The post-Cotonou Agreement and the governance mechanisms of the European Union-Africa relations: Complementarity or fragmentation?

Abstract

The European Union and Africa have long-standing, comprehensive and densely institutionalised relations, whose governance has been marked by some complexity and inconsistency, affecting policy visibility and effectiveness. This article explores the implications of the recent post-Cotonou Agreement for the governance of EU-Africa relations. To this end, the article begins by providing an overview of the evolution of the main frameworks of EU-Africa cooperation. It then focuses on the negotiations and main innovations of the post-Cotonou Agreement. Finally, some of the challenges facing the new agreement are addressed, as well as its possible implications for the governance of EU-Africa relations, considering to what extent it contributes to more coherence or, instead, more fragmentation.