REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN CENTRAL AFRICA

The briefing examines regional integration in Central Africa, contrasting the deeper economic and monetary integration of the Central Africa Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) with the broader, more politically focused Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). It highlights the influence of France and the EU, the economic role of Nigeria, and the complexities of Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations, particularly regarding revenue loss from tariffs and the asymmetric development levels of member states.

• Central Africa's regional integration is split between two primary bodies: CEMAC, which focuses on trade and economic issues, and ECCAS, which is the primary focus for political issues.
• CEMAC has a more advanced integration agenda than ECCAS, featuring a monetary union with a regional Central Bank (BEAC), a common external tariff, and the harmonisation of business law through the OHADA Treaty.
• The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) was selected by the African Union as the building block for the Africa Economic Community (AEC) by 2028, though it struggles with a lack of a clear-cut integration agenda.
• France maintains significant influence over the region's integration and monetary stability through the French Treasury's control of the monetary union and the pegging of the CFA franc to the Euro.
• Nigeria exerts primarily economic influence in the region; for example, Cameroon trades more with Nigeria than with any other member of the regional economic communities it belongs to.
• Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations face challenges due to the risk of substantial government revenue loss from the removal of import taxes, particularly for LDCs like Chad, Congo, CAR, and Sao Tome & Principe, who may see a minimum revenue decrease of 14.1%.
• Intra-regional trade remains low, below 5%, hampered by non-trade barriers such as long customs clearance times at the Douala Port in Cameroon, which can take 19 days.

APA

Halleson, D. N. (2007). REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN CENTRAL AFRICA. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/dttp_trade_briefing_15.pdf

Chicago

Halleson, Durrel N. REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN CENTRAL AFRICA. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2007. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/dttp_trade_briefing_15.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Halleson |first1=Durrel N. |title=REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN CENTRAL AFRICA |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=July 2007 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/dttp_trade_briefing_15.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{halleson2007regional, author = {Halleson, Durrel N.}, title = {{REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN CENTRAL AFRICA}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2007}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/dttp_trade_briefing_15.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }