《科托努协定》续订谈判与欧非关系前瞻

Post-Cotonou Negotiation and the Prospects for EU-Africa Relations

《科托努协定》原定于2020年2月29日到期,为保证欧盟与非加太国家伙伴关系的持续发展,双方于2018年9月开启《科托努协定》续订谈判。在谈判过程中,欧盟与非加太国家均认为《科托努协定》的积极成果应予以保留,并在后续协定的内容更新、秉持的原则和目标以及框架设计等方面存在共识。但由于非洲是非加太国家中起主导性作用的群体,其与欧盟在非盟角色、移民问题、贸易投资以及援助资金等方面存在较大分歧,致使后续协定被迫延期推出。《科托努协定》续订谈判遇阻反映出欧盟之困,非洲之兴,非加太国家之限,国际环境之变等多层次多方面的问题。欧非关系亦在谈判中呈现出非盟地位上升、非洲自主性增强、欧盟对非政策政治导向弱化,趋向务实以及欧盟仍注重发展援助,附带条件更加隐蔽等特征。未来,双方将继续关注贸易投资、和平安全及移民问题,公共卫生、气候变化和数字化转型的合作也将得到推进。受新冠疫情影响,欧非关系的不确定性增强,后续协定的影响力或将下降。

The Cotonou Agreement was originally scheduled to expire on February 29, 2020. In order to ensure the continued development of the partnership between the EU and ACP countries, the two parties started to negotiate the Post-Cotonou Agreement in September 2018. During the negotiation process, the EU and the ACP countries agreed that the positive results of the Cotonou Agreement should be retained, and there ware consensuses on the content update, principles and objectives, and framework design of the follow-up agreement. However, since Africa is a leading group in the ACP countries, there are major differences between the EU and Africa on the role of the African Union, immigration issues, trade and investment, and aid funds, which forced the postponement of the Post-Cotonou agreement. The obstacles in the negotiations reflect the difficulties of the European Union, the rise of Africa, the limitations of the ACP countries, and the changes in the international order. The EU-Africa relationship has also been characterized by the rise of the AU status, the enhancement of African autonomy, the weakening of the EU’s political orientation towards Africa and the EU’s still focusing on development assistance, with more hidden conditions. In the future,the two sides will pay more attention to trade and investment, peace and security and immigration issues. Meanwhile, cooperation in public health and digital transformation will also be promoted. Affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the uncertainty of EUAfrica relationship may increase. The influence of the "Post-Cotonou Agreement" will further decline, and it is likely to remain a development assistance agreement.