Policy Brief July 2007 The King Baudouin Foundation and Compagnia di San Paolo are strategic partners of the European Policy Centre The EU and Africa: coming together at last? By John Kotsopoulos Background It is only two short years since Tony countries. Is it doing enough to increasingly being placed on Blair declared that 2005 would be make the most of the opportunities the relationship? the “Year of Africa”. It was the Africa has to offer and successfully culmination of a process that saw confront the challenges it poses? What is needed is a genuine the continent return to the top of the Or is it in danger of missing the partnership, based on shared international agenda after years of boat, leaving a vacuum which goals, clarity and transparency. relative neglect – a victim of the others – starting with China – are The EU-Africa Summit planned risk-aversion and general apathy already rushing to fill? for December (only the second-ever of a Western world first basking in and the first in seven years) could the post-Cold War ‘peace dividend’, The EU is indeed well-placed to go a long way towards achieving then hit by the terrorist threat. capitalise on the opportunities now that goal by launching the proposed opening up. Africa presents it with a EU-Africa Joint Strategy – the The scale of the economic, unique chance to further improve its culmination of a year of consultation governance and security challenges own external relations’ capacity and in both continents. in Africa has prompted Western coherence, and play a constructive governments and organisations to role as a power in the region. Developing ties renew and bolster their commitments to the region. This also reflects a However, it takes two to tango and Although the EU-Africa relationship shift in Western priorities, especially it will also be up to Africa – under stems back to the very beginnings since the September 11 2001 terrorist the auspices of its own evolving of the European Community, it attacks, with a greater focus on multilateral institutions (particularly has changed over time, reflecting the nexus between security and the African Union, AU) and with changes in the geo-political development. In an age when leadership from major regional climate, the emergence of security of supply has become a players such as South Africa – to independence movements major issue, Africa’s abundance ensure its relationship with the EU on the African continent, and of natural resources is also fuelling is both meaningful and fruitful. advances in European integration. Western – and non-Western – engagement in the region. Portugal has identified EU-Africa As it did in virtually every part of relations (with a formal focus on the world, the Cold War played itself In this mix stands the European sub-Saharan Africa) as one of the out in Africa too. Both superpowers Union, which has had special top priorities for its six-month EU and their respective supporters ties with Africa since its inception Presidency, as it did in 2000. How attempted to curry favour in the and includes within its ranks can both sides capitalise on the region and did not hesitate to former colonial powers with long attention currently focused on the support African governments – good relationships with individual African continent and meet the expectations or bad – which aligned themselves accordingly. This Cold War ‘by integration. The European from an expectations-capability gap, proxy’ had serious consequences, Commission’s early steps as an with European demands clashing directly fuelling many conflicts external actor were directed towards with a lack of African capacity or during the 1970s and 1980s Africa, with the EU eventually willingness (at times) to meet them, (for example, in Angola and playing a key role in areas such as and vice versa. Mozambique). aid and trade, culminating in a series of privileged agreements such as the Some also argue that agreements The rise of independence movements Yaoundé Conventions (1964-1975), between the EU and the African, throughout the African continent the Lomé Convention (1976-2000) Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) also had a significant impact on the and the 2001 Cotonou Agreement. bloc have served to retrench and relationship between Europe and maintain European interests, since Africa during this period, although However, while the nature of the the sacrifices involved are more old colonial relationships persisted, relationship has evolved over time, onerous for Africa than for the EU. with major powers such as the UK critics argue that the changes have This is underlined by trade figures and France retaining spheres of not been mutually beneficial. showing that while the EU accounts interest corresponding to their for 75% of sub-Saharan Africa’s former colonial ‘holdings’. Despite a consistent emphasis on trade, Africa is an increasingly “partnership” and EU declarations marginal market for both EU All of this coincided with the about a post-colonial relationship, exports and imports – let alone accelerating pace of European EU-Africa ties have often suffered direct investments. State of play Lately, a combination of internal The 2005 UN World Summit has, however, taken a significant and external factors has put Africa explicitly inter-linked development step towards achieving the latter squarely back on the European and security, citing human security by drawing up a joint Council- agenda: the security-development principles such as freedom from fear Commission “European Consensus nexus, changes within both the and want. The G8 has picked up for Development” to serve as EU and AU, new international on this theme, most notably at the a code of conduct in applying development commitments, Gleneagles meeting, also in 2005, the Declaration. increasing competition from which sought to put Africa “back” on countries such as China, and the international agenda and at the Africa’s importance as an alternative the growing focus on natural June 2007 Heiligendamm Summit. to the volatile Middle East as a resources and energy security. source of energy and raw materials is Two other international agreements making fruitful cooperation between There is now an acceptance have also had a significant impact the EU and Africa even more urgent, in the developed world that, as on EU-Africa relations: the UN especially given the rise of China former United Nations Secretary- Millennium Development Goals, as a major player on the continent. General Kofi Annan eloquently which commit signatories to meet put it: “We will not enjoy eight development targets by 2015 The Chinese presence is growing development without security, (individual EU Member States have, rapidly, with direct investment in we will not enjoy security without for example, pledged to spend 0.7% Africa easily surpassing €1 billion in development, and we will not of GNP on aid each year, doubling 2006 – with most of this poured into enjoy either without respect for the current average of 0.34%); natural resources. A €3.6 billion-plus human rights.” and the 2005 Paris Declaration on China-Africa Development Fund was effective development aid and launched in November 2006 and While this linking of security coordination agreed under the Asia is now Africa’s third largest and development has widened auspices of the OECD/Development trading partner after the EU and the the range of issues deemed ripe Assistance Committee (DAC). US. But China has been strongly for cooperation, it has also criticised for being ‘less scrupulous’ emboldened donor countries to The Union as a whole has a long way about dealing with repressive or be less reticent about attaching to go to achieve the aid target set by corrupt regimes in the region and conditions to aid and trade with the former, with some countries, accused of using the Development Africa, aimed in particular at especially in the North, already Fund to help Chinese enterprises in encouraging good governance exceeding it but many, notably in Africa rather than providing untied and democracy. the South, lagging well behind. It aid to the continent. The US has also entered the ‘race’ The AU was established in 2001 as importance by attending its annual for resources, with some experts a successor to the Organisation of summit in Ghana. Heads of predicting that it will import more African Unity (OAU) and the African Government are due to meet oil from Africa than from the entire Economic Community. The use of at the EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon Middle East in the next decade. The the term “Union” in its title is in December 2007. In addition, a US is also seeking to establish a indicative of the AU’s ambition – ‘double-hatted’ EU Special unified military command centre and it is more than just talk. Representative to the AU for the region, dubbed “Africom”. (representing the Council and Progress has been made towards Commission) will be appointed soon. Developments at the World Trade establishing an African Peer Review Organization have prompted Mechanism (APRM), an African Changes in the Commission’s changes in EU-Africa relations, with Court of Justice, and a Peace and internal organisation have also had special preferential arrangements Security Council, and on integrating an impact on the relationship, with, (such as for sugar and bananas) that the 2001 New Partnership for for example, responsibility for ACP withstood decades of Yaoundé, Africa’s Development (NEPAD), trade moving from the Development Lomé and Cotonou Agreements which takes an ‘African-owned’ Directorate-General (DG) to DG falling foul of new global trade rules approach to development. The Trade, and political relations with and the now-orthodox principles of expanding scope of such initiatives the ACP from DG External Relations free trade arrangements. is slowly but surely making the AU to DG Development.