Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – (NDICI)

The post-Cotonou negotiations started in September 2018 in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The aim was to agree on a new treaty to succeed the Cotonou Agreement.

On 3 December 2020, the EU and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) reached a political deal on a new agreement that succeeds the Cotonou Partnership Agreement. Marking the end of the negotiations, the ‘post-Cotonou’ agreement was initialled on 15 April 2021. The agreement will serve as the new legal framework and guide political, economic and cooperation relations between the EU and 79 members of the OACPS for the next twenty years.

The cooperation with the Caribbean will seek to reinforce the Caribbean-EU partnership in three priority areas:

  1. Partnership for a Green Deal
  2. Partnership for economic resilience and trade
  3. Partnership for governance, security and human development

Driven by a “policy first” approach, the partnership encompasses bilateral, multi-country and regional financial support, with a link to the political and policy dialogue with the region and the countries. Under this partnership, national efforts are complemented by a Caribbean regional and multi-country approach that consolidates and supports regional integration.

The role of regional organisations and their agencies are key to coordinating and getting traction on regional political priorities.

Multi-country initiatives will build on national priorities and joint interests, such as the binational cooperation between Haiti and Dominican Republic. For Small Island Developing States (SIDS) without a MIP, namely Barbados, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries, Trinidad and Tobago and The Bahamas, national efforts will be supported mainly through multi-country actions, ensuring economies of scale.