On the 17th and 18th of February, the European leaders of the Member States of the European Union greeted over 40 African leaders in a long-awaited summit, postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The summit was intended to lay further grounds in the areas of common cooperation and encourage foreign investment in Africa, especially following the growing Chinese presence and competition from states such as Russia or the UK. The summit has proved to be a platform for European and African leaders to not only comment and decide upon their mutual benefits stemming from the cooperation, but debate on the recent possible invasion of the Russian Federation on Ukraine.
One of the most important issues raised during the Summit was the improvement of healthcare and sanitary within the African continent. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on Africa and at this point in time, only about 11% of African citizens are vaccinated – a number significantly lower than in any part of Europe at the moment. Sierra Leone president, Julius Maada Bio, addressed the European leaders to remember that “human beings are on the other side” and aid must be provided in order to decrease the gap in the access to healthcare. Further, the intellectual property rights regarding the vaccine proved to be an important part of the conversation, as pleads have been made in order to have the rights waived. South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, deeply concerned with the travel bans regarding the Omicron variant, hoped to persuade the richer countries to stop blocking the access to the intellectual property and allow for access to knowledge on vaccines and treatments, following the opposition from countries that included the European states as well. The take-away of the debate is the plead of the European Commission in cooperation with the Gates Foundations’ promise to invest more than 100 million euros in the upcoming years aimed at accelerating the medicine and vaccine production on the African continent. The European Investment Bank followed by granting 500 million euros in loans for African states willing to strengthen healthcare systems.
Further, issues regarding colonialism ties have been raised, especially bearing in mind the recent developments in Mali, where democratic values have been eradicated. Further, migration flows prove to be a baffling issue to the African countries as well. The EU’s vision on the cooperation with the African countries as well as securing democratic ties within the continent is exemplified by the virtue of peace, security, democracy, prosperity, solidarity, and human dignity. The EU is willing to create a long-lasting and fruitful cooperarion and coexistence with the African Continent, backed by words of the European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen – “Together we can build a more prosperous, more peaceful and more sustainable future for all”.
Africa hopes that such promises will be held accountable and visible change shall be in place. Despite the promises of investment, W. Gyude Moore, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Global Development, has their doubts on these claims made despite applauding the initial pleads for investment. “There is a long story of unfulfilled promises when it comes to EU and Africa, so the African Union, while cautiously optimistic, will remain skeptical until this pledge is converted into projects on the ground”. The EU faces a difficult task ahead in order to fulfill the promises made and act upon improving the living conditions on the African continent – a plead that is to finally be turned into reality.
Reference list:
EU launches reset with Africa after pandemic disruption. January 18, 2022. Available at:
Africa-EU Partnership. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/africa-eu-partnership_en
EU-Africa Relations: Available at: https://www.fes.de/en/africa-department/eu-africa-relations
By The European Institute for International Law and International Relations.
