We are happy to announce the release of our comprehensive policy brief analysing key African priorities for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), scheduled for mid-2025 in Spain. The brief examines critical financing challenges and opportunities in the African region amid growing global polarization and faltering progress
Food insecurity had been worsening significantly in Africa even before Russia´s invasion of Ukraine. Climate shocks, the COVID-19 pandemic and regional conflicts were disrupting food production and distribution resulting in rising costs for agricultural commodities on the continent. The war in Ukraine exacerbated the situation, pushing food and fertiliser prices even higher.
The 6th EU-AU summit, held in Brussels on 17-18 February 2022, marked an important milestone
in the relationship between the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU). After almost a
year and a half of delay, the summit provided leaders of both European and African countries
an opportunity to negotiate on a series of key topics that will shape the future of their relations.
Additionally, the summit provided a further opening for the regional bodies and their member
states to move away from an asymmetrical top-down relationship to a more vertical partnership
in which both sides negotiate deals based on sound analysis, trust and mutual respect.
Online panel discussion in the aftermath of the EU-AU summit.
This report is the outcome of a partnership initiative launched in 2021 by the European Think Tanks Group (ETTG) and the Africa-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Our initiative seeks to advance Africa-Europe relations in the run up to the 6th EU-AU summit in
European Think Tanks Group (ETTG), the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) joined forces to analyse divergences and seek consensus between the AU and the EU on key issues in the partnership. Drawing on roundtable discussions with experts from Africa and Europe, the group produced a series of policy briefs with proposals to strengthen the partnership between Africa and the EU on green transformation and climate change; economic development and trade; and participatory governance, peace and security. The briefs draw on contributions from more than 70 leading African and European independent experts, knowledge centres and think tanks that contributed reflections and suggested concrete policy recommendations.
