The European Commission and the Commission of the African Union expressed on Thursday 27 February in Addis Ababa, at their tenth annual meeting, their shared commitment to take the strategic partnership between the EU and the AU to the next level in order to ensure green and sustainable growth and prosperity on both continents by addressing today's challenges together.
"At the level of the AU, we are ready to strengthen our strategic partnership between our two continents. We meet as partners to face new global challenges and find innovative solutions for our collective security and the progress of our peoples", said AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki, indicating that the main themes of reflection that guided the exchanges "will constitute the axes of our cooperation”. These include democracy, justice and human rights, peace and security, environment and climate change, trade, industry and infrastructure.
He welcomed the fact that the European Commission was represented at the G5 Sahel Summit in Nouakchott, Mauritania, which was dominated by the fight against terrorism. He also stressed that part of Africa's difficulties stem from the effects of climate change, "the scarcity of resources induced by this phenomenon [being] a source of recurrent conflicts, exodus and migration".
"I am convinced that we - the African Union and the European Union - are natural partners. And we have a lot in common. We therefore have a lot to gain if we work closely together, if we exchange experiences and knowledge and if we seek win-win situations", added the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the end of their bilateral talks.
"We have been discussing the free trade area and I can only commend the African Union on this success. Because the two of us, we know that tearing down barriers between Member States for free trade is the best way to prosperity. And we agree that it is also a very interesting project on the level of the European Union and the African Union to open up business opportunities and investment opportunities for investors from both sides", she added.
The thematic round tables, which were attended by a record number of European Commissioners, provided an opportunity, she said, to "listen" to African partners. These themes will be reflected in the proposal for a comprehensive EU strategy with Africa, which on 4 March will kick off a wider consultation process leading up to the EU-AU ministerial meeting in May 2020 in Kigali (Rwanda) and the sixth AU-EU summit in October in Brussels, where both sides will agree on a common approach on common priorities.
"Investment and job creation require stability”, stressed the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. Therefore, he believes that three main principles should be observed: - "What happens in Africa has an impact on us" and it is therefore in the interest of partners to ensure lasting peace and security in Africa; - African solutions to African problems are needed, but "we can help through regional and international organisations”; - we need to adapt to the changing nature of the threats.
Environment and climate change. Both parties agree to: - preparing together for COP26 in Glasgow, with a view to a common approach to adaptation, a subject dear to Africans; - develop rapid responses to natural disasters; - cooperate on energy "avoiding the mistakes we have made", according to Frans Timmermans, to ensure a sustainable energy future for Africa; - increase cooperation in rail transport.
Sustainable growth and jobs. On the basis of the progress achieved by the Joint Working Group, both sides agreed to cooperate on economic, digital and trade issues.
"Both the EU and the AU have a digital strategy. The fundamentals will have to be in place: the infrastructure and skills to allow data to travel. Digitisation will have to place the human at its centre", commented Margrethe Vestager.
To ensure the success of the free trade area, the EU will help by exchanging information on the customs union and the single market.
Both sides agreed to hold a Business Summit in the margins of the AU/EU Summit in October to share experiences and facilitate the development of the African Customs Union and Single Market.
They also decided to strengthen their cooperation in the field of investment.
Peace, security, governance. Both sides reaffirmed their determination to act to tackle global threats such as terrorism and violent extremism, but also to combine the peace and security architecture and the governance architecture to address the root causes of these phenomena.
A joint working group will focus on justice and transitional justice and another on new threats such as cybercrime, the challenges of artificial intelligence, hate speech and ‘fake news’.
Migration, mobility, youth. The relevant EU and AU Commissioners agreed to continue their dialogue on migration and mobility as an 'umbrella framework' within which discussions in existing processes (Rabat or Khartoum processes) will continue.
The EU/AU/UN working group, established in 2014 at the AU/EU Summit in Abidjan, for the protection, assisted voluntary return and reintegration home of migrants stranded in Libya, will be expanded in cooperation with the G5 Sahel. The three migrant centres in Morocco, Mali and Sudan will be made operational.
The following have been identified as new areas for cooperation: health safety, cultural and creative industries, education. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)