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Cabo Verde is an island nation, part of the Macaronesian group of islands of the Atlantic Ocean and was a former Portuguese colony during the colonial era between 1460 and 1975. In March 2005 former Portuguese president Mário Soares launched a petition urging the European Union to start membership talks with it, saying that Cabo Verde could act as a bridge between Africa, Latin America and the EU.〔(Petition urging EU membership for Cape Verde launched in Portugal ), EUbusiness, 2005-03-17, last visit: 2007-11-02〕 Cabo Verde is 97% Christian and its background is a fusion of African, Asian, European and South American backgrounds, where about 70%〔(CIA - The World Factbook - Cape Verde )〕 is African and mixed. Less than 30% is African,〔 while about 1% is of unmixed European descent. Because of this, Cabo Verdeans find it hard to define themselves as either mixed or Africans. They regard themselves as either ''both'' or as ''unique Cabo Verdeans''. Politically, Cabo Verdeans also worked as part of the Portuguese administration,〔(),〕 with independence leader Amílcar Cabral being part of the colonial administration in Guinea-Bissau and Angola. Cabo Verde's per capita GDP is lower than any of the current member states, accession countries, or candidate countries. However, it is higher than that of some of the EU-designated "potential candidate countries" of the Western Balkans like Bosnia and Herzegovina. In terms of respect of democracy the Freedom house report ranks Cabo Verde top in Africa〔(A Semana online )〕 and again Cabo Verde has a better ranking than that of some designated "potential candidate or member countries" of the EU: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Albania.〔(freedomhouse.org: Combined Average Ratings- Independent Countries, 2007 )〕 Most of the imports and exports of Cabo Verde are for and from the European Union, and it has a service-based economy. Its currency, the escudo, is pegged to the euro.〔(cve4.dvi )〕〔http://www.bcv.cv/_conteudo/noticia/eventos/Cape%20Verde%20RAC%20-%2005.pdf〕 Although the Cabo Verde archipelago is geographically in Africa, there have been similar situations before. Cyprus is an island nation which, despite being geographically in Asia, has already joined both the Council of Europe and the EU. Furthermore, the Cabo Verde islands are part of the same island group as the Canary Islands (part of Spain), Madeira Islands (part of Portugal) and Azores Islands (part of Portugal), known as Macaronesia. There is currently no political recognition by the EU of Cabo Verde as a European state, but unlike in the case of Morocco, there is no formal rejection either. Cabo Verde is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),〔()〕 an African regional bloc with aims for internal integration similar to those of the EU, and even though it has not yet participated in all of its activities, it cannot have membership in both organizations at the same time. It is also a member of the African Union, an organization aiming for a common currency in Africa, a single defense force for the African continent and an African Union head of state. Recently Cabo Verde has been distancing itself from its regional African partners and forging closer ties with the EU. In a move signaling its preparation to loosen ties with the West African regional bloc, the government of Cabo Verde in September 2006 declared its intentions on suspending the ECOWAS free movement of goods and trade. Prime Minister José Maria Neves announced that his country will start imposing restrictions on the entrance of citizens from all ECOWAS member states. The Cabo Verde government soon will present ECOWAS with proposals for "special status" instead of full membership.〔(afrol News - Cape Verde wants special status at ECOWAS )〕 This is also an effort to limit the recent rise of illegal immigration of other West African nationals using Cabo Verde and its proximity to the Canary Islands as a springboard towards Europe. Cabo Verde is also a member of the Generalised System of Preferences with further incentives for good governance (GSP+). Complementing Cabo Verde's efforts to join the EU, the Macaronesian group of islands (the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands) are throwing their support for their regional brethren.〔(Cabo Verde 24 - News )〕 The Atlantic group of Islands are pushing for an entrance of Cabo Verde into the EU under a special status.〔(EU, Cape Verde display different interests in integration ), ''Afrol News'', 2006-03-30〕 == References == 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cape Verde–European Union relations」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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