From Berlin to Brussels

The paper evaluates the economic partnership agreement (EPA) which the European Union is forging with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and concludes that it is a raw deal for these developing countries. Particularly for Africa, the author likens the EPA to the Berlin conference of 1884–1885 that divided Africa among the European powers. EPA as the second scramble for Africa would merely turn Africa into a dumping ground for European goods and severely undermine its nascent development. It is argued that EPA has everything to do with the pressure on Europe to preserve Africa for itself against the ‘threats’ of China and has little to do with African development. For EPA to become a development partnership, the author outlines some key elements of an alternative development partnership between Africa and Europe that is possible.