About: EU-Africa relations
Vaccine waiver battle rumbles into EU–African Union summit
EU and African officials are still at loggerheads over whether to waive intellectual property protection for COVID vaccines ahead of a meeting between EU and African Union foreign ministers meet in Rwanda next week.
Turkey’s Erdogan puts Europe’s colonial past at heart of pivot to Africa
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised Europe’s colonial past as he launched a new pitch for his country to rival Europe in the race to increase trade and investment ties with Africa.
EU commits to fund African vaccine hubs
The European Union will provide financial support for vaccine manufacture on the African continent with the specific aim of supplying Africa, as it seeks to fight back against accusations of 'vaccine nationalism'.
Bye-bye regional implementation, hello variable geometry
The agreement between the EU and Kenya to the implement the Economic Partnership Agreement originally planned with the entire East African Community unties the Gordian knot between its supporters and opponents among African countries in the short term, but has long-term consequences beyond the divergence of tariffs towards the EU, writes Frederik Stender.
Africans do not yearn for Europe
The recent events in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta may have suggested otherwise, but (most of) Africa does not yearn to come to Europe, writes Oriol Puig.
Hungary to block EU’s Africa-Pacific trade and development deal
Hungary cannot approve a new European Union trade and development accord with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries because it would bring more migrants into the bloc, the country's foreign minister said on Thursday (20 May).
The EU carbon tax could create a new era of trade wars
Europe's carbon border levy to increase the cost of carbon-intensive goods entering the EU could push the Global South towards less restrictive trade deals, ultimately causing more harm to the environment, writes Muhammed Magassy.
Von der Leyen calls for African green deal
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Friday called for the creation of an African Green Deal which, like the European Green Deal, would be the "centrepiece" for Africa's recovery.
Successor to EU-Africa Cotonou treaty marks ‘turning point’, says EU
The EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific Community on Thursday (15 April) finalised the successor to the Cotonou agreement, bringing a close to two and a half years of negotiations and repeated delays.
The EU in Africa: will Member States follow the lead?
2021 could prove to be a special year for Euro-African relations. Since last year’s agenda was essentially postponed, a lot is now on the table: a proposed new partnership, a EU-AU leaders’ summit, and the finalization of the post-Cotonou agreement....
Spain presents new EU-Africa development strategy
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said his country has aspirations to help create a new EU development strategy in Africa, EURACTIV's partner EFE reports.
Healthcare should be at heart of EU-Africa partnership, say MEPs
EU-Africa relations should prioritise healthcare as part of a new partnership of equals, EU lawmakers said as they set out their priorities for talks on a ‘strategic partnership’ between the two continents.
EU-Africa relations must step up on defence, says Portuguese presidency
Portugal's defence minister wants to strengthen political dialogue between the European Union and African decision-makers, which he believes is insufficient despite the fact that most European military missions are in Africa.
Don’t forget local authorities in EU-Africa relations
As the EU and African Union seek to make up for lost time in 2020 by accelerating talks on a new ‘strategic partnership’ covering political and economic cooperation one of the risks is that the talks take place in a vacuum at high political level with little regard for local communities.
EU-Africa partnership must reflect ‘realities of African agriculture’
Future agrifood partnerships between the EU and Africa take into account the realities of farming in Africa, especially in the context of a drive for a greener transition, agrifood stakeholders have warned.
‘Stars are aligned’ for EU-African relations
The EU’s plans to strike a ‘strategic partnership’ with Africa were one the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Portuguese government, which holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, is anxious to conclude the agenda by the summer.
EU and Africa must ‘co–operate as equals’, MEPs say
Europe should move away from a donor-recipient relationship with Africa and cooperate as equals instead, EU lawmakers have said in a new report adopted on Thursday (28 January).
Partnership with a purpose: EU-Africa relations in 2021
The EU’s plans to strike a ‘strategic partnership’ with Africa were one the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. After the European Commission set out its stall in a March 2020 strategic paper, summits were cancelled and it is unclear whether EU and African Union leaders will agree on an agenda with the ambition needed for a genuine ‘strategic partnership’ this year.
CAP gets too much flak for effects on developing countries, says expert
Critics of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy’s (CAP) for its effect on developing African countries have an exaggerated view of its importance outside Europe, although some specific areas and particular products remain a cause for concern, according to a CAP expert.
EU-Africa partnership needed for transformation of food systems, says experts
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the need for EU-African collaboration is more important than ever in the drive to strengthen and transform food systems, but care must be taken to make it an equitable partnership, experts have stressed.
Time for a global Green New Deal
The EU needs a ‘global’ Green New Deal that ends the West's hypocritical relationship with overseas fossil fuel investment, writes Muhammad Magassy.
EU agrifood relations with Africa: what lies ahead?
The European Union is reshaping its approach to Africa, hoping to promote long-term sustainable food systems and help their people cope with the side-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
African leaders nix EU-AU summit as tensions simmer
Simmering institutional tensions between the EU and the African Union resulted in the last-minute cancellation of a ‘mini-summit’ between European Union and African leaders planned for Wednesday (9 December).