Saturday

9th Dec 2023

Podcast

Eurafrique

  • While there may be warm words about a new partnership when the leaders of the EU and African Union meet in Brussels this week, there are unlikely to be breakthroughs on key African demands (Photo: Helena Malikova)

Policy differences between Europe and Africa have been widening, and while there may be warm words about a new partnership when the leaders of the EU and African Union meet in Brussels, there are unlikely to be breakthroughs on key African demands.

One area where Europeans and Africans have long seen eye-to-eye is fighting jihadists, and Europe has not hesitated to ally with African autocrats who promise a measure of stability.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Could Françafrique — the French sphere of influence that outlived the end of French colonialism — still be revived on a European scale, as Eurafrique?

Nick Westcott is the director of the Royal African Society in London and he was the first managing director for Africa at the EU's European External Action Service. Faten Aggad is a senior advisor at the African Climate Foundation and she was formerly a senior advisor for negotiations with the EU with the African Union High Representative in Addis Ababa.

Elissa Jobson is director for global advocacy at the International Crisis Group and she was previously the group's main liaison with the African Union. The Open Society European Policy Institute partnered with EU Scream in making this episode.

Author bio

EU Scream is the progressive politics podcast from Brussels. Produced by James Kanter with graphics by Helena Malikova and music by Lara Natale.

You may also follow via @euscreams subscribe via iTunes, Spotify or from the EU Scream website.

Vaccine-waiver row refuses to die at EU-AU summit

The stark gap in Covid-19 vaccination rates between Europe and Africa is likely to feed into the EU-AU summit negotiations. But a patent waiver still looks like a no-go for Europe.

Opinion

The sixth AU-EU summit: partners in therapy?

Ahead of the EU-AU summit, Europe seems rather optimistic, while the African side is much more cautious. The water between both sides of the Mediterranean is still deep.

Column

Faux woke wars must not derail EU anti-racism plans

For many politicians in France, Europe is in the midst of a no-holds-barred culture war in which the real enemy is not Russia or China but with emboldened woke fighters on a mission to demolish the "European Way of Life."

EU mulls 'specialised teams' to counter migration abroad

The EU is exploring ways to further crack down on irregular migration at its overseas missions, including the use of "specialised teams". Such missions are found in places like Niger, Libya, Mali, Somali, Iraq and elsewhere.

Model minority myths

There are many things to love about France. But a stated policy of colour blindness is not one of them.

Mars, god of war, returns to Europe

Political scientist David Rowe has been looking into why so much of Europe wasn't ready for Putin — and the consequences for the Western allies of not spilling their own blood in Ukraine.

Ethics after Qatargate

The dumpster fire at the European Parliament may be largely of the EU's own making.

Latest News

  1. How Moldova is trying to control tuberculosis
  2. Many problems to solve in Dubai — honesty about them is good
  3. Sudanese fleeing violence find no haven in Egypt or EU
  4. How should EU reform the humanitarian aid system?
  5. EU suggests visa-bans on Israeli settlers, following US example
  6. EU ministers prepare for all-night fiscal debate
  7. Spain's Nadia Calviño backed to be EIB's first female chief
  8. Is there hope for the EU and eurozone?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us