From Object to Subject. Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe’s External Relations
A Joint International Conference in Berlin November 5-6th, 2007, organized by the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung (FNSt) and Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)
African and European Views on African-European Relations
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| Seepe, Amanuel, Hecke |
As far as the Africans views are concerned, Ambassador
Hiruy Amanuel of the AU, in charge of IGAD Capacity Building Programme Against Terrorism, highlighted the fact that Africans and Europeans may speak of partnership. But what is real is that the relation between Europeans and Africans is an unequal relation between affluent people on the one hand, and people living in poverty on the other. And this condition marks all aspects of relations, and he quoted one European who described partnership in peacekeeping and conflict prevention in Africa in the following way: “America orders, Europe pays, Africa implements”. However, Hiruy Amanuel did not see any reason why Africa cannot benefit from the experiences of cooperation and integration that Europe had so remarkably accomplished. According to him, it would be hard to currently imagine Africa replicating the EU model taking into account the inadequate political, economic and infrastructural links. Nevertheless, even under these conditions, the EU model could be seen as a goal to work towards, to be achieved in stages, starting with cooperation at the regional and sub-regional level. Most African states are moving in this direction with a varying decree of success. But there can be no doubt that there will be no transformation by simply continuing with business as usual. However, as an important African voice, Hiruy Amanuel firmly believes that enlightened self interest will drive Europe closer to Africa and vice versa, for mutual benefit. But Africa has to get its house in order, and it is doing so, but only gradually. And he made a point, maintaining that “Africa does not have the luxury of time. Africa would need time to get its policies right and then to implement them with dogged determination, taking all the shortcuts available in the process”.
Listen (mp3): Hiruy Amanuel
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| Obi, Ba |
While Hiruy Amanuel reminded Africa to get its house in order,
Cyril Obi, a Nigerian scholar in the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala, Sweden, challenged the African leadership by demanding that the African people must represent Africa. He argued that the African people deserve the support of the international community beyond having elections that only serve the elite, i.e. strengthening the critical constituencies among the African people, strengthening the information capacity and an economy policy that does not hurt the poor. In addition, there must be a democratic redistribution of wealth. According to Cyril Obi, the EU should have various political engagements, which focus on civil society, political parties and education, and the EU should pursue economic policies that support the people. China’s engagement in Africa is not the real issue to him, because the real challenges are democracy, development and empowerment of societies. And if Europe is willing to change its attitude and see Africa not just as a market and security area, then a real partnership can emerge.
Listen (mp3): Cyril Obi
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| Tull, Dieter, Mair |
Germany is a big player in European policy. But there is no distinct German policy towards Africa, as
Denis Tull, a senior researcher of the SWP pointed out. Nevertheless, in general terms German interest in Africa has significantly increased over the last couple of years. This is in accordance with the broader parameters of German foreign policy, which has gained a more global outlook. Against this background, Africa has acquired a little more attention, namely energy, security, migration and environment. According to Denis Tull, the hyperbole about China’s growing involvement has also added to a renewed interest in Africa, and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel had been quite explicit, arguing that if the Chinese had a Sino-Africa summit, the EU should have one too with Africa. In fact, the EU has become a channel through which African issues make their way on the agenda in Germany, and Germany has to take a stance, whether it likes it or not. But it remains true that German policies towards Africa are firmly rooted in the multilateral framework of the EU as well as the UN. The prime example of this has been the EU military intervention in the DR Congo in late 2006, which was eventually led by Germany. This mission ushered in a heated and sometimes quite emotional debate at the German home front, and it focused on one question: does Germany have interest in the DR Congo? To many, the answer was simply, No! However, as Denis Tull pointed out, the European Union Force (EUFOR) has triggered the long overdue debate about Africa and German interests in Africa. But this has not led to a conclusive result yet, but from his point of view it is quite encouraging that discussions about Africa are no longer monopolized by those working in the development cooperation.
Listen (mp3): Denis Tull
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