Europe can only fix its relationship with Africa if it exorcises its colonial ghosts (The Guardian)

From the op-ed:

Because Europe and Africa are interconnected and interdependent. They need each other to create jobs and growth on both continents, to ensure a post-pandemic economic recovery and to tackle climate change.

The EU remains the leading aid, trade and investment actor across the continent. African exports of raw materials, chemicals and petroleum products, minerals and metals as well as fishery and agricultural goods, continue to be the mainstay of many European industries.

Yet, even if Africa’s once dynamic growth rates have been slowed by the pandemic, its economic potential, youthful population and plans to build an African Continental Free Area, (AfCFTA) modelled on the EU single market, will intensify international rivalry and competition – especially between Europe and China.

EU policymakers insist that their policies are better than Beijing’s, and that while China’s investments under the belt and road initiative grab global attention, they are worsening Africa’s already high debt burden and making debt-relief measures even more urgent.