On Wednesday 23 May, the European Commission and African Union (AU) Commission signed a memorandum of understanding on peace and security. The memorandum, which they signed in Brussels, is as sign of their determination to step up their cooperation.
The strengthening of this area of cooperation was among the priorities identified by the fifth Africa-Europe summit, which was also the first AU-EU summit, in Abidjan last November (see EUROPE 11916).
The memorandum was signed by High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and African Union Commission President Moussa Faki Mahamat during the meeting of these twin institutions – the ninth meeting of its kind (see EUROPE 12022).
Speaking to press, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker underlined the importance of cooperation between the EU and Africa – "this young continent that has the future ahead of it". And he added: "together, we will be 1.8 billion people by 2050. The future of the world depends on good cooperation between our 83 countries".
Mentioning the many subjects discussed with his counterpart – African youth, the growth of the digital economy, and agricultural policy – Juncker admitted that migration had also been addressed. "But this is not the only issue. African-European unity goes beyond the migration inner circle, which is only a detail. It involves bringing a partnership of equals to fruition", he said.
Alongside him, Faki said that the memorandum of understanding on peace and security aimed at "formalising a partnership that has existed for many years", as shown especially by the AU mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is "supported substantially by the EU".
He also said he had discussed the international situation with Juncker. "We are committed to multilateralism, and we are concerned about the trend to question the central place of the UN, whether it be about the environment or the Iranian nuclear programme", he said.
Meetings were due to continue on Wednesday afternoon and on Thursday 24 June, with clusters of European and African commissioners. The clusters were due to discuss how to strengthen resilience, peace, security and governance, and also other priorities like investing in economies and people, or mobility and migration. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)