25 YEARS OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN TURBULENT TIMES - Africa-Europe relations and the Austrian Africa Strategy

Geert Laporte, Miriam Mukalazi, Robert Zischg, Philomena Apiko,
Georg Krenn, Jamie Just, Stephan Scholz





25 YEARS OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN TURBULENT
TIMESAfrica-Europe relations and the Austrian Africa
Strategy


 


Twenty-five years have passed since the establishment of the
EU–Africa Partnership at the first summit in Cairo, and seventeen
years since the adoption of the historic Joint Africa–Europe
Strategy in Lisbon in 2007, whose preamble says “Africa and
Europe are bound together by history, culture, geography and a
common future, as well as by a community of values – respect for
human rights, freedom, equality, solidarity, justice, the rule of
law and democracy.”





Since then, the partnership has faced many tensions around
diverging priorities like migration policies, vaccine
distribution among others. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and
the Israel–Hamas war have further exposed geopolitical rifts, and
Brexit and the decline of French influence in West Africa have
weakened Europe’s traditional position on the continent and
African scholars and policymakers continue to question the notion
of a “partnership of equals” as long as power asymmetries,
colonial legacies and the full historical context remain
insufficiently addressed.





Today, Europe is challenged to engage as a genuine partner with a
more self-confident Africa — an Africa that increasingly pursues
its own interests and has strategic alternatives with China,
India, Russia, or the Gulf states, in view of the new
geopolitical and economic realities, the EU has a renewed
interest to reach out to Africa with its emerging markets,
trading and investment opportunities. According to EU President
Antonio Costa, the 7th AU–EU Summit, held in Luanda on November
24–25 was set “strengthen cooperation in key areas such as
economic integration, trade and investment, green transition,
digitalization, migration, peace and security, multilateralism,
and human development”.


The Austrian Foreign Minister Meinl-Reisinger also emphasized
that Africa is a continent of opportunity, marked by enormous
economic potential and a dynamic young population and the new
Austrian Africa Strategy, recently announced by the Austrian
government, shall follow similar priorities.





The event shall analyze the major achievements, potentials and
challenges of the current AU – EU partnership, discuss the main
results of the summit in Luanda from different point of views and
explore how the priorities and modalities of the upcoming
Austrian Africa Strategy could contribute to embolden a renewed
partnership among equals.


  


Moderator
Miriam Mukalazi, Africa Policy Programme, VIDC





Key note
Geert Laporte, Senior Associate of ECDPM, former
Director of the European Think Tanks GroupAU-EU Summits-25 years
of strategic partnership in turbulent times: What are the majors
achievements, potentials and challenges of the current AU – EU
partnership?





Discussants
Robert Zischg, Head of Department for Sub-Sahara
Africa and the African Union, Austrian Federal Ministry for
European and Internationals Affairs



Philomena Apiko, Policy Analyst on AU-EU
relations, ECPDM



Jaimie Just, African European Civil Society
Engagement Platform (CSEP/Concord)



Georg Krenn, Austrian Commercial Counsellor
& Head of ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA Cairo



Stefan Scholz, design. Head of Department for
Sub-Sahara Africa and the African Union, Austrian Federal
Ministry for European and Internationals Affairs



In cooperation with the ⁠Vienna Institute for International
Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC)⁠