On Thursday 13 March in Cape Town, the European Union and South Africa will hold their first bilateral summit since November 2018 (see EUROPE 12138/13). The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, António Costa, will meet the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, for discussions focusing on bilateral cooperation, regional stability and global geopolitical issues.
Ukraine, the Middle East conflict and support for multilateralism will be at the heart of the discussions. The EU, which regards South Africa as a strategic partner on the African continent, is keen to strengthen its cooperation with Pretoria, particularly with a view to the EU/African Union summit due to be held in the second half of 2025, but also in the context of South Africa’s presidency of the G20.
“We had a first summit with South Africa in 2007. A lot of things have changed between now and then, and today we are in a very particular geopolitical context, which makes it even more important and pertinent”, stressed a senior European official on Tuesday 11 March, emphasising the important preparatory work carried out with the partners to ensure the success of the summit.
Strengthening economic ties. The summit will provide an opportunity to launch negotiations on the first-ever Clean Trade and Investment Partnership (CTIP) between the EU and South Africa.
The content of the agreement will depend on the forthcoming negotiations, but the EU hopes to create a favourable environment for investment in clean technologies, with hydrogen at the forefront, according to another senior European official. The European Commission wants to conclude the negotiations before the end of the year.
This is also part of EU efforts to move closer to partners with shared values, with a view to sourcing raw materials and opening up new markets for its products.
South African and European leaders are also expected to open discussions on a memorandum of understanding on critical raw materials. This is the 14th partnership of this type that the EU has negotiated with third countries, in the hope of securing its supply of critical and strategic raw materials.
Development. The discussions are also expected to address the consequences of US budget cuts to international aid, which are affecting South Africa and other African countries. The EU, the world’s largest donor of development aid, is looking at ways of mitigating some of the consequences of these cuts.
On Thursday, Ms von der Leyen is due to unveil a new investment package via the ‘Global Gateway’ initiative, aimed in particular at supporting vaccine production and strengthening pharmaceutical supply chains.
This package should also mobilise funding for strategic infrastructures, in particular those linked to the ‘North-South Corridor’, which connects Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to South African ports. This vital road link facilitates the transport of Congolese minerals to international markets.
Regional stability. Discussions will also focus on the crisis in the east of the DRC (see EUROPE 13586/6). The Commission intends to explore with Pretoria ways of supporting regional peace processes.
A joint statement is expected at the end of the discussions. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit and Léa Marchal)