Since 2016 the EU has an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with six partners from the Southern African Development Community (SADC): Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa. Under the Agreement, the EU and the partner countries open up their goods markets for bilateral imports, to varying degrees. Liberalisation of services trade and investment may be negotiated in the future.
This evaluation, requested by the European Commission, was undertaken over the period February 2023 to September 2024. and analyses the economic, social and environmental, and human rights (including labour rights) effects which the EPA had since its application in the various Parties. In terms of evaluation criteria, it reviews the effectiveness, impact, efficiency, coherence and relevance of the EPA and its implementation. It also comprises a number of case studies to illustrate or add detail to broader findings.
Download main documents related to the evaluation:
- Final report (September 2024):
- Full report (3 volumes)
- Executive summary - deutsch - français - português
- Draft Final Report (March 2024):
- Interim Report (December 2023):
- Inception Report (June 2023):
- Terms of Reference and Evaluation Roadmap (prepared by the Commission):
- Evaluation Roadmap (June 2023)
- Terms of Reference (September 2022)