From Apology to Utopia: EU–ECP Economic Partnership Agreements Oscillating between WTO Conformity and Sustainability

This contribution assesses the future Economic Partnership Agreements between African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and the EU and its Member States in the light of their questionable WTO conformity and their goal to promote sustainable development. After a brief outline of the legal framework and political background of the Economic Partnership Agreements, the article depicts their objectives as provided for in the Cotonou Agreement. Thereafter, the criteria for their conformity with Article XXIV GATT as well as the conceivable repercussions of a WTO-compatible design on the achievement of sustainable development are analysed. It will thereby be argued that, against the backdrop of the current uncertainty and the need for clarification of the requirements for North–South regional trade agreements under Article XXIV GATT, WTO-compatible Economic Partnership Agreements calling for a restrictive design of flexibility and asymmetry threaten to subvert the Cotonou Agreement’s aim that they shall foster sustainable development and contribute to poverty alleviation. Hence, solutions to mitigate this inherent tension between WTO conformity and sustainability will finally be pointed out.