Europe’s partnership with Africa should ensure sustainable development on both continents.
Five years ago, the European Commission and African countries agreed to intensify cooperation through partnerships in five key areas: green transition, digital transformation, sustainable growth and jobs, peace and governance and migration and mobility. It is time to take stock and ensure the partnership is mutually beneficial.
No doubt, Africa and Europe need each other. Europe needs Africa because with the dawn of the African Continental Free Trade Area, the continent is building the world’s largest single market of 1.3 billion people.
The bloc represents a huge opportunity for Europe. Crucially, Africa has resources in abundance, including a large demographic of youth full of energy, creativity and talent.
The European Union (EU) remains the top trading partner for Africa and the largest export market for its goods. There is a lot of potential that is still to be unleashed in the partnership between Africa and Europe.
The EU must acknowledge that Africa is no longer a continent that exports only raw materials as it has in the past—countries don’t want a raw material-driven economy. Countries in Africa are determined to pursue commodity-led industrialisation and a value-added economy.
For example, Ghana has taken policy measures to add value to its natural resources. For example, it processes more of its cocoa and gold.
The EU-Africa relationship must move beyond the donor-recipient relationship and ensure a change of mindset. Europe must treat Africa on an equal footing. The collaboration should be founded on mutual respect, accountability, shared values, equality between partners, and reciprocal commitments.
The partnership between the EU and Africa must protect local industries. It will be remembered that in 2008, Africa did not embrace the economic partnership agreement then because of fears that bigger EU companies could flood the markets with cheaper products, destroying nascent local industries. This is still a concern that needs to be addressed.
At the same time, and crucial for a partnership, the EU should share technology and knowledge, and for sustainability, invest in people through the training of the local workforce.
Most importantly, history tells us that government-to-government alone will never yield the desired and sustainable development. There is a need for people-to-people connections and involvement of private and civil society actors in the partnership.
Over the years, Europe has been seen as only interested in extracting resources from the continent. This has to change. Europe must go beyond extraction, and instead share skills so that African countries can develop products with high values that will help Africa’s companies access new markets and export partners.
EU should create local value chains and create jobs on the continent, expand trade and investments in health, raw materials, agriculture, climate resilience and education. EU need to support manufacturing facilities on the continent, work with national authorities in African countries to support their capacities.
