The report builds on the result of the European Think Tanks Group (ETTG) and the Elcano Royal Institute cooperation, with the support of the Spanish State Secretariat for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.
UN Public Service Day has been observed on June 23 since 2002. On this day we celebrate the value of public service and the important contribution of efficient, accountable and effective public administration for achieving global development goals.
The present situation of protracted crises ā climate, biodiversity, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine ā and their repercussions on human wellbeing appear overwhelming. With the Green Deal, Team Europe and Global Gateway the EU has presented several ambitious initiatives to address these crises but has neglected the dialogue with its partners. Europe was under considerable (geo)political pressure to provide these responses, yet the internal discussions leading to their adoption and the time pressure meant that the dialogue with its international partners was limited in both scope and depth. This not only contradicts its aim to move away from so-called ādonor-recipient relationsā but also jeopardises the effectiveness and sustainability of its initiatives.
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.
On the 17th and 18th of February, the African Union and the European Union convened a Summit in Brussels and approved an āAfrica-Europe Investment Package of EUR 150 billion to help build more diversified, inclusive, sustainable and resilient economiesā. Is this Summit a turning point in the reciprocal relationship or is it a mere improvement of the usual kind of relations? To what extent is it an answer to strategic and concrete moves from other powers, namely China?
