ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CARIFORUM STATES, OF THE ONE PART, AND THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND ITS MEMBER STATES, OF THE OTHER PART

THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND,
THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN,
THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND,
THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA,
ROMANIA
Contracting Parties to the Treaty establishing the European Community and the Treaty
on European Union, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Member States of the European
Union’,
and
THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, of the other part
HAVING REGARD TO the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing the Caribbean
Community including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, the Treaty of
Basseterre establishing the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and the Agreement
establishing a Free Trade Area between the Caribbean Community and the Dominican
Republic, on the one part, and the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the
other part;
HAVING REGARD TO the Partnership Agreement between the African, Caribbean and
Pacific States and the European Community and its Member States signed in Cotonou on
23 June 2000 and revised on 25 June 2005, hereinafter referred to as the “Cotonou
Agreement”;
REAFFIRMING their commitment to the respect for human rights, democratic principles
and the rule of law, which constitute the essential elements of the Cotonou Agreement,
and to good governance, which constitutes the fundamental element of the Cotonou
Agreement;
CONSIDERING the need to promote and expedite the economic, cultural and socialdevelopment of the CARIFORUM States, with a view to contributing to peace and
security and to promoting a stable and democratic political environment;
CONSIDERING the importance that they attach to the internationally agreed
development objectives and to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals;
CONSIDERING the need to promote economic and social progress for their people in a
manner consistent with sustainable development by respecting basic labour rights in line
with the commitments they have undertaken within the International Labour
Organisation and by protecting the environment in line with the 2002 Johannesburg
Declaration;
REAFFIRMING their commitment to work together towards the achievement of the
objectives of the Cotonou Agreement, including poverty eradication, sustainable
development and the gradual integration of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)
States into the world economy;DESIROUS of facilitating the implementation of the CARICOM Development Vision;
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CONSIDERING their commitment to the principles and rules which govern international
trade, in particular those contained in the Agreement establishing the World Trade
Organisation;