On 17 and 18 February 2022, the sixth EU-African Union Summit took place in Brussels, Belgium. European and African policymakers met to discuss shared priorities and strategies in several thematic areas including health, vis a vis coronavirus vaccine provision, financial investment, education, peace and security, and migration challenges. While many important steps have been taken to strengthen the continental ties, there are still several deficiencies that could, and should, be addressed in order to foster a truly equal partnership.
In reaction to the Summit conclusions, our experts comment on the hardest aspects of the AU-EU relationship, such as vaccines and migration, when both parties try to reboot the Summit as a key opportunity for an equal partnership.
On the response to COVID-19, as well as the overall state of the EU-African Union relationship, Ben Lowings, Political Analyst at the BIC said:
“ There are indeed positive signs from this Summit, including increased cooperation on specific health challenges that have arisen due to COVID-19. However, in addition to the clear refusal to waive TRIPS rights for vaccine technology, which could have substantially increased access to vaccines for millions of people in Africa, it is telling that these health priorities only emerged when such a crisis also affected European countries. During many urgent health challenges in African contexts in the past, such as the ebola outbreak in west Africa, such cooperation was not a priority. The way to move beyond short term goal setting, towards a genuine attempt to reformulate an equal partnership, will take vision and willingness that so far is lacking from policy makers. Most priorities outlined continue to perpetuate the unequal donor-recipient relationship between Europe and Africa by focusing on what transactional exchange, such as financial investment, can be bartered to securitise borders and discourage migration, for example. This systemic issue between the parties will seemingly continue for the foreseeable future.”
On the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, Fernando Aguiar, Senior Advisor on Conflict and EU Politics at the BIC wrote:
“There is still a lack of strong language on mainstreaming a gender-responsive approach throughout all aspects of the 'renewed partnership'. Gender is still being placed as a case by case, project-based component. One positive sign is the programme “Women Entrepreneurship for Africa” (WE4A), which enables women-led businesses to integrate into local, regional and international value chains. Still, individual projects like this are not enough to substantially challenge systematic inequalities and gender disparities. In fact, without implementing a gender-responsive approach, engaging with the WPS community of practice, and developing a series of long-term interactions between frameworks, people and the social environment, it becomes difficult to declare that the AU-EU partnership is a success when it comes to WPS progress. Overall, very poor language and lack of political willingness on gender equality and women’s empowerment, especially on so-called ‘sensitive topics’ such as sexual and reproductive rights.”
On migration, one of the major points of contention between stakeholders, Yasmine Akrimi, North Africa Analyst at the BIC argued:
“ Promises of a reciprocal partnership for mobility between the AU and the EU leave observers skeptical. The usual apprehension of migration through a security lens, disproportionately serving European interests, did not shift during this Summit. The narrative did not divert from the usual emphasis on readmissions, preventing irregular migration and fighting smuggling, highlighting a lack of overlapping interests between Africa and Europe. The AU has already shared its concerns that the European approach is undermining its own attempts and frameworks, such as its efforts to promote the free movement of persons within the continent. Yet, much of the money for investment and cooperation projects pertains to migration governance. Regular routes remain more of a side note, concerning mainly students.”