14. Conclusion

This concluding chapter returns to the main themes raised by the chapters in the volume and provides a forward-looking analysis aimed at contributing to ongoing processes of reflection in both the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) group and the European Union (EU) on their post-2020 futures, when the 2000 Cotonou Partnership Agreement expires. It acknowledges the enduring political and economic asymmetries that have shaped the ACP-EU relationship since 1975, but also notes the two sides’ shared commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a basis for renewing their partnership, while moving beyond the traditional North-South debate in the context of a changing global order. In order to do so, as Virk argues, both partners must build on their experiences of the past decades; address the damaging impact of economic partnership agreement (EPA) negotiations on their relationship; and adapt to the strengthening trend of regionalism, all while responding to the rise of new powers in the global South. The chapter further points to a need for the ACP, in particular, to take greater initiative and ownership of the agenda for economic and political cooperation with Europe, and to reconstruct its internal unity around a shared and inclusive development vision.