[I] AMU (Arab Maghreb Union); CEN-SAD (Communauté des Etats Sahélo-Sahariens); COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa); EAC (East African Community); ECCAS (Economic Community of Central African States); ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States); IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority for Development); SADC (Southern African Development Community)

E. whereas the original Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) group which launched the negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union on 7 February 2004 comprised 16 countries, which include Indian Ocean Islands (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles), Horn of Africa countries (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan), the East African Community (EAC) members (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) and Southern African countries (Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe); whereas only six of these 16 countries have initialled the ‘ESA’ interim EPA, of which two have decided not to sign (Zambia and Comoros), t ...[+++]wo have notified provisional implementation (Mauritius and Madagascar) and only two have ratified (Zimbabwe and Seychelles);

D. whereas the original Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) group that launched the negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union on 7 February 2004 comprised 16 countries, which include Indian Ocean Islands (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles), Horn of Africa countries (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan), the East African Community (EAC) members (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) and Southern African countries (Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe);

On a regional level, South Africa is a member, dominating the 14-states Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU - together with the BLNS states Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland).

For the purposes of the negotiations and the new trading system, Africa has been divided into four regional groups – based on, but not totally respecting, the existing regional organisations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) – whilst the Caribbean and Pacific represent one regional group each.

Although this all-ACP-EU phase was never closed, in 2003 the regional negotiations were initiated between the EU and the ACP countries beginning with Central Africa and West Africa, and in 2004 with Eastern and Southern Africa, the Caribbean and lastly the Southern Africa Development Community.