Cooperation between Regional Economic Communities and the Integration process in Africa: Legal Appraisal of the Stakes and Opportunities

Many experts in regional integration are convinced that, in order to develop, Africa had to launch a programme of regional economic cooperation among its nations and Regional Economic Communities (RECs). This is because cooperation within and between RECs is considered as a key factor for development and integration in the continent. It is by dint of this fact that most scholars agree that cooperation within and between RECs must prevail amidst the numerous challenges plaguing the integration process in Africa.  By selecting eight RECs as building bloc for the African Economic Community (AEC), the African Union agrees that cooperation is an indispensable means through which regional integration can be attained. This work seeks to give a legal appraisal of the stakes and opportunity of cooperation between RECs for integration in Africa. To unravel this, we carefully kempt and analysed the contents of some relevant legal instruments and some literature around the subject. The results of our analysis suggest that, the timid level of cooperation within the African continent is a major challenge to the integration process and therefore the challenges to cooperation must be dealt with if Africa must achieve the desired level of integration. Informed by this conclusion, we submit inter alia that, the AEC should adopt a protocol founded on “one country, one community membership” of the eight recognised RECs. We also avouch for a rationalisation of RECs in each sub-region through harmonisation.