Ex-post Evaluation of the EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement

Reference

Description

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and six countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has been applied since October 2016. It is necessary to launch an ex-post evaluation in order to assess the functioning and impact of the agreement five years after implementation to comply with the obligation under Article 116 of the EPA to review the agreement no later than five years after its entry into force. The review was launched in November 2021 and the parties need to have at their disposal solid evidence based on research assessing the effects of the EPA in order to carry out the review. The ex-post evaluation will analyse the extent of implementation and compliance on both sides, preliminary outcomes in terms of trade and investment flows, and estimate impacts of the agreement in light of sustainable development objectives. The ex-post evaluation will feed into the review process.