EU boosts cooperation and investment in Africa

Photo caption — Faced with a strong wave of investment from China, the EU is implementing a new strategy focusing on trade, infrastructure and sustainable development to retain Africa and strengthen its role in the strategic region. Photo: THX/TTXVN

According to German international radio station DW (dw.com), at the 7th AU-EU summit in Angola last week, Europe stepped up efforts to promote trade and cooperation with African countries. In the context of China's increasingly expanding influence on the continent, the EU is looking for new ways to assert its position and counterbalance Beijing's economic power.

Global crisis context

The African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) held a summit themed “Promoting Peace and Prosperity through Effective Multilateralism”. The two organizations represent 82 countries with a population of nearly 2 billion people.

Mahmoud Youssouf, Chairman of the AU Commission, highlighted the ongoing instability in the international arena and the challenge to international geopolitical norms. The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues in Europe, US President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs that are “extreme and violate World Trade Organization rules”. China is aggressively penetrating global markets, while conflicts in Africa are escalating with a devastating war in Sudan and jihadist extremism spreading across the Sahel region.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pointed out that some regions in Africa are suffering severely from climate change. Droughts are destroying livelihoods and forcing people to travel dangerous routes across the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

EU position and competition

The EU is Africa’s largest trading partner and investor. According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a third of Africa’s total exports go to Europe.

Many African countries possess key raw materials that Europe needs for its energy and industrial transition: rare earths, copper, cobalt and lithium. But competition is fierce, and Africa wants to avoid unilateral dependence.

Angolan President Joao Lourenco, who is currently the AU chair, said the world is not made up of one or two countries and that Africa works with all those who are open to it. For his part, Mr. Merz warned that Europe does not want to leave the continent to others, referring mainly to China.

Through its Belt and Road Initiative, China has been investing in bridges, ports and roads in Africa. Even the new airport in Luanda was built and financed by China.

Vandre Spellmeier, representative of the German Industry and Commerce Delegation to Angola, said China had helped rebuild Angola after the 2002 civil war with loans and infrastructure projects. In his view, it is not too late for the EU.

New Strategy: Creating Local Value

Hermine Sam, Southern Programme Coordinator at the German Marshall Fund, said future cooperation between Africa and Europe will emphasize the exchange of knowledge and skills that contribute to the transformation of local African economies.

Otherwise, the old cycle continues, with raw materials leaving cheaply and returning with high processing costs. Olaf Wientzek, head of the multinational development dialogue program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Brussels, sees strengthening local processing capacity as a point where Europe can score points against China. Wientzek acknowledges that procedures in Europe are often more stringent and slower, but the EU wants to be more economically engaged than China.

Global Gateway Initiative

The Global Gateway initiative is often seen as the EU’s response to China. This investment programme supports infrastructure projects with funding from the EU and private investors.

One of the most prestigious projects being built in Angola is the Lobito Corridor, a railway that will connect the raw material regions of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to the Atlantic coast. Businesses will be established along the route, from agriculture to logistics.

Ms. Leyen proudly declared that the EU connects Africa to global markets and supports intra-continental trade, saying this is the best way for African companies to scale up and prepare for global competition.

Chancellor Merz supported this statement by emphasizing that the European single market is the greatest success story and the biggest peace project Europe has ever seen. It is in this context that Germany has supported the Pan-African Free Trade Area from the very beginning.

However, there has been significant criticism. Hermine Sam points out that from its inception, the Global Gateway was not built on consultation with African stakeholders and ignored African priorities. The expert says the EU is often criticized for talking too much and doing too little, especially when compared to China.

Africa is a particularly young continent, with 40% of its population under 15, in stark contrast to Europe where only 16% are under 15. They need education, jobs and housing. European Council President Antonio Costa stressed that Africa’s young generation, creative, dynamic and fast-growing, is one of the greatest assets for our common future. This is an opportunity the EU must seize to build a lasting relationship and effectively counter China’s influence in Africa.

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