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Caught between the ACP and the AU: Africa’s relations with the European Union in a post-Cotonou Agreement context

ABSTRACT This article traces the formation of Africa’s position in view of the negotiations with the European Union for a successor to the Cotonou Agreement set to expire in February 2020, providing some explanations for the failure of the ACP Group and the African Union to achieve a consolidated position. By examining official discourses and the role of different actors, it demonstrates that the ACP Group and the AU manifested alternative views on the EU–ACP cooperation model and on the part that each wished to play in the negotiation and implementation of the future agreement. Moreover, it shows how, in spite of previous frictions, the ACP Secretariat and ACP Committee of Ambassadors on the one hand and the AU Commission and the AU Permanent Representatives Committee on the other formed two separate common fronts to defend their territories and preserve (or increase) their role as the EU’s legitimate interlocutors.