Promoting economic integration in West Africa
On 28 May 1975 in Lagos (Nigeria), 15 West African countries concluded the treaty establishing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS in English, CEDEAO in French and Portuguese) to promote economic cooperation and integration through the harmonisation of its members’ national policies; Cabo Verde, independent since 1975, joined the Community in 1976. Morocco has been an observer member since 2005; in 2017, ECOWAS agreed in principle to Morocco’s request for membership, but this membership has yet to be realised, in particular because its economic impact on the current member states has not been well assessed (ECOWAS and Morocco also have different views on the status of Western Sahara). Tunisia has been an observer member since 2017. Mauritania left ECOWAS in 2000 to concentrate on its membership of the Arab Maghreb Union – however, it maintained ties with its sub-Saharan neighbours and signed an association agreement with ECOWAS in 2017.
ECOWAS is one of the eight regional economic communities (RECs) recognised by the African Union (AU). The ECOWAS Commission President currently chairs the Inter-REC coordination platform.
Transitional military governments now lead four out of its 15 Member States: Mali (after two coups in August 2020 and May 2021), Guinea (a coup in September 2021), Burkina Faso (two coups in January and September 2022), and Niger (a coup in July 2023) (see Figure 1 and Box 1). In addition, attempted or alleged coups in Guinea-Bissau (February 2022 and December 2023) and Sierra Leone (November 2023) have put their institutions to the test.
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