The AU is still reliant on foreign donors to finance the bulk of its budget. And in a story familiar to EU federalists, major African players such as South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt are reluctant to increase the AU’s powers — for fear of creating a political rival (Photo: African Union Commission)

Analysis

Technocrat beats rabble-rouser - how African Union election borrowed from Brussels

Africa

by Benjamin Fox, Nairobi,

Talk to African Union officials at their headquarters in Addis Ababa and they will say that they have designs on being like the EU (with whom they will hold a joint summit later this year.)

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Africa Analysis

Author Bio

Benjamin Fox is a seasoned reporter and editor, previously working for fellow Brussels publication Euractiv. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He heads up the AU-EU section at EUobserver, based in Nairobi, Kenya.