EU-Africa Summit 2022

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

African Vaccine Manufacturing with EU support: Addressing Demand Uncertainties is Crucial for Success

February 15, 2022
Last week, the European Union and its member states placed a “European global health strategy” at the top of their shared agenda. And as part of the EU-Africa summit this week in Brussels, the EU is highlighting its support for regional manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccine via the African Union’s Partn...
Blog Post

What a True Partnership of Equals Would Mean for the European Union and African Union

February 15, 2022
After it’s cancellation in 2020, the European Union (EU)-African Union (AU) Summit is finally scheduled to begin on February 17th, 2022. But much has changed in the last two years. The COVID-19 pandemic still lingers and there is a staggering need for a sustainable post-pandemic recovery plan in Afr...
Blog Post

Decolonising EU-Africa Relations Is A Pre-Condition For A True Partnership Of Equals

February 15, 2022
The upcoming EU-Africa summit is a welcome step towards upgrading ties. But a true partnership of equals between the two continents requires a decolonization of relations between the EU and Africa.
Blog Post

EU-Africa Relations: Delivering on Promises Past

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Ovigwe Eguegu
February 14, 2022
Twenty-two years on from the first time Africa and the EU met in Cairo, little in the relationship has changed for the better. We argue here that the Africa-EU relationship does not need yet another reinvention. What it needs is for promises of summits-gone-by to be fulfilled.