Mouhamet NDIONGUE
The leaders of the EU and the African Union (AU) and their member states will meet on 17 and 18 February 2022 in Brussels for the sixth summit between the European Union and the African Union.
The summit will provide a unique opportunity to lay the foundations for a renewed and deepened AU-EU partnership with the highest political commitment, built on trust and a clear understanding of mutual interests. Leaders are expected to discuss how the two continents can create more prosperity. The aim is to launch an ambitious Africa-Europe investment package that takes into account global challenges such as climate change and the current health crisis. Instruments and solutions to promote stability and security through a renewed peace and security architecture should also be part of the deliberations.
But even before the summit begins, there are already concerns regarding the presence of Polisario leader Brahim Ghali, invited by the AU.
The EU and in particular Belgium, the host country, fear political, diplomatic and above all protocol problems with Morocco because of the presence of the leader of the separatists.
MEP Tomas Zdechovsky draws attention to the remarkable diplomatic drift and wonders how the EU can accommodate the leader of the Polisairo when he is accused of embezzlement of EU funds and prosecuted in Spain, an EU member state.
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German MP Maximilian Krah also thinks it is a ” unprecedented diplomatic blunder » that the EU Polisario invites. ” It’s a terrorist organization “, he wrote on his Twitter account.
The MEP added that it is time for the EU to recognize that “ Western Sahara belongs to Morocco ».
Moreover, the participation of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune also raises many questions. To date, there is no visa exemption agreement for diplomats between Algeria and Belgium.
For this summit, it will be observed with great concern that the active participation of civil society in the implementation of the renewed partnership has not yet been ensured. EU and African Heads of State and Government must create structures for the active participation of civil society. This requires concrete proposals for the exchange of information, consultation, transparency and dialogue.
The success of the AU-EU partnership and EU cooperation offers will depend on the extent to which the social perspective is taken into account and the corresponding transformation is supported by financial resources. For example, the failure of industrialized countries to meet the international commitment to provide $100 billion a year in climate finance from 2020 has resulted in a huge loss of confidence among African partners – even though the significant gaps have been caused by other industrialized countries.