General and final provisions

1. Definition of the parties and fulfilment of

obligations

independently. All actions in the

agree-ments have to be taken collectively by the

No.ProvisionCommon featuresDifferences 1.Definition of the parties and fulfilment of obligations The provision provides in all cases the names of the relevant parties. The parties shall take any general or specific measures necessary for them to fulfil their obligations and shall ensure that they comply with the objectives laid down in the agreement.

The provisions of the CARIFORUM, East African Community and West Africa agreements specify that the relevant African, Caribbean and Pacific States (and the European Union) act collectively. Under the SADC agreement, the provision allows for signatory States to act individually. Under Central Africa and Eastern and Southern Africa agreements, countries commit themselves to acting collectively, but acting individu- ally (if necessary) if provided for. Under the Eastern and Southern Africa agreement, it is noted that a signatory Eastern and Southern Africa State that is not subject to the rights and obligations set out in chapter II (trade in goods) shall never- theless be subject to and enjoy the rights and obligations arising from other chapters of this agreement. 2.Coordina- tors and exchange of information

Each party is obligated to appoint an agreement coordinator to facili- tate the implementation of the agreement. The coordinator, on request of either party, indicates the responsible office or official relating to any matter pertaining to the implementation of the agreement and facilitates communication. The coordinator also provides, to the extent legally possible, informa- tion and promptly provides responses to any questions on measures that might affect trade between the parties.

Not included in the Eastern and Southern Africa agreement. 3.Transpar- encyEach party will ensure that all laws, regulations, procedures and ad- ministrative rulings and international commitments are made publicly available. The information should be provided through notification to WTO or an official, free and publicly available document on the website of the party. No party is required to submit confidential information, unless in the context of a dispute settlement process. In such case, the confidentiality of the information shall remain protected.

Not included in the Eastern and Southern Africa agreement. Information can also be provided to the agreement coordinator (East African Community, SADC). Confidentiality is not covered in the Central Africa agreement.

No.ProvisionCommon featuresDifferences 4.Regional preferenceNothing in the agreement obliges a party to offer the other party more favourable treatment than it offers within the party as part of its region- al integration process. Any favourable treatment offered to the European Union by the Afri- can, Caribbean and Pacific parties will be automatically extended to the other African, Caribbean and Pacific signatories.

Not included in the Eastern and Southern Africa or East African Com- munity agreement. In the West Africa agreement, the provision on regional integration cannot be interpreted to mean that the European Union or the West Africa party is obliged to extend to the other preferential treatment that would be applicable owing to either party being party to a regional economic integration agreement. For the CARIFORUM agreement, any favourable treatment on products that attract zero rate of duty shall apply immediately upon signature. For all other products, for “more developed countries” the favourable treatment shall apply one year after, and for “less developed countries”, two years after. Haiti is not required to extend favourable treatment to the Dominican Republic before five years from date of signature. 5.Outermost regions of the Europe- an Union

The parties commit themselves to reinforcing economic and social links between the African, Caribbean and Pacific signatories and the outermost regions of the European Union in the areas covered by the agreement, as well as through fostering joint participation of the Euro- pean Union outermost regions and African, Caribbean and Pacific in the framework and specific programmes covered by the agreement. Nothing in the agreement shall prevent the European Union from ap- plying existing measures to improve the structural, social and economic situation of its outermost regions.

The Central Africa agreement covers only the last point on European Union measures in outermost regions. The facilitation of goods and services, investment and transport and communication links mentioned specifically as areas of cooperation in the CARIFORUM, West Africa and Eastern and Southern Africa agreements. 6.Relations with the Cotonou Agreement

Except for development cooperation, in case of any inconsistency, the agreement will prevail. Nothing in the agreement shall prevent the adoption of any measures deemed appropriate in the Cotonou Agreement (if consistent with the agreement).

Under the West Africa agreement, only the second provision is includ- ed. 7.Relations with the WTO Agreement

Nothing in the agreement requires parties to act in a manner inconsis- tent with their WTO obligations. Under the Eastern and Southern Africa agreement, parties acknowl- edge that some signatory States are not members of WTO. Any refer- ence to WTO bodies or agreements is not imposed on those parties. Consequently, in case of inconsistency, the agreement shall prevail for the countries that are not WTO members.

No.ProvisionCommon featuresDifferences 8.Relation to other agreements

Under the Eastern and Southern Africa agreement, in case there is inconsistency between the comprehensive and the interim agreement, the comprehensive agreement shall prevail. Under the SADC agreement, the relationship between the agreement and the trade, development and cooperation agreement shall be gov- erned by the provisions of Protocol 4. Under the Central Africa agreement, the parties agree to examine, in 2008, whether the provisions of the agreement are consistent with the customs unions to which the signatories to the agreement belong.30jj 9.Entry into forceThe agreement shall be signed and ratified, or approved, in accordance with the applicable rules of the parties. The agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the month fol- lowing that in which the parties have notified each other of the comple- tion of necessary procedures. Pending entry into force of the agreement, the parties may provisionally apply the provisions of the agreement, where possible or subject to ratification. Depository of the agreement is the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union. Under the East African Community, West Africa, Central Africa and Eastern and Southern Africa agreements, the African, Caribbean and Pacific regional community is also a depository. All parties can take steps to apply the agreement before the provisional application, to the extent feasible. Under the East African Community and West Africa agreements, if applied provisionally, all references to the date of entry shall be deemed to refer to the date such provisional application takes place.

Under the East African Community agreement, the agreement will en- ter into force the first day of the second month following notification. Under the SADC agreement, the agreement will enter into force 30 days following the deposit of the last instrument of ratification, accep- tance or approval. Under the West Africa agreement, provisional application shall be noti- fied to the depository. The agreement shall apply on a provisional basis one month after receipt of the final notice of provisional application. Under the CARIFORUM and East African Community agreements, the same as the West Africa one, but within 10 days. Under the SADC, Central Africa and Eastern and Southern Africa agreements, 10 days or receipt of notification from the European Union or ratification of provisional application from (all: Central Africa and Eastern and Southern Africa agreements) relevant African, Carib- bean and Pacific agreement State, whichever is later. Under the CARIFORUM agreement, provisional application shall be effected as soon as possible, but no later than 31 October 2008. Under the SADC agreement, provisional application excludes specific agricultural products, until all Southern African Customs Union mem- bers have ratified or specific conditions for those products are met. SADC is not a depository, but will be notified.

No.ProvisionCommon featuresDifferences 10. DurationThe agreement shall be valid indefinitely (CARIFORUM, West Africa, SADC and Central Africa agreements). Either party can give written notice of its intention to denounce the agreement. Denunciation shall enter into force six months after notification.

Not covered in the East African Community agreement. Under the Eastern and Southern Africa agreement, until a comprehen- sive agreement enters into force. Under the East African Community agreement, denunciation enters into force one year after notification and one month after notification, under the Eastern and Southern Africa agreement. 11.Territorial applicationThe agreement shall apply to the territories of the parties. 12.Amend- ments31kkAmendments to the agreement will be adopted by the agreement coun- cil and enter into force when ratified. Any party can submit proposals for amendment (East African Communi- ty and SADC agreements).

Not covered in the CARIFORUM, West Africa and Central Africa agreements. The other party may comment on the proposals for amendment within 90 days from the date of receipt of the proposal (East African Commu- nity agreement). 13.Continua- tion of ne- gotiations

The parties agree to continue negotiations “in order to arrive at a full regional Agreement” (West Africa agreement) and “in accordance with the schedule set out in the Agreement” (Central Africa agreement).

Included only in the West Africa and Central Africa agreements. Under the West Africa agreement, the parties shall agree on a road map for the negotiations within six months of the conclusion of the agreement. The negotiations will cover services, intellectual property and innovation, current payments and capital movements, the protec- tion of personal data, investment, competition, consumer protection, sustainable development and public contacts. Under the Central Africa agreement, when negotiations are conclud- ed, the draft amendments will be submitted for the relevant national authorities for approval. Pending the establishment of the agreement committee (council) and other institutions in the agreement frame- work, the parties will take the measures necessary for the administra- tion and implementation of the agreement (wherever a reference is made in the agreement to the council).

No.ProvisionCommon featuresDifferences 14.Accession of new European Union mem- ber States

The African, Caribbean and Pacific party will be informed of any application to become a member of the European Union. During the negotiations between the European Union and the applicant State, the African, Caribbean and Pacific party will be provided with any relevant information, and the African, Caribbean and Pacific party will convey any concerns they have. The African, Caribbean and Pacific party will be notified of any accession to the European Union. Any new European Union member State will accede to the agreement from the date of its accession to the European Union. If the act of acces- sion to the European Union does not provide for this automatically, they shall deposit an act of accession to the general secretariat of the Euro- pean Union, which shall send certified copies to the African, Caribbean and Pacific party. The parties will review the effects of accession of new European Union members to the agreement. The council may decide on transitional or amending measures, if necessary.

The East African Community agreement does not include the provision of informing a party of any application. 15.AccessionThe council will consider applications to accede to the agreement. The decision to accept the application will lead to negotiations on the terms of accession. Once the protocol for accession is adopted by the council, it will be submitted for ratification, acceptance or approval, in line with appropriate legal processes (SADC, Central Africa and Eastern and Southern Africa agreements – see right column). The parties will review the effects of the accession on the agreement. The council may decide on transitional or amending measures (East African Community, SADC and Central Africa agreements).

(Non-European Union) accession is not covered by the West Africa agreement. Any new member State of the East African Community shall auto- matically also accede to the agreement (as with new European Union member States). The Central Africa agreement is open to accession for any State or re- gional organization in Central Africa. Any State that submits a request shall attend council meetings as an observer. Under the Eastern and Southern Africa agreement, any of the following Eastern and Southern Africa States can accede to the agreement, sub- ject to agreement of the parties: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi and the Sudan. Accession by another country in the Eastern and Southern Africa region will be subject to council consideration. Under the CCARIFORUM and Eastern and Southern Africa agree- ments, any Caribbean State may accede to the agreement, subject to terms and conditions agreed between the country and the parties to the agreement, and following approval through the applicable legal process. Under the SADC agreement, in the case of Angola and its request to accede, the negotiations should be conducted on the basis of the agree- ment, taking into account the specific situation of Angola.

No.ProvisionCommon featuresDifferences 16.Authentic textA duplicate is drawn up in Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovakian, Slove- nian, Spanish and Swedish languages, all texts being equally authentic.

For the East African Community agreement, Croatian, Irish and Kiswa- hili are added. For the West Africa and SADC agreements, Croatian is added. For the SADC agreement, in case of contradiction, reference will be made to the language in which the agreement was negotiated. 17.Balance of payment difficulties

When any signatory State of the European Union party is facing serious balance of payments (or the threat of), it may adopt or maintain restric- tive measures with regard to the trade in goods, services and establish- ment (CARIFORUM agreement). Such measures must be temporary and non-discriminatory, and should not go beyond what is necessary to remedy the balance of payments issue. They shall be in accordance with WTO conditions and consistent with the articles of agreement of the International Monetary Fund. Prompt notification to the other party is required, and, as soon as possi- ble, the schedule for removal. Consultations will be held with the implementation committee (in the case of CARIFORUM) or the council (in the case of East African Commu- nity) to assess the balance of payments issue and the adopted measures for compliance with the above provisions.

Included only in the CARIFORUM and East African Community agree- ments. 18.Dialogue on finance issues

The parties agree to foster dialogue, transparency and to share best practices in tax policy and administration.Included only in the CARIFORUM and Eastern and Southern Africa agreements. 19.Collabora- tion in the fight against illegal financial activities The parties commit themselves to preventing and combatting illicit, fraudulent and corrupt activities, money-laundering and terrorist financing through legislative and administrative measures. Parties agree to exchange information and cooperate in these areas.

Included only in the CARIFORUM and Eastern and Southern Africa agreements.

No.ProvisionCommon featuresDifferences 20.Other pro- visionsUnder the Central Africa and Eastern and Southern Africa agreements, the provisions for setting up the agreement committee (council) are included in final and general provisions. Nothing in the SADC agreement shall be construed as conferring rights or imposing obligations on persons, other than those created between the parties under public international law. Under the East African Community agreement, notifications under the agreement shall be made in writing and sent to the East African Com- munity secretariat or European Community, as appropriate. For SADC, in case of encountering difficulties in the implementation of the agreement as a result of factors beyond its control, the party shall immediately bring the matter to the attention of the council. For Central Africa, the Central African Economic and Monetary Com- munity/Economic Community of Central African States shall be invited to attend all meetings of the council. 21.AnnexesAnnexes and protocols form an integral part of the agreement. For Eastern and Southern Africa, the annexes and protocols can be reviewed by the agreement committee.

16. Revisions