Signature of the Economic Partnership Agreement with Southern African countries

The European Union signed on 9 June 2016 an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with six countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) - Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.

This was the first agreement of its kind with an African region pursuing regional economic integration. The proposal was put forward in January 2016 and the Council of the European Union authorised its signature on 1 June.