change, peace and security, human rights and democracy, trade and investment. Drawing on a wide range of literature strands and capitalising on the author’s active engagement with the two negotiating teams, the paper exposes the different logics and dynamics that characterised the making of the Samoa Agreement, from the contentious adoption of the two negotiating mandates to the impasse arising from the obstructive behaviour of two EU Member States after the conclusion of the negotiations.