Regional economic communities

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The Regional Economic Communities ( Regional Economic Communities , RECs ) in Africa combine individual countries together in subregions, to achieve greater economic integration. They are referred to as "building blocks" of the African Union (AU) and are also a central component of the strategy for implementing the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). There are currently eight AU-recognized RECs, each set up under a separate regional contract.

background

The Organization of African Unity (OAU) has recognized the need for economic integration of the continent as a prerequisite for economic development since it was founded in 1963.

The 1980 Lagos Action Plan for Africa's Development, followed by the 1991 Treaty establishing the African Economic Community (also known as the Abuja Treaty ), proposed the creation of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as the basis for African integration. with a timetable for regional and then continental integration. The contract stipulates that the African economic community will work in six stages over a period of 34 years. H. by 2028, will be established gradually.

Article 88 of the Abuja Treaty states that the establishment of the African Economic Community is the gradual integration of the activities of the RECs, with full continental economic integration being the ultimate goal towards which the activities of the existing and future RECs must be directed. A protocol on relations between the African Economic Community (AEC) and the RECs came into force on February 25, 1998.

In 2000, the OAU / AEC summit in Lomé passed the constitutive law of the African Union, which formally replaced the OAU in 2002. The final OAU summit in Lusaka from July 9-11, 2001 confirmed the status of the RECs in the African Union and the need for close participation in the formulation and implementation of all Union programs.

At the same time it was recognized that the existing structure of the RECs with numerous overlaps in membership is anything but ideal. At the Maputo Summit in 2003 , the AU Commission was asked to accelerate the preparation of a new draft protocol on relations between the African Union (AU) and the RECs. Rationalization of the RECs was the subject of the AU Banjul Summit in July 2006. At the Accra Summit in July 2007, the AU Assembly adopted a protocol on relations between the African Union and the regional economic communities. This protocol aims to facilitate the harmonization of policies and ensure compliance with the Abuja timetable and the Lagos action plan.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/peace/recs.shtml The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) of the African Union
  2. ↑ Declarations -Maputo PDF Website Focus on Land in Africa. Retrieved January 29, 2019.