Regional Economic Community – Wikipedia

The Regional Economic Communities (In English: Regional Economic Communities – Rec) in Africa group individual countries in Subregions in order to achieve greater economic integration. The fundamental components of the African Union (African Union – Au) are re -emerged and are also central to the implementation strategy of the new association for the development of Africa (New Partnership for Africa’s Development – Nepad).

List of regional economic communities recognized by the African Union [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Currently, there are eight Rec recognized by the AU, each established by means of a distinct regional treaty, and are the following:

From its constitution in 1963, the organization of the African unit ( Organisation of African Unity – Oau) identified the need for economic integration of the continent as a prerequisite for economic development.

The Lagos action plan for the development of Africa of 1980, followed in 1991 by the articles of association of the African Economic Community (also known as the Treaty of Abuja), proposed the creation of regional economic communities (Rec) as a bases for the ‘African integration, with a roadmap that first provided for regional integration, which would follow continental integration. The Treaty established that the African Economic Community was created through a gradual process, divided into 6 stages to be achieved over 34 years, and therefore by 2028 ^[first] .

Article 88 of the Abuja Treaty establishes that the foundation of the African Economic Community is the progressive integration of the activities of the Ref, with the establishment of the complete continental economic integration as the final objective towards which the activities of existing and future Ref must be conformed . A protocol on the relations between the AEC and the Recs entered into force on February 25, 1998.

In 2000, the joint summit of Oau and Aec, held in Lomé, adopted the articles of association of the African Union, which formally replaced the OAU in 2002. The final summit of the OAU, held in Lusaka from 9 to 11 July 2001 , reaffirmed the status of the RECs within the African Union and the need for their full involvement in the formulation and implementation of all Union programs.

At the same time, it was recognized that the existing structure of the RIMs was far from the ideal one, with many overlapping participations. At the summit held in Maputo in 2003, the Commission of the African Union was requested to accelerate the preparation of a new draft of the protocol on the relations between the African Union and the rep. The rationalization of the RIN constituted the theme of the top of the African Union held in Banjul in July 2006 ^{[2] [3]} . At the top held in Accra in July 2007, the Assembly of the African Union adopted a protocol on the relations between the African Union and the regional economic communities ^[4] . This protocol has been designed in order to facilitate the harmonization of policies and ensure compliance with the timing provided for by the Abuja Treaty and the Lagos action plan.

Some RIMs overlap in terms of Member States; For example, in Eastern Africa, Kenya and Uganda are members of the EAC and the Comea, while Tanzania, also a member of the EAC, has abandoned the Come to adhere to SADC in 2001. These multiple participations create confusion, with duplications and , sometimes, even competitions between activities, also placing additional loads on the staff of foreign affairs already overloaded from having to participate in all the various leaders and meetings.

Furthermore, there are other regional economic cooperation bodies not officially recognized by the African Union such as REC, including the following:

Other regional cooperation structures are also not necessarily focused on economic integration have some superimposed authorities, including:

• peace and security agreements, such as the International Conference for the Region of Great Lakes ( International Conference for the Great Lakes Region – Circular / Icglr); e
• agreements for the management of river basins, such as the organization for the enhancement of the Senegal river ( Organization for the development of the Senegal river – omvs).

The internal capacity of the REC is considerably variable; Among these, however, Ecowas, Sadc and EAC are the most developed. Furthermore, although the RIPs are considered the fundamental components of the African Union, there is no clear evidence that all existing res have the objective of continental integration in the long term, nor that within all the REP there is political will to subordinate regional interests to the primary imperative of the Union.

REC recognized by the African Union [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Other organizations [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]