THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES (ECOWAS): RESULTS OF 50 YEARS OF FUNCTIONING

Introduction. The article analyzes the advantages and challenges of integration cooperation between the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) over five decades of functioning. ECOWAS is one of the most well-known and dynamically developing integration agreements on the African continent, one of the "pillars" of the emerging African Continental Free Trade Area. The author analyzes the main stages of deepening economic integration in West Africa, from a free trade area to the creation of a monetary union with a common currency proposed by 2027.
Materials and methods. The author uses the analytical methods of processing statistical information as well as methods of generalizations, synthesis and comparative analysis. Literature on the topic of the study from a database of the World Bank, UNCTAD and the International Trade Center are also used.
Results of the study. A study has been conducted to determine the impact of deepening integration interaction on the dynamics of regional and national GDP and per capita incomes. Using the graphic material, the dynamics of the total exports and imports of ECOWAS countries in comparison with global indicators, as well as the dynamics of mutual exports and the share of mutual exports in the total exports of ECOWAS over a 20-year period were analyzed. The author also analyzed the dynamics of FDI inflows into the economies of participating countries to assess the level of investment attractiveness of ECOWAS.
Discussion and conclusion. The main conclusions obtained by the author in the framework of the study: ECOWAS has moved from a free trade area to a customs union based on partial liberalization of customs duties and the introduction of a common customs tariff since 2015; the formation of a common market continues within the framework of achieved freedom of trade in goods and free movement of persons, as well as the creation of a monetary union based on harmonization of macroeconomic policies, although with repeated violations of previously set deadlines and non-fulfillment by individual countries of their obligations. Such positive effects have been achieved due to deepening integration interaction as a more dynamic growth of regional GDP and national GDP of a number of states; deepening participation in the international division of labor; increased investment attractiveness of the participating countries. However, there are still many challenges associated with the influence of objective and subjective, internal and external factors. These are: maintaining a low level of economic development of countries and a low level of well-being of the population; differentiation between countries in terms of macroeconomic indicators, which requires a transition to a multi-speed integration model; maintaining the raw material orientation of the commodity structure of exports; maintaining a low level of economic interdependence, which means that mutual trade relations are of low importance to ECOWAS countries. Taking into account the above, it can be concluded that the ECOWAS countries will not be able to achieve the goal of introducing a common currency to 2027, while maintaining a low degree of readiness of national economies and a low level of convergence.

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