On 16 December 2025, the World Customs Organization WCO advised that in 2025, the European Union EU-WCO Rules of Origin RoO Africa Programme had made a significant contribution to the finalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA RoO, the alignment of key African origin regimes and the development of RoO communities of practice. These communities bring together Customs administrations, other government agencies and business support organisations across all official regions of the African Union AU. Supporting the uptake of origin self-certification has now become one of the programmes priority activities.
On 02 December 2025, the steering committee which includes beneficiaries of the EU-WCO RoO Africa Programme met to review the work carried out in 2025 and to discuss the way forward. The programme aims to facilitate and strengthen intra-African trade, as well as trade between Africa and Europe and other regions of the world. It represents a substantive joint effort by the EU and the WCO, working in partnership with key stakeholders, to support African partners in implementing the AfCFTA.
Throughout the year, the programme engaged all AfCFTA State Parties and six of the eight Regional Economic Communities RECs recognised by the AU. The 2025 steering committee meeting was attended by representatives of the EU and the WCO, the customs administrations of Cte dIvoire, Kenya and Mauritius, the AfCFTA Secretariat and the Secretariats of seven RECs: the Arab Maghreb Union AMU, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa COMESA, the East African Community EAC, the Economic Community of Central African States ECCAS, the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS, the Southern African Development Community SADC and the West African Economic and Monetary Union WAEMU.
