ABSTRACT
An assessment of the evolution of the moral economy of European Union (EU)-Africa Association can demonstrate how norms regarding an ethical partnership of equals and pro-poor development have been discursively embedded in relations between Europe and former colonies. It can illustrate discourses that have been used to embed legitimating norms, perpetuating a blurring of ethical intent and economic interests. It emphasises on how shifting 'justifications' of European interventions in Africa have worked to reupholster the moral economy of EU-Africa Association. This chapter examines the historical foundations of the moral economy of Europe-Africa Association up to the end of the Lome Conventions. The rise of narratives regarding partner's sovereign equality given the need for Association to gain respectability in the post-colonial context is it highlighted. The chapter explores the moral economy under the Lome Conventions agreed between Europe and the newly established African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) grouping.
