African Economic Community

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The African Economic Community (abbreviated AEC) is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority of African states. The member states are mounting efforts to collaborate economically, but are impeded by civil wars raging in parts of Africa. The stated goals of the organization include the creation of free trade areas, customs unions, a single market, a central bank, and a common currency thus establishing an economic and monetary union.

Contents 1 Pillars of the African Economic Community 1.1 Pillar membership 1.2 Other blocs 2 Goals 2.1 Stages progress 2.2 Overall progress 3 Comparison between regional blocs 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Pillars of the African Economic Community

Currently there are multiple regional blocs in Africa, also known as Regional Economic Communities (abbreviated RECs), many of which have overlapping memberships. The RECs consist primarily of trade blocs and, in some cases, some political and military cooperation. Most of these RECs form the 'pillars' of AEC, many of which also have an overlap in some of their member states. Due to this high proportion of overlap it is likely that some states with several memberships will eventually drop out of one or more RECs. Several of these pillars also contain subgroups with tighter customs and/or monetary unions of their own:

These pillars and their corresponding subgroups are as follows:

Pillars	Subgroups
Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD)
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
East African Community (EAC)
Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS/CEEAC)	Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC)
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)	West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ)
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
Southern African Development Community (SADC)	Southern African Customs Union (SACU)
Arab Maghreb Union (AMU/UMA)

[edit] Pillar membership

African Union

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the African Union

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CEN-SAD Founding states (1998):  Burkina Faso  Chad  Libya  Mali  Niger  Sudan Joined later: 1999:  Central African Republic 1999:  Eritrea 2000:  Djibouti 2000:  Gambia 2000:  Senegal 2001:  Egypt 2001:  Morocco 2001:  Nigeria 2001:  Somalia 2001:  Tunisia 2002:  Benin 2002:  Togo 2004:  Côte d'Ivoire 2004:  Guinea-Bissau 2004:  Liberia 2005:  Ghana 2005:  Sierra Leone 2007:  Comoros 2007:  Guinea

COMESA Founding states (1994):  Angola  Burundi  Comoros  Congo-Kinshasa  Djibouti  Eritrea  Ethiopia  Kenya  Madagascar  Malawi  Mauritius  Rwanda  Sudan  Swaziland  Uganda  Zambia  Zimbabwe Joined later: 1999:  Egypt 2001:  Seychelles 2006:  Libya Former members: 1994-1997:  Lesotho 1994-1997:  Mozambique 1994-2000:  Tanzania 1994-2004:  Namibia

ECOWAS Founding states (1975):  Benin UEMOA-94  Burkina Faso UEMOA-94  Côte d'Ivoire UEMOA-94  Gambia WAMZ-00  Ghana WAMZ-00  Guinea WAMZ-00  Guinea-Bissau UEMOA-97  Liberia  Mali UEMOA-94  Niger UEMOA-94  Nigeria WAMZ-00  Senegal UEMOA-94  Sierra Leone WAMZ-00  Togo UEMOA-94 Joined later: 1976:  Cape Verde Former members: 1975-2002:  Mauritania UEMOA-94: UEMOA state from 1994 UEMOA-97: UEMOA state from 1997 WAMZ-00: WAMZ state from 2000

EAC Founding states (2001):  Kenya  Tanzania  Uganda Joined later: 2007:  Burundi 2007:  Rwanda ECCAS Founding states (1985):  Burundi  Cameroon CEMAC-99  Central African Republic CEMAC-99  Chad CEMAC-99  Congo-Brazzaville CEMAC-99  Congo-Kinshasa  Equatorial Guinea CEMAC-99  Gabon CEMAC-99  Rwanda  São Tomé and Príncipe Joined later: 1999:  Angola CEMAC-99: CEMAC state from 1999

SADC Founding states (1980):  Angola  Botswana SACU-70  Lesotho SACU-70  Malawi  Mozambique  Swaziland SACU-70  Tanzania  Zambia  Zimbabwe Joined later: 1990:  Namibia SACU-90 1990:  South Africa SACU-70 1995:  Mauritius 1997:  Congo-Kinshasa 1997:  Seychelles withdrawn 2004-2007 2005:  Madagascar Applicant countries: 2000:  Rwanda SACU-70: SACU state from 1970 SACU-90: SACU state from 1990

IGAD Founding states (1986):  Djibouti  Ethiopia  Kenya  Somalia  Sudan  Uganda Joined later: 1993:  Eritrea UMA 1 Founding states (1989):  Algeria  Libya  Mauritania  Morocco  Tunisia

     member states; year of joining      member states; year of joining; cooperation in the framework of the bloc stalled      candidate states; year of application

¹ The Arab Maghreb Union does not participate in the AEC so far, because of opposition by Morocco

REC pillars of the African Economic Community.

Active REC pillars of the African Economic Community.

[edit] Other blocs

Other African regional blocs, not participating in the AEC (their members can be part of other regional blocs which do participate), are the following.

• Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) (also includes most Middle Eastern states)
• Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL)
• Indian Ocean Commission (COI)
• Liptako-Gourma Authority (LGA)
• Mano River Union (MRU)

Their membership is as follows:

GAFTA 1	CEPGL	COI	LGA	MRU
2005 membership:  Egypt  Libya  Morocco  Sudan  Tunisia	1976 membership:  Burundi  Congo-Kinshasa  Rwanda	1984 membership:  Comoros  Madagascar  Mauritius  Seychelles	1970 membership:  Burkina Faso  Mali  Niger	1973 membership:  Liberia  Sierra Leone Joined later: 1980:  Guinea

¹ Only African GAFTA members are listed.
GAFTA is the only bloc not currently stalled.

[edit] Goals

The AEC founded through the Abuja Treaty, signed in 1991 and entered into force in 1994 is envisioned to be created in six stages:

1. (to be completed in 1999) Creation of regional blocs in regions where such do not yet exist
2. (to be completed in 2007) Strengthening of intra-REC integration and inter-REC harmonisation
3. (to be completed in 2017) Establishing of a free trade area and customs union in each regional bloc
4. (to be completed in 2019) Establishing of a continent-wide customs union (and thus also a free trade area)
5. (to be completed in 2023) Establishing of a continent-wide African Common Market (ACM)
6. (to be completed in 2028) Establishing of a continent-wide economic and monetary union (and thus also a currency union) and Parliament

• End of all transition periods: 2034 at the latest

[edit] Stages progress

as of September 2007

• Stage 1: Completed, only UMA members and Sahrawi Republic not participating. Somalia is participating, but no practical implementation as of yet.
• Stage 2: Steady progress, nothing factual to check.
• Stage 3:

	Regional blocs - pillars of the African Economic Community (AEC)
Activity	CEN-SAD	COMESA	EAC	ECCAS		ECOWAS			IGAD	SADC		UMA
				CEMAC	Common	UEMOA	WAMZ	Common		SACU	Common
Free Trade Area	stalled	progressing 1	fully in force	fully in force	proposed for 2007 ?	fully in force		proposed	stalled	fully in force	proposed for 2008	stalled
Customs Union	stalled	proposed for 2008	fully in force	fully in force	proposed for 2011 ?	fully in force		proposed for 2007	stalled	fully in force	proposed for 2010	stalled

¹ Members not yet participating: Angola, DR Congo (in talks to join), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Seychelles (in talks to join), Swaziland (on derogation until SACU gives permission for Swaziland to join the FTA), Uganda (to join very soon)[1]

• Stage 4: no progress yet
• Stage 5: no progress yet
• Stage 6: no progress yet

[edit] Overall progress

		Activities
Regional bloc		Free Trade Area	Customs Union	Economic and monetary union		Free Travel		Political pact	Defence pact
				Single Market	Currency Union	Visa-free	Border-less
AEC		proposed for 2019	proposed for 2019	proposed for 2023	proposed for 2028			proposed for 2028	?
CEN-SAD		proposed for 2010
COMESA		in force 1	proposed for 2008	?	proposed for 2018
EAC		in force	in force	proposed for 2009	proposed for 2009	proposed	?	proposed for 2010
ECCAS	CEMAC	in force	in force	?	in force
	Common	proposed for 2007 ?	proposed for 2011 ?	proposed	proposed	proposed	?		in force
ECOWAS	UEMOA	in force	in force	?	in force
	WAMZ			?	proposed for 2009
	Common	proposed 2	proposed for 2007	?	proposed	in force 1	proposed	proposed	in force
IGAD
SADC	SACU	in force	in force		de-facto in force 1	?
	Common[2]	proposed for 2008 3	proposed for 2010	proposed for 2015	proposed for 2016
UMA

¹ not all members participating yet
² telecommunications, transport and energy - proposed
³ sensitive goods to be covered from 2012

[edit] Comparison between regional blocs

African Economic Community Pillars regional blocs (REC) Area (km²) Population GDP (PPP) ($US) Member states in millions per capita AEC 29,910,442 853,520,010 2,053,706 2,406 53 ECOWAS 5,112,903 251,646,263 342,519 1,361 15 ECCAS 6,667,421 121,245,958 175,928 1,451 11 SADC 9,882,959 233,944,179 737,335 3,152 15 EAC 1,817,945 124,858,568 104,239 1,065 5 COMESA 12,873,957 406,102,471 735,599 1,811 20 IGAD 5,233,604 187,969,775 225,049 1,197 7 Western Sahara 1 266,000 273,008  ?  ? N/A 2 Other African blocs Area (km²) Population GDP (PPP) ($US) Member states in millions per capita CEMAC 3 3,020,142 34,970,529 85,136 2,435 6 SACU 3 2,693,418 51,055,878 541,433 10,605 5 UEMOA 3 3,505,375 80,865,222 101,640 1,257 8 UMA 4 5,782,140 84,185,073 491,276 5,836 5 GAFTA 5 5,876,960 166,259,603 635,450 3,822 5 1 The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is a signatory to the AEC, but not participating in any bloc yet 2 Majority under military occupation by Morocco; some territory administered by the SADR 3 Economic bloc inside a pillar REC 4 Proposed for pillar REC, but objecting participation 5 Non-African members of GAFTA are excluded from figures      smallest value among the blocs compared      largest value among the blocs compared During 2004. Source: CIA World Factbook 2005, IMF WEO Database This box: view • talk • edit

Most active regional blocs (as of 2004, except as noted) Regional bloc1 Area Population GDP ($US) Member states1 km² sq mi in millions (PPP) in millions (nominal) per capita (PPP) per capita (nominal) AU 29,797,500 11,504,879 897,548,804 1,515,000 1,131,850 1,896 1,261 53 ASEAN (2007 est.) 4,497,493 1,736,000 566,500,000 3,115,480 1,173,000 5,541 2,041 10 CACM 422,614 163,172 37,816,598 159,536 84,792 4,219 2,242 5 CARICOM 462,344 178,512 14,565,083 64,219 24,020 4,409 1,649 (14+1)3 CCASG / GCC 2,285,844 882,569 35,869,438 536,223 717,800 14,949 20,011 6 CEFTA 298,148 115,116 28,929,682 222,041 122,001 7,675 4,217 (7+1)3 EU (2007 est.) 4,324,782 1,669,808 497,000,000 14,953,000 16,574,000 28,213 33,482 27 EurAsEC 20,789,100 8,026,720 208,067,618 1,689,137 1,125,528 8,118 5,409 6 EFTA (2007 est.) 529,600 204,480 12,660,623 567,500 743,300 44,828 60,000 4 GAFTA 9,421,946 3,637,834 280,727,416 1,341,298 N/A 4,778 N/A (16+1)3 GUAM 810,506 312,938 63,764,600 456,173 106,469 7,154 1,670 4 NAFTA (2007 est.) 21,783,850 8,410,792 445,000,000 15,857,000 15,723,000 35,491 35,564 3 PARTA 528,151 203,920 7,810,905 23,074 N/A 2,954 N/A (12+2)3 SAARC 5,136,740 1,983,306 1,467,255,669 4,074,031 N/A 2,777 N/A 8 Unasur / Unasul 17,339,153 6,694,684 370,158,470 2,868,430 N/A 7,749 N/A 12 UN and countries for reference2 Area Population GDP ($US) Units4 km² sq mi in millions (PPP) in millions (nominal) per capita (PPP) per capita (nominal) UN 133,178,011 51,420,318 6,411,682,270 55,167,630 48,245,198 8,604 7,524 192 Brazil (2007 est.) 8,514,877 3,287,612 183,888,841 1,804,000 1,067,706 10,073 6,842 27 Canada (2007 est.) 9,984,670 3,855,103 33,000,000 1,274,000 1,406,000 38,200 42,738 13 India (2007 est.) 3,287,590 1,269,346 1,120,000,000 4,726,000 1,089,000 4,182 1,004 35 Japan (2007 est.) 377,873 145,898 127,433,494 4,346,000 4,346,000 33,800 38,341 47 PR China5 (2007 est.) 9,596,960 3,705,407 1,321,851,888 7,043,000 3,420,000 5,300 2,800 33 Russia (2007 est.) 17,075,200 6,592,772 142,500,000 2,076,000 1,286,000 14,600 9,056 83 USA (2007 est.) 9,826,630 3,794,083 302,000,000 13,543,000 13,794,700 43,500 45,594 50 Source: CIA World Factbook 2005, IMF WEO Database, IMF nominal figures for 2006.[citation needed] Legend      smallest value among the blocs compared     largest value among the blocs compared Footnotes 1 Including data only for full and most active members. 2 Including the largest five countries by area, population (not #4), GDP (PPP) (not #5), and GDP (nominal) (not #3 or #5). 3 Including non-sovereign autonomous areas of other states. 4 Members or administrative divisions. 5 Data for the People's Republic of China does not include Hong Kong, Macau, or the independent Republic of China (Taiwan) (over which PRC claims sovereignty). This box: view • talk • edit

[edit] See also

This article is part of the series:    History of the African Union

History of Africa

Union of African States

Organisation of African Unity

African Economic Community

Sirte Declaration

Constitutive Act of the African Union

Union Launch

• Economy of Africa
• Economy of the African Union

[edit] References

• A single African currency in our time?

[edit] External links

• African Union Official Website
• South African webpage on RECs
• Pan-African Perspective