The 27 member-states of the European Union, meeting in Brussels, Monday reached an agreement on a future special partnership with Cape Verde, which aims to strengthen and boost ties between Cape Verde and the EU.

The EU’s Council for General and Foreign Relations, which brought together on Monday and Tuesday almost 100 foreign, cooperation and defense ministers, adopted conclusions based on a communication from the European Commission on the future of relations between the EU and Cape Verde, which will become “special.”

The “special partnership” will boost political dialogue and economic convergence, going beyond setting up a framework of mutual interests, according to the document adopted by the Council Tuesday, which highlights “the special and strong historical relations between the two parties.”

Good governance, security and stability, regional integration, the knowledge and information society and the fight against poverty are some of the pillars that will regulate the relations between Cape Verde and the EU in the future.

The development of EU-Cape Verde relations will from now on be based on democracy, good governance, respect for human rights and respect for the Rule of Law.

Cape Verde’s special status includes a “plan of action” that brings together the logic of bringing Europe and Africa together, opening up a precedent for the Cotonou Agreements, between the EU 27 and Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP).

As well as defining financing processes, via the European Development Fund (EDF) and with the blessing of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the agreement also outlines the creation of a commission for supervising the Special Partnership.