New milestone for the Spanish presidency with the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Kenya

Family photo of the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Kenya

The Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union achieved a new milestone today with the signing of the EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement. The main objective of the Agreement is to liberalise trade between the EU and Kenya, eliminating tariffs and creating new opportunities. In addition, a chapter on cooperation to improve the competitiveness of the Kenyan economy has been included.

The Agreement was signed in Nairobi with Rebecca Miano, Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Investment, Trade and Industry, and Xiana Méndez, Kenya's Secretary of State for Trade, and Henriette Geiger, EU Ambassador to Kenya, on behalf of the European Union. The signing ceremony was also attended by Ursula Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and William Ruto, President of Kenya.

The Secretary of State for Trade said "the agreement, which will be an important boost for trade in goods, contains important elements of development and cooperation. It is the EU's most ambitious sustainability agreement with an African country. With this agreement we are contributing to the expansion and diversification of EU trade relations, one of the fundamental priorities of the Spanish presidency".

A pioneering agreement on sustainability

The main objective of the Economic Partnership Agreement is to liberalise trade between the EU and Kenya. The agreement will provide free access to the EU market by eliminating tariffs and quotas on all Kenyan exports of goods except arms.

For its part, Kenya, taking into account the different levels of development, will open its market partially and gradually to EU imports. Thus, Kenya will benefit from transitional periods and the exclusion of sensitive products from liberalisation.

The EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement is the first agreement with a developing country to implement the EU's new approach to trade and sustainable development. The agreement contains important sustainability commitments, including binding provisions on labour, gender equality, the environment and climate change. This is the EU's most ambitious agreement with an African country on this issue.

The Agreement aims to implement the provisions of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and the East African Community (EAC) partner states bilaterally with Kenya, whose negotiations were concluded in 2014 but which could not enter into force as it was not approved and ratified by all EAC members. The new EU-Kenya agreement will be open for accession by the other EAC countries.

After the signing, the text will be forwarded to the European Parliament for approval. The agreement will enter into force when Kenya and the EU ratify it.

Trade policy milestones of the Spanish presidency

One of the main priorities during the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union has been to make progress with negotiations of free trade agreements that had begun and in signing those that had been concluded.

With this EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement, the Spanish presidency has managed to conclude the signing of three bilateral trade agreements: the Modernisation Agreement with Chile, which was signed on 13 December, and the Free Trade Agreement with New Zealand, signed in July.

Through these Agreements, the diversification of supply chains and export markets will be enhanced and new trade and investment opportunities will be generated.

Africa, a priority region for the EU and Spain

Kenya is one of the priority countries within the 'Horizon Africa' strategy that sets the trade and investment policy of the Secretary of State for Trade with the African continent.

This 'Horizon Africa' strategy, which was launched in 2020, has recently been updated. The objective is to continue increasing the presence of Spanish companies and to promote investments in Africa through two axes: institutional and financial support. In addition, one of the new items introduced in this revision has been to give priority to projects linked to the green transition and the circular economy.

Another purpose of updating this strategy has been to align it with the European Union's Global Gateway initiative, which promotes private investment in projects of interest to African countries linked to the development of physical infrastructure in the digital, climate and energy, transport, health, education and research sectors. It is also framed to ensure economic security in the face of uncertainties in the global geopolitical context, as well as to develop stronger value chains in Africa.

Non official translation