Le Sommet UE-Afrique 2021 : Quo vadis, compte tenu du Brexit et de la Covid-19

Kohnert, Dirk (2021): Le Sommet UE-Afrique 2021 : Quo vadis, compte tenu du Brexit et de la Covid-19.

Abstract

ABSTRACT & RÉSUMÉ & ZUSAMMENFASSUNG : Dark clouds over the EU-Africa Summit 2021 in view of Brexit and Corona ---- Every three years, the AU-EU summit reunites African and EU leaders to outline the future direction of cooperation. The 6th summit had been to reaffirm and renew the partnership between the two blocks already in October 2020, but it was pushed back to the first quarter of 2021 or even later due to COVID-19 crisis. Besides, Brussels had to deal with its own post-Brexit situation and its repercussions on EU-Africa relations, excluding the UK. African states, for their part, wanted to renegotiate the EU-Africa partnership and to balance it with new promising Post-Brexit visions of the British premier Johnson about increased economic ties with the African Angloshere. China and other global players compete with the EU and its member states in the new scramble for African resources. Given that Africa is increasingly courted by other partners it could be inclined to successively limit its relations with the EU and see it as a mere provider of aid and security against Islamic terrorism. This trend was reinforced by the fact that the new EU-Africa strategy still hasn't been approved by EU member states. And a timely replacement of the Cotonou Agreement, which expires in November 2021, is open to question. ___________________________________________________________________________ RÉSUMÉ : Tous les trois ans, le sommet UA-UE réunit les dirigeants africains et européens pour définir l'orientation future de la coopération. Le 6e sommet devait réaffirmer et renouveler le partenariat entre les deux blocs déjà en octobre 2020, mais il a été repoussé au premier trimestre 2021, ou même plus tard, en raison de la crise du COVID-19. En outre, Bruxelles a dû faire face à sa propre situation post-Brexit, compte tenu l'exclusion du Royaume-Uni, et à ses répercussions sur les relations UE-Afrique. Les États africains, pour leur part, souhaitaient renégocier le partenariat UE-Afrique, et l'équilibrer avec les nouvelles visions post-Brexit prometteuses du Premier ministre britannique Johnson sur le renforcement des liens économiques avec l'Anglosphère africaine. La Chine et d'autres acteurs mondiaux sont en concurrence avec l'UE et ses États membre dans la nouvelle ruée vers les ressources africaines. Étant donné que l'Afrique est de plus en plus courtisée par d'autres partenaires, elle pourrait être encline à limiter successivement ses relations avec l'UE et à la considérer comme un simple fournisseur d'aide et de sécurité contre le terrorisme islamique. Cette tendance a été renforcée par le fait que la nouvelle stratégie UE-Afrique n'a toujours pas été approuvée par les États membres de l'UE. Et un remplacement opportun de l'accord de Cotonou, qui expire en novembre 2021, est sujet à caution. _____________________________________________________________________ ZUSAMMENFASSUNG : Alle drei Jahre bringt der AU-EU Gipfel afrikanische und EU-Staats- und Regierungschefs zusammen, um die künftige Richtung der Zusammenarbeit zu skizzieren. Der 6. Gipfel hatte sich zum Ziel gesetzt, die Partnerschaft zwischen den beiden Blöcken bereits im Oktober 2020 zu bekräftigen und zu erneuern, er wurde jedoch aufgrund der COVID-19-Krise auf das erste Quartal 2021 verschoben. Davon unabhängig mußte sich Brüssel erst einmal über seine eigene Situation nach dem Brexit und dessen Auswirkungen auf die Beziehungen zwischen der EU und Afrika klar werden. Die afrikanischen Staaten ihrerseits wollen die Partnerschaft zwischen der EU und Afrika neu verhandeln und sie mit den vielversprechenden Visionen des britischen Premierministers Boris Johnson über verstärkte wirtschaftliche Beziehungen zur afrikanischen Anglosphäre in Einklang bringen. Zudem konkurrieren China und andere Global Player mit der EU und ihren Mitgliedstaaten im Kampf um afrikanische Ressourcen. Angesichts der Tatsache, daß Afrika zunehmend von anderen Partnern umworben wird, könnten seine Führer dazu neigen, ihre Beziehungen zur EU sukzessive einzuschränken und die EU auf ihre Funktion als Anbieter von Hilfe und Sicherheit gegen den islamischen Terrorismus zu begrenzen. Dieser Trend wird noch dadurch verstärkt, daß eine gemeinsame EU-Afrika-Strategie von den EU-Mitgliedstaaten noch nicht einmal verabschiedet wurde. Selbst der rechtzeitige Ersatz des Cotonou-Abkommens, das im November 2021 ausläuft, ist fraglich.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• English Title: The EU-Africa summit 2021 : Quo vadis, in the light of Brexit and Corona
• Language: French
• Keywords: EU-Africa summit, Corona, Brexit, Afrique, Royaume-Uni, UE, commerce international, récession économique, pauvreté, violence
• Subjects: F - International Economics > F1 - Trade > F13 - Trade Policy ; International Trade Organizations; F - International Economics > F3 - International Finance > F35 - Foreign Aid; F - International Economics > F5 - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy > F54 - Colonialism ; Imperialism ; Postcolonialism; F - International Economics > F6 - Economic Impacts of Globalization > F63 - Economic Development; G - Financial Economics > G1 - General Financial Markets > G15 - International Financial Markets; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health; N - Economic History > N1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics ; Industrial Structure ; Growth ; Fluctuations > N17 - Africa ; Oceania; N - Economic History > N4 - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation > N47 - Africa ; Oceania; N - Economic History > N6 - Manufacturing and Construction > N67 - Africa ; Oceania; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O17 - Formal and Informal Sectors ; Shadow Economy ; Institutional Arrangements; P - Economic Systems > P1 - Capitalist Systems > P16 - Political Economy; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z13 - Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology ; Social and Economic Stratification

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