“…Moreover, the asymmetrical relationship has been strengthened by the EU's actions deconstructing the ACP Group and undermining ACP Group solidarity (Slocum‐Bradley, ; Ngangjoh‐Hodu and Matambalya, ; Adebajo and Whiteman, ). The few attempts to promote norms – for instance, democracy and human rights (Del Biondo, ; Crawford, ), democratic participation (Carbone, ), gender equality (Debusscher, ), regional integration (Farrell, ), and sustainable development (Flint, ) – have resulted, in some cases, in a blatant gap between rhetoric and reality and, in other cases, in rather paternalistic overtones by the EU. For instance, Storey () admits that in the EU's approach to the EPAs, there may be elements of a normative approach – in fact, the EU may genuinely want to diffuse norms rather than promote its commercial interests – but ‘the norms of neo‐liberal governance being promoted may not correspond to the developmental needs of … [ACP] economies’ (Storey, : 343).…”