According to the final communiqué of the G7 summit that finished in Taormina, Sicily, close to the African coast, on Saturday 27 May, the security, stability and sustainable development of Africa are big priorities for the heads of state or government of the world's seven richest countries.
However, the initial plan of Italy's Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni of having a separate declaration adopted on Africa and human mobility fell by the wayside, to the disappointment of those who were hoping for a higher level of ambition for a real mid- to long-term vision of relations with Africa.
In the paragraph on Africa, the leaders state that a stable Africa represents a stable environment for investment, and they take note of the upcoming launch of the EU's external investment plan (which is supposed to raise €44 billion in investment in Africa), as they do of the initiative for a partnership with Africa that was planned by the G20 under the German presidency in July. They underline the importance of continuing efforts to expand access to energy in Africa and to support the African Union's Agenda 2063, especially for offering young people a prosperous and sure future. All this will help reduce migration pressure, they state.
The need for urgent action to fight food insecurity, especially in Somalia and Nigeria, is mentioned in a paragraph on food safety and nutrition.
"In a year of greatly-diminished expectations, the G7 have managed to set a new low. The early promise of this summit was crushed by the Trump Administration's hostile negotiating posture and the evident lack of ambition of other leaders", Friedrike Röder from the NGO ONE stated. The NGO also observed that the level of ambition cannot be measured by the mention, in a communiqué, of a few words like "famine" or "sustainable development".
The NGO particularly deplores the lack of agreement on real investment to fight famine and says it is counting on the next EU-Africa summit (in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, at the end of November 2017) on youth employment (see EUROPE 11789, 11788) to show that "the EU is serious about forging a new meaningful partnership with the African continent".
Anger and disappointment. For the S&D Group at the European Parliament, the G7 did not handle African issues effectively. During a visit to Nigeria, S&D Group leader Gianni Pittella and the vice-chair of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Cecile Kyenge (S&D), expressed "anger and disappointment" on Friday 29 May. In a joint press release, they state: "what we saw was a selfish and narrow vision that failed to recognise that investing in Africa is essential for the future of Europe and for all of us".
Pittella said he had "called on the Nigerian authorities to finalise the agreement on returns and readmission [of illegal migrants] from Europe, as well ensuring better control of their borders". However, he also said "the European Commission should put pressure on member states to open legal and safe channels for migrants wanting to come to Europe, especially for students through education programmes such as Erasmus Mundus". (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)