Major achievements of the EU:

The major achievements of the EU from the standpoint of the impact of the various actions taken, on the economics of the member countries include:

i. The EU promotes specialization among member countries such that each member tends to specialize in their line of comparative cost advantage. This leads to efficient utilization of productive resources, greater output and improved standards of living within the sub-region.

ii. The EU provides a large market for the products of member countries. This encourages large-scale production with its concomitant economies of scale and increased employment opportunities.

iii. The removal of quotas and tariffs leads to keener competition in the larger market. This leads to effective resources allocation as a result of which factors of production receive higher incomes.

The EU has been relevant to the development aspirations of countries in West African sub-region under the Yaounde and Lome Conventions in the following ways:

i. Financing rural-electrification projects.

ii. Providing grants to improve health facilities.

iii. Encouraging industrial cooperation through the transfer of technology, and funding research programmes to boost industrial activities.

Note that the Lome Convention is a series of trade and economic co- operations and agreements between the EU and countries from the African, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP).