The ACP and the ACP-EU Council of Ministers met in Lomé from the 27th May to the 1st of June 2018 in order to discuss the implementation of the current ACP-EU partnership agreement. The meeting was co-chaired by Ekaterina Zaharieva, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria (currently holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU), and by Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica.
On the ACP side the Council of Ministers adopted a decision giving mandate to the committee of Ambassadors to make preparations for the official launch of the commencement of negotiations with the European Union in a Post-Cotonou Partnership Agreement.
The ACP group of states and the EU then adopted a joint declaration on climate change, in light of the Paris agreement of December 2015.
Ministers also discussed the future of the relations between ACP countries and the EU, as the current ACP-EU partnership agreement is due to expire in 2020 and ways to strengthen cooperation in international fora on issues of common interest.
With regards to migration, ministers took stock of the implementation of the Valletta action plan, the EU emergency trust fund for Africa, and the ACP-EU migration dialogue.
The joint Council also discussed economic issues, such as development finance cooperation, trade cooperation, and the European external investment plan.
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