Pacific: EU becomes the first permanent observer to the Pacific Community

On 1 August 2021, the European Union became the first Permanent Observer to the Pacific Community.

This significant step will support the further development of the EU's partnership with the Pacific region, an increasingly important part of the world. It will help in seizing the opportunities offered by the new European Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, under the new Global Europe instrument, the future Agreement between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Countries and its Pacific Protocol. It also comes at a moment when the EU and its Member States are finalizing the Blue-Green Alliance, and setting the priorities for European Union cooperation in the Pacific for the 2021-2027 financial cycle.

The Pacific Community is the European Union's main implementing partner in the Pacific at regional level, responsible for a portfolio of EU financial projects totalling €244 million since 2007, in particular in the areas of climate change, sustainable development, resilience, oceans, health, gender and human development.