(Re)inventing the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States

On the 12th of February 1976, the Georgetown Agreement that founded the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) entered into force, two months ahead of the international agreement that the 46 states had negotiated with the European Economic Community (EEC). The Group subsequently opened a permanent secretariat in Brussels to support its growing membership in pursuing their aims and facilitate the cooperation with its European counterparts. The organisation’s interactions with and financial dependence on its European counterpart stand in contrast with its long-held ambitions for yet limited track record in promoting intra-ACP cooperation and manifesting itself beyond Brussels. In 2019 the Group adopted the revised Georgetown agreement that changed its acronym to OACPS and emphasised its status as an international organisation, a revision that by and large was a rebranding rather than a redesign. The agreement was adopted amidst the negotiations of a new international agreement with the EU between 2018-2021. The negotiations and accompanying reforms resulted in the EU continuing yet changing its motivation for financial support to the OACPS with a stronger focus on cooperation at the global level. Based on the lack of consensus within the group on its new mission, limited member commitment to its structures and limited performance in EU-ACP international cooperation, the EU’s financial support appears unlikely to deliver on its formal objectives.