ABSTRACT
The European Union's (EU's)relationship with the Pacific has historically been interpreted through the wider prism of the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) – the African, Caribbean and Pacific – countries that formed the EU's development partners under the four Lome Conventions. Historically, the major policy objectives of the Lome Conventions were as commendable as they were ambitious: the promotion of EU-ACP trade; agricultural and industrial development; special aid for the least developed states; and, support for regional cooperation. This analysis of EU-Pacific relations since 2000 falls into two parts. First, the chapter examines the motivations behind the cotonou partnership agreement. Economically, the most fundamental change is the transition from non-reciprocity to free trade through regional Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) as the basis for future economic relations. Second, the chapter focuses on a renewed emphasis on good governance, institutional capacity and democratic conditionality. The EU encourage and facilitate the democratic debate on EPAs in the Pacific.
