Migration in the EU-ACP Partnership After 2020: Implementing the UN Global Compact

The Cotonou Partnership Agreement between the EU and 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries is set to expire in 2020. Negotiations on a post-Cotonou successor agreement began in September 2018, and migration is a major topic. The beginning of these negotiations coincides with final preparations of the UN Global Compact for Migration, which is planned to be adopted in December 2018. Although the two agreements are distinct from one another, there is a great deal of potential overlap. In fact, the renewed EU-ACP Partnership Agreement could be shaped as a regional mechanism to implement the Global Compact.

In order to facilitate and shape negotiations at an early stage, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung EU Office organised a day-long seminar in October 2018 in cooperation with the ACP Secretariat and the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC). Participants discussed the renewed EU-ACP Partnership Agreement in the context of the upcoming UN Global Compact for Migration as well as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with a view toward balancing border security with development and human rights considerations.

This policy brief is based on the discussions and provides recommendations ahead of the Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Migration in December 2018.