EU-Africa summit is back on track

Date: 27/01/2000

By Gareth Harding

THE first-ever meeting of EU and African leaders, which appeared destined for oblivion only a fortnight ago, now appears to be back on track after the occupied territory of Western Sahara voluntarily removed itself from the guest list.

Morocco, which invaded the former Spanish colony in the 1970s, has always insisted it would boycott the Cairo summit if its phosphate-rich southern territory received a separate invitation. But the EU has refused to go ahead with the planned summit without Rabat's participation.

Portugal views the meeting, originally scheduled for 3-4 April, as one of the flagship events of its Union presidency. But the debate over what to do with Morocco - which withdrew from the Organisation for African Unity after annexing its southern neighbour - has soured preparations for the conference.

When Portugal took over the EU presidency this month, the chances of the summit taking place appeared so slim it took the unusual step of removing the meeting from its agenda.

Western Sahara's climbdown will make it possible for the Union to invite all African countries, including Morocco, to the first day of the summit and to devote the second day to EU-OAU relations. However, Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama admitted this week that several obstacles remained.

The major problem is how to get the leaders of almost 70 countries together at such short notice. One diplomat admitted that it was "difficult to see" how the summit could be arranged in time and Gama hinted that the meeting might have to be postponed until June or even later.

Discussions are also continuing on what should be on the agenda, with African nations pushing for the summit to be devoted to economic and development issues, while the Europeans want to discuss topics such as democracy and human rights.