Africa-European Union Partnership : Need For Readjustments

It is no more a secret that the European Union-African Union Summit that took place in Brussels from the 17 – 18, February 2022 is a veritable platform set out by the EU to plan for a ‘strategic partnership’ with Africa. Over the past six decades, trade and development have constituted the main basis for interaction between African countries, the continent’s institutions, and the EU. The EU remains an important partner to Africa despite the growing interests of other actors such as China, Turkey and US, among others. To negotiate and facilitate favourable terms of engagement,  international summits are essential though they are not without tensions. With the main one being the fact that the power balance between the two blocs is wholly unequal.
The EU’s economic and political power in global relations far exceeds that of Africa. Consequently, the EU’s priorities dominate key agreements. Even at the inception of what is now the EU in 1957, the terms of engagement with African countries were determined without consultation with Africans themselves. The EU has refused to check the power hierarchies that keep alienating Africans. The difference in approach to dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic further underscores these tensions. The persistent power inequalities do not bode well for supposed change. This is why the latest summit presented an urgent opportunity for the EU to convince African decision makers that this time the desire for change is in the horizon. This implies that the EU must agree with the idea that African priorities matter and that they can be mutually beneficial for Africans and Europeans if given a chance to play on a level play ground.
During the just-ended summit, the EU unveiled six initiatives, including three investment packages, as part of what it calls a ‘Prosperous and Sustainable Partnership’. This investment plan of more than €150 billion for Africa is a veritable global gateway to boost relations between the two blocs. Part of these funds would come from the $450 billion Special Drawing Rights issued by the International Monetary Fund last year, a large chunk of which was allocated to EU member states, but will now be reallocated to Africa to help cover the costs of the COVID-19 pandemic. Progress on vaccine production and access also took centre stage with the EU and Africa at odds over vaccine patents. Many African leaders bitterly resent the lack of vaccines for even getting started on sufficiently inoculating their population, while Europe is already boosting its people.
With more options now opened to the African continent and after being disappointed by Europe’s partnership promises that were highly ...