ABSTRACT

From the creation of the European Community in 1957, sub-Saharan Africa was arguably the most important region to the European Community among the developing areas of the world.1 It manifested itself in the Treaty of Rome where Article 131 established the association between the European Community and the countries and territories in Africa with the aim to ‘promote the economic and social development . . . and to establish close relations between them and the Community as a whole’ (Grilli 1994: 8-11).