Questions and Replies

        The following communication, dated 6 January 2026, is being circulated at the request of the delegations of the European Union and Comoros.

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Questions from China

1.1.  Para 2.1: "The Agreement is one of 47 EU's RTA in force and notified to the WTO and one of 4 of Comoros. The latter is a Party to the Southern African Development Community (SADC), but the Protocol in Trade in Goods and the Protocol in Trade in Services are not in force for Comoros".

We understand that Comoros is a member of several African regional organizations, such as the African Union, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Southern African Development Community. How does Comoros reconcile the trade rules, particularly regarding tariff reductions, between the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Eastern and Southern Africa States and other regional organizations?

Reply from the European Union and Comoros:

        At the start of Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations, the European Union (EU) engaged with various African regions separately, mindful of the ongoing regional integration processes within the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa. African countries that were members of several RECs decided on which EPA negotiation to participate in. These decisions were made autonomously by the countries themselves. Regional preference clauses in EPAs set out that countries in the same region should provide at least the same advantages to each other as they extend to the EU. Therefore, EPAs are as much about regional trade between the parties to an EPA as they are about trade with the EU. Moreover, the EU and the African Union (AU) cooperate towards the strengthening of African economic integration and sound regulatory frameworks for investment and trade, in line with the AU's ambition to accelerate the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Additional reply from Comoros:

        Although Comoros is a member of several African regional economic communities (RECs), notably COMESA and SADC, the SADC Protocols on Trade in goods and services are not in force for the Comoros. Consequently, there is no legally binding obligation in the area of tariff reduction at this point resulting from the Comoros' accession to SADC. Regarding COMESA, the Comoros is implementing its commitments gradually in keeping with the flexibilities foreseen for least developed countries (LDCs). This gradual approach allows compatibility between regional commitments and the obligations deriving from the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The interim EPA is thus implemented so as to avoid any overlap or conflict of trade obligations, while being part of the Comoros' broader objectives of regional integration, in particular its commitment to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), considered as the long-term trade integration framework of the African continent.

1.2.  Para 4.4: "Under Article 4, other ESA LDCs that have not yet submitted market access offers may still do so after signing the Interim Agreement, either under the same conditions of the current signatories or with some flexibility and can fully benefit from its provisions. Additionally, Article 66 provides that Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Sudan may accede to the Agreement with the Parties' consent. To date, these countries have not submitted market access offers".

What is the intended coverage of the Eastern and Southern African countries under the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Eastern and Southern Africa States?

Reply from the European Union and Comoros:

        Six Eastern and Southern African (ESA) States – Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – concluded an interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) at the end of 2007. In August 2009, four of these countries (Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Zimbabwe) signed the agreement and have provisionally applied it since 14 May 2012. Comoros signed the agreement in July 2017; it ratified and started applying it in February 2019. Zambia can join the EPA anytime if it signs and ratifies the agreement. The EPA remains open to other ESA countries willing to join, provided that they submit a WTO compatible market access offer, for the Parties' decision on the accession in accordance with the relevant provisions of the agreement.

Additional reply from Comoros:

        It should also be recalled that the interim EPA was designed as an open and evolving agreement, allowing the accession of Eastern and Southern African countries, provided they offer market access compatible with WTO rules and the agreement of the Parties in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Agreement. In this context, special and differentiated treatment and appropriate flexibilities are granted to least developed countries, mainly relating to the scope and timelines for tariff liberalization in order to take into account their specific development constraints. Comoros is implementing tariff liberalization in the framework of the EPA gradually and asymmetrically, excluding sensitive products in keeping with the development direction of the Agreement.

1.3.  What is the relationship between the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Eastern and Southern Africa States and the established Cotonou Agreement?

Reply from the European Union and Comoros:

        The new Partnership Agreement between the European Union (EU) and its Member States and the members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS), successor of the Cotonou Agreement, the Samoa Agreement, was signed in Apia on 15 November 2023 and is being provisionally applied since 1 January 2024. The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries and regions are stand-alone international agreements that remain valid. The Samoa Agreement ensures a link to the EPAs, especially concerning general principles and essential elements, and its drive for inclusive, sustainable economic growth and development. Thus, the Samoa Agreement is the overarching framework agreement for all EPAs, just like the Cotonou Agreement was before. All EPAs remain anchored in the provisions on appropriate measures for which the framework agreement provides in case its essential or fundamental elements are breached (democracy, human rights, rule of law; non-proliferation; and the fundamental element of good governance/anti-corruption).

Additional reply from Comoros:

        It should be stressed that the transition from the Cotonou Agreement to the Samoa Agreement affects neither the rights nor the obligations of the Parties to the interim EPA, which remains fully in force as an autonomous international agreement notified to the World Trade Organization. The Samoa Agreement bolsters the development dimension of EPAs, notably through greater cooperation in skills development, technical assistance and support for lasting economic development, especially for the least developed countries.

Concluding remark from Comoros:

        As part of its accession process to the World Trade Organization, the Union of the Comoros gives particular importance to the compatibility of all its multilateral, regional and bilateral trade commitments. The interim EPA between the European Union and the Eastern and Southern African States helps strengthen the predictability and transparency of Comoros' trade regime, while maintaining the economic policy space and the necessary flexibilities linked to its least developed country status.

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