Integration processes in Africa: history and present stage
Keywords:
Africa, economic integration, East African Community (EAC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), South African Development Community (SADC), African Union (AU), African Economic Community (AEC), NEPADAbstract
Africa remains the least integrated region in the world, although the first integration agreements have been signed during the colonial period. In the 1960s there was a tendency to Pan-Africanism – the formation of Pan-African union, but political differences, many ethnic and armed conflicts have become a major obstacle. Th is trend is being revived in the 1980s based on the Lagos Plan of Action, in which the focus was on the three regional integration agreements (RIA) – ECOWAS, EAC and SADC. In 1991, the Abuja agreement was signed on the formation of the African Economic Community (AEC). Aft er 10 years, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) has been transformed into the African Union, which has set a target of formation of the AEC to 2030 based on eight leading RIAs, which reached different form of integration – from preferential trade area to common market. In 2015, the Heads of States of COMESA, SADC and EAC signed an agreement on the Continental free trade area as the initial stage of AEC.
