Commission continues work to deepen trade and investment relations with Eastern and Southern African countries

The report – published in line with the Commission’s transparency commitments – summarises the progress made during the latest negotiations to deepen the existing Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with five Eastern and Southern African partners (ESA5): Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe.

The 14^th negotiation round at technical level took place in Brussels from 30 September to 3 October, followed by a back-to-back meeting at senior-official level on 4 October 2024. 

Discussions led to provisional conclusions on a 'Transparency in Public Procurement' chapter, as well as ‘State-Owned Enterprises’ and ‘Competition Policy’ sections for a 'Competition' chapter. Good progress was made on all other chapters, in particular those relating to intellectual property rights, economic and development cooperation, and services and investment.

The next (15^th) round of EU-ESA5 negotiations is expected to be held in the first quarter of 2025 in the ESA region.

More information

Report of the 14^th negotiating round

EU-Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA5) EPA deepening negotiations