Foundation At a summit meeting in December 1981, the leaders of the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa (French acronym UDEAC) agreed in principle to form a wider economic community of Central African states. ECCAS was established on 18 October 1983 by the UDEAC members,
São Tomé and Príncipe and the members of the
Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL established in 1976 by the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Burundi and
Rwanda).
Angola remained an observer until 1999, when it became a full member. ECCAS began functioning in 1985, but was inactive for several years because of financial difficulties (non-payment of membership fees by the member states) and
the conflict in the
Great Lakes area. The war in the DR Congo was particularly divisive, as Rwanda and Angola fought on opposing sides. ECCAS has been designated a pillar of the
African Economic Community (AEC), but formal contact between the AEC and ECCAS was only established in October 1999 due to the inactivity of ECCAS since 1992 (ECCAS signed the Protocol on Relations between the AEC and the
regional blocs (RECs) in October 1999). The AEC again confirmed the importance of ECCAS as the major economic community in Central Africa at the third preparatory meeting of its Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in June 1999. Presided over by President
Pierre Buyoya of Burundi, the summit was held in
Libreville on 6 February 1998. The
Heads of State and
Government present at the summit committed themselves to the resurrection of the organisation. The Prime Minister of
Angola also indicated that his country would become a fully fledged member. The summit approved a budget of 10 million
French francs for 1998 and requested the Secretariat to: • Obtain assistance from
UNECA to evaluate the operational activities of the secretariat; to evaluate the contributions due by member states; and the salaries and salary structures of employees of the secretariat • Convene an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers as soon as possible to evaluate the recommendations of UNECA; the Council should then draw up proposals for a new administrative structure for the secretariat and revised contributions due by each member state. The summit also requested countries in the region to find lasting and peaceful solutions to their political problems. The
chairman also appealed to member countries to support the complete lifting of the
embargo placed on his country. During the
inauguration of President
Bongo of
Gabon on 21 January 1999, a mini-summit of ECCAS leaders was held. The leaders discussed problems concerning the functioning of ECCAS and the creation of a third Deputy Secretary-General post, designated for Angola. Angola formally joined the Community during this summit.
Recent events The 10th Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government took place in
Malabo in June 2002. This Summit decided to adopt a protocol on the establishment of a Network of Parliamentarians of Central Africa (REPAC) and to adopt the standing orders of the Council for Peace and Security in Central Africa (COPAX), including the Defence and Security Commission (CDS), Multinational Force of Central Africa (FOMAC) and the Early Warning Mechanism of Central Africa (MARAC).
Rwanda was also officially welcomed upon its return as a full member of ECCAS. On January 24, 2003, the
European Union (EU) concluded a financial agreement with ECCAS and CEMAC, conditional on ECCAS and CEMAC merging into one organization, with ECCAS taking responsibility for the peace and security of the sub-region through its security pact COPAX. CEMAC is not one of the pillars of the
African Economic Community, but its members are associated with it through Economic Community of Central African States. The EU had multiple
peacekeeping missions in the
DR Congo:
Operation Artemis (June to September 2003), EUPOL Kinshasa (from October 2003) and EUSEC DR Congo (from May 2005). The 11th Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government in
Brazzaville during January 2004 welcomed the fact that the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of a Council for Peace and Security in Central Africa (COPAX) had received the required number of ratifications to enter into force. The Summit also adopted a declaration on the implementation of
NEPAD in Central Africa as well as a declaration on gender equality. On September 23, 2009, pursuant to Presidential Determination 2009-26 and as published in the Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 183 (Presidential Documents 48363) ECCAS was made eligible under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act for the furnishing of defense articles and defense services. This makes the ECCAS organization and (theoretically) the countries under their charter eligible for U.S. Foreign Military Sales Program (i.e. government to government sales and assistance) pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act and for other such U.S. assistance as directed by a USG contract to U.S. industry for such support pursuant to the (ITAR). In 2007,
Rwanda decided to leave the organisation in order to remove overlap in its membership in regional trade blocks and so that it could better focus on its membership in the
EAC and
COMESA. Rwanda was a founding member of the organisation and had been a part of it since 18 October 1981. It subsequently rejoined ECCAS in 2016. On 1 September 2020, Gilberto Da Piedade Verissimo of Angola was appointed President of the ECCAS Commission with
Francisca Tatchouop Belobe as vice-President. In response to the
2023 Gabonese coup d'état, the ECCAS condemned the military use of force and asked for restoration of constitutional order. It also suspended Gabon's membership in the bloc on 5 September and moved its headquarters from Libreville to
Malabo,
Equatorial Guinea. On 7 June 2025, Rwanda announced its departure from the ECCAS, citing the bloc's "instrumentalisation" by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ==Economic integration==