Cooperation between the West and Russia is progressing as announced. At the same time, foundations have been laid to rejuvenate and boost links between Europe and Africa.
Impossible to circumvent Russia in mastering space. In several crucial areas, cooperation between Russia, Europe and the US has never really been suspended, and for a very simple reason - it would have been impossible. Let me add the domain of the knowledge and conquest of space to the considerations that I've previously made in this column. Since 1994, the US and Russia have worked very actively together. Everything that concerns the domain of space is in fact down to US-Russian cooperation (with participation from Europe, Canada and Japan to a greater or lesser extent). At the time of writing, three Russian astronauts and two American are circling the earth together at a speed of 27,000 km per hour. Without the close cooperation with Russia, the US would not currently be able to act effectively in the domain of space. President Obama was aware of this from the outset - no quarrels in this framework, he had underlined at the start of the Crimea crisis. As for the nuclear domain, I have previously stressed that the differences that have been overcome and the progress that is now ongoing could result in the removal of all nuclear weapons from the world - strengthening international cooperation must therefore be added for the knowledge and mastery of space. Of course, fresh disagreements and rivalries will come up, while old points of antagonism will continue - for competition reasons or others - but it will be easier to iron them out.
Euro-African cooperation boosted if… The boost to Euro-African cooperation comes against the backdrop just described. The boost is encouraging at a time when, in Europe, pessimism and discontent predominate. The conclusions of the fourth EU-Africa summit have laid the foundations for a future based on reciprocal discipline and commitments - EUROPE 11053 had several pages of coverage on this. The outlook is positive and encouraging - from the political and economic point of view, but also from the cultural and artistic one, because the reconstruction of the mausoleums in Timbuktu (a wonder of world heritage) is under way and making progress (despite the risks of terrorism persisting).
Europe's contempt? The Euro-African outlook is therefore encouraging, except if…
Except if Achille Mbembe's contemptuous tone with regard to Europe is to be taken seriously. He is not a personality that can be ignored - he is the author of many post-colonial publications and is the director of a famous research institute in Johannesburg (South Africa). Interviewed by the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir, he has informed us that Europe's attitude with regard to Africa is made up of “calculated ignorance, misplaced pride and, when racism is added to this mix, evident stupidity”. He then adds: “Europe is on the way to being downgraded. Having long exploited the rest of the world, it is hit by the syndrome of the failure of old age (…). Africans would do better to leave it to itself and to look elsewhere.”
If Mbembe was right, the situation would be simple. These inept Europeans would have no reason to worry about illegal immigrants who try to get into the EU, nor the abilities to save them, and Africans would be taking the wrong route in seeking asylum in Europe. The recent EU-African summit adopted an ambitious and detailed action plan to tackle the tragedies that occur so frequently in the Mediterranean. The people responsible for these tragedies are of course not those who call for help, but the murderous traffickers who exploit men, women and children while themselves being paid great amounts of money, before abandoning the men, women and children in the middle of the sea. Africans must themselves reject Mbembe's demagoguery - and they must do so radically. Those who would possibly agree with him must also accept his conclusion and reject any new agreement between Africa and Europe - an agreement to which Africa is committed despite its domestic difficulties that arouse increasing protest and discontent among its population.
I'd like to be excused for the slightly exaggerated tone in what I've just said but I believe that too much is demanded of Europe. The actions and desires of the external world can be understood - but the attitude of some people and the bodies of the EU itself that criticise Brussels for not being sufficiently open to the outside world is not acceptable. Europe is the most generous entity in the world - from several points of view. It has reached its limits and this needs to be understood.
(FR)