Anti-corruption provision under the Cotonou Agreement without apparent impact

The European Union has only sanctioned one single case of corruption under the Cotonou Agreement provisions. This does not necessarily mean that the Cotonou Agreement’s sanctioning of corruption is without an impact, but the fact that sanctions have been imposed in only one situation strongly indicates that the provision's impact is rather limited. Morten Broberg therefore suggests that more effective means of preventing corruption be considered. Broberg's conclusion rests on his exposure of the seeming discrepancy between, on the one hand, the ACP countries' originally strong objections to the inclusion of the possibility of sanctioning corruption and, on the other hand, the provision's subsequent lack of application.

The Cotonou Agreement explicitly empowers the European Union to sanction "serious cases of corruption" provided that this corruption is related to economic and sectoral policies and programmes to which the European Union is a significant financial partner.

Since its adoption in 2000 the Cotonou Agreement has been the most important legal measure regulating relations between the European Union and 79 developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP countries).