The choice of venue for the informal meeting of EU trade ministers on Monday 14 February was symbolic for the French minister, Franck Riester: “Marseille stands at the crossroads of trade and is an open door to Africa”, he said.
During their meeting in the Phocaean city, the ministers called on the European Commission to “mobilise all the tools at its disposal to accelerate the deepening of trade and investment between the European Union and Africa”.
For them, one of the priorities in terms of relations is the strengthening of value chains on both sides of the Mediterranean. Investment in the ecological transition of the African continent is also a shared objective.
In order to achieve this, they believe that there is a need to deepen both regional and bilateral trade and investment agreements that “enable African companies to integrate themselves in global value chains and to find growth and job creation opportunities”.
The ‘Global Gateway’ initiative presented by the European Commission in December (see EUROPE 12844/7) should also be a pillar of investment in Africa. Last week, the Commission announced over €150 billion in support for Africa for strategic infrastructure projects, industrial projects, as well as for health, youth and education projects (see EUROPE 12888/1).
Ministers have also called for technical support to be provided for the African Continental Free Trade Area. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)