EU-Africa Summit Series

On 17th and 18th of February, the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) met for the long-awaited summit. But since the event was planned back in 2020, the world has been ravaged by a pandemic that has stalled a decade of continuous growth and human capital improvement on the African continent.

It is becoming increasingly clear that Europe’s future wellbeing will depend more and more on the future wellbeing of its closest neighbour, Africa. So, can this summit still do what it originally set out to—and what it must set a course for— and reset the EU’s relationship with Africa as a “true partnership of equals”?

In this blog series, CGD colleagues present proposals on the joint priorities set out by the AU and the EU and offer commentary on whether a meaningful reconstruction of the relationships between the two continents is likely to materialise.

More from the Series

Blog Post
Good News: Africa Needs More Jobs While Europe Needs More Workers
January 19, 2022
We look at the challenges that Europe faces with an aging population, and ask if the challenges that Africa faces with a burgeoning working-age population might be a mutually beneficial part of the answer. We think they might, but the scale of migration under “business as usual” is grossly...
Blog Post
The Make or Break EU-Africa Summit
January 13, 2022
In the run up to the start of a long-awaited summit between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU), CGD colleagues will be setting out their thoughts on what needs to happen for the relationship between the two contintents to be reset as a “true partnership of eq...
Blog Post
Europe, Take Note: A New Course for China-Africa Relations Set Out at FOCAC 2021
December 09, 2021
The eighth Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) drew to a close last week in Dakar. The big takeaway this year is a noticeable shift in China’s approach to Africa—from hard cash for infrastructure, to soft cooperation on trade and human capital.
Blog Post
The EU's Global Gateway Is Not a Groundbreaking Plan for Domination in Global Infrastructure
December 06, 2021
In this blog, we go beyond the headlines and unpack the Global Gateway’s strategy, narrative, finance, and governance. Now that the plan has been published, it’s clear that, while packaged and presented as a real competitor to China in infrastructure, the Global Gateway appears to be a paper tiger. ...