Ahead of the ministerial meeting between the European Union and the African Union (AU), held on Wednesday 21 May, a number of EU countries had expressed their desire to develop a new mechanism for monitoring the promises made at summits between the European Union and the African Union. Such a mechanism was agreed on Wednesday by the partners, who undertook, in a joint political declaration, to rapidly define the details of the mechanism (see EUROPE 13645/19).
In a commentary published at the beginning of May by the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), the former EU ambassador to Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Conakry and Zimbabwe, Philippe Van Damme, considers it necessary to rebalance the ‘summit diplomacy’ between the EU and the AU. According to the Belgian diplomat, after 25 years of partnership, the relationship remains marked by a strong asymmetry of power and a persistent lack of credibility in the implementation of commitments made by both sides.
“At the last EU-AU summit (see EUROPE 12894/1), EU leaders were almost inaccessible because of competing agendas, feeding the perception of a lack of interest in a ‘low-priority’ partnership and contradicting the official discourse”, analyses Mr Van Damme.
And he adds: “Both parties also tend to see the EU as the solution provider to AU challenges, leading the EU to consistently overpromise and underdeliver, with weak monitoring mechanisms”.
The former political adviser to the European External Action Service (EEAS) calls for the partners to “reflect” on the “asymmetric power dynamics” in the EU-AU partnership, through the systematic inclusion of non-state actors - notably civil society, the private sector and young people - in decision-making processes.
He advocates “not having pre-chewed sanitised (...) conclusions” in favour of a “more honest exchange”, where “mutual irritations” and “differing priorities” can be discussed openly.
Mr Van Damme recommends a “broad consultative process”, in a “thematic roundtable format” and “pragmatic goals”, with “credible monitoring tools”, to lay the foundations for a “decolonised” and “uninhibited” relationship.
See Mr Van Damme’s full commentary: https://aeur.eu/f/gzd (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)