Improving EU-Africa relations

The main focus of the Portuguese presidency’s development agenda will be an EU-Africa summit in December.

A joint EU-Africa strategy will form the basis of the summit where issues such as regional integration, migration and security will be discussed. But the summit will also be an attempt to develop a relationship with Africa that includes trade and resource issues, Portuguese foreign minister, Luis Amado, said recently, noting the increasing involvement of China, India, the US, Canada and Brazil in Africa. The thinking in Lisbon is to move away from the post-colonial relationship of Africa’s dependency on the EU.

Problem areas such as Zimbabwe will also be tackled in a more open and honest way, say officials. The EU wants to help the development of the African Union as a stronger organisation capable of addressing development, stability and security issues on the continent.

The Portuguese presidency will also be a critical period for the conclusion of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) being negotiated between the EU and the six regions in the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP). Many developing states worry about the impact the agreements could have on their economies. Some member states, most notably the UK, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden, have called on the Commission to ensure that the agreements are fair to vulnerable countries. Portugal could find itself pulled into this debate if, getting closer to the year-end deadline for the conclusion of talks, some developing states are still far off from signing. The Africa summit could yet be dominated by the EPAs.

The main focus of the Portuguese presidency’s development agenda will be an EU-Africa summit in December.