EU-Africa - Bringing the dialogue forward

The European Commission has adopted a Communication on 'The EU-Africa dialogue'. The Communication is adopted at a crucial time three months after the EU-Africa Summit was postponed and as African leaders are preparing to meet in Maputo, Mozambique for the first meeting of the African Union (AU) since it was launched one year ago in Durban. The Communication assesses the state of the EU-Africa dialogue and suggests ways of bringing it forward.

Poul Nielson, Commissioner responsible for Development and Humanitarian Aid said: "Our partnership with Africa is a long term strategic partnership. It is a strong partnership and a partnership we are fully committed to. Now is the time to strengthen our dialogue with Africa and bring it forward. The creation of the African Union and the ensuing ambitious agenda that African leaders have set themselves in areas such as peace and security, good governance and economic integration bear witness of a real resolve to take the continent's destiny into their own hands. We must take Africa up on its word and lend our full support to their endeavours. I am honoured to have been invited to attend the Summit in Maputo and I will carry with me a strong message of support from the Commission to the work that the AU has set out to do."

The EU-Africa dialogue was initiated three years ago in Cairo with the first EU-Africa Summit. The second Summit - which was scheduled to take place in April 2003 in Lisbon - was postponed sine die by the Council. This does not mean an end to the EU-Africa dialogue. The reasons for a close dialogue remain as pressing as ever and the dialogue must therefore be maintained and strengthened. The present Communication sets out to assess how the dialogue has progressed so far and looks ahead. Three main themes are explored:

(i) State of play in dialogue: The EU Africa dialogue revolves around eight priority issues: External debt, the return of stolen cultural goods, conflict prevention, human rights, democracy and good governance, regional integration, HIV/AIDS, food security, environment. For each of these areas the Communication lists progress made and outlines possible progress to be made in the future.

(ii) Dealing with a united Africa: The establishment of the African Union and the launching of NEPAD have created a new pan African level of governance which holds great development potential. The Communication considers how the EC can fully take into account this pan-African dimension in its co-operation in order to fully exploit that potential. The need to build bridges between the three different partnership agreements the EC has with Africa (ACP, MEDA and South Africa) is examined.

(iii) Improving the quality of dialogue: Finally the Communication focuses on how Africans and Europeans should organise their dialogue more efficiently in the future, including how institutional ties can be developed between the EC and the AU Commission.

African Heads of State will gather in Maputo, Mozambique from the 10.-12. July 2003. The Summit will be an important benchmark for African leaders in their pursuit of the goals they have set themselves. One expected key delivery will be the appointment of the new AU Commission. With the present Communication the European Commission confirms its willingness to develop and strengthen its dialogue with Africa as a whole and with its new political institutions that will be further consolidated in Maputo.


For the French text, please see:

http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/03/948|0|RAPID&lg=FR

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• EU Presidency Statement - Commemoration of Africa Day  (25/5/2004)