The Africa programme analyses the geopolitics of the Africa-Europe relationship. In particular, the programme delves into relations between the African Union and the European Union to find creative foreign policy tools and strategies. It also focuses on two regions that are particularly relevant for Europe: the Horn of Africa and the Sahel.
The UAE has invested heavily in Africa’s energy sectors in recent years, expanding its stakes in oil and gas, and renewables. Rather than viewing the UAE as solely a rival, Europeans should pursue a strategy of “co-opetition”, balancing competition with cooperation in areas of mutual interest, to fast-track green initiatives
African and European decision-makers can achieve mutual benefit on critical raw materials – but the EU should be clearer about which parts of the value chain it wishes to invest in
Middle powers are shaping a fragmented world for which Europe is ill prepared. To protect its interests and values, the EU needs a foreign policy strategy that emphasises its wide range of interdependencies
On Saturday, Germany became the latest European country to withdraw military forces from the Sahel. Other states may go further, closing embassies. But walking away, wagging a patronising white finger at states facing existential threats will do nothing to stabilise the region
As European leaders navigate the EU’s strategic future amid rising geopolitical tensions, a critical mass of middle powers, from India and Turkey to the Gulf…
The UAE has invested heavily in Africa’s energy sectors in recent years, expanding its stakes in oil and gas, and renewables. Rather than viewing the UAE as solely a rival, Europeans should pursue a strategy of “co-opetition”, balancing competition with cooperation in areas of mutual interest, to fast-track green initiatives
In the first big multilateral test for prime minister Giorgia Meloni, this mini-series will explore the four main priorities of Italy’s 2024 G7 presidency: Ukraine, AI, infrastructure, and Africa
La discussione “Corridoio India-Medio Oriente-Europa: tra sfide attuali e potenziale strategico”, organizzata dall’ufficio di Roma dello European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) ed ELEC – European League for Economic Cooperation, avrà luogo, in forma virtuale, mercoledì 12 giugno 2024 dalle ore 16:30 alle ore 18:00 sulla piattaforma Zoom
The global energy transition has become a battleground for competing interests, with Africa emerging as a pivotal arena. International players vie for access to Africa’s…
The economic shock after COVID-19 plunged many African economies into debt trouble. Yet, four years later, the current system for restructuring debts – the G20 Common…
The lack of affordable finance for climate projects in Africa is a key barrier for the continent to reach its adaptation and mitigation goals. It…
African and European decision-makers can achieve mutual benefit on critical raw materials – but the EU should be clearer about which parts of the value chain it wishes to invest in
The lack of financing for climate projects in Africa is a major obstacle for the continent to reach its goals under the Paris agreement. In this critical year for climate finance, scattered efforts threaten to stymie real progress
The UAE has invested heavily in Africa’s energy sectors in recent years, expanding its stakes in oil and gas, and renewables. Rather than viewing the UAE as solely a rival, Europeans should pursue a strategy of “co-opetition”, balancing competition with cooperation in areas of mutual interest, to fast-track green initiatives
African and European decision-makers can achieve mutual benefit on critical raw materials – but the EU should be clearer about which parts of the value chain it wishes to invest in
Middle powers are shaping a fragmented world for which Europe is ill prepared. To protect its interests and values, the EU needs a foreign policy strategy that emphasises its wide range of interdependencies
Services play an increasingly important role in international trade. Improving EU-African trade in services would have wide-ranging benefits for both sides
Sudan needs a viable political pathway to end the military coup of 2021. European states should support pro-democracy actors while encouraging a comprehensive peace process
Africa’s new trade agreement promises deep economic integration on the continent – and offers the opportunity for greater African-European cooperation, including on the role trade can play in the green and digital transitions
A closer relationship between Britain, Africa, and the EU would benefit all sides. But this would require the British government to change its approach to Europe as well as to Africa
Africa’s burgeoning innovation economies offer huge opportunities for the continent – and for Europe as it looks to tackle the climate crisis and respond to China’s BRI global connectivity programme
ECFR’s policy experts examine what the Taliban takeover means for countries and regions around the world: Europe, the US, the Middle East, Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, and the Sahel
Regional organisations have proliferated in Africa, with many organisations attempting to address similar issues in similar parts of the continent. Europeans should take stock of the situation they have helped create
On Saturday, Germany became the latest European country to withdraw military forces from the Sahel. Other states may go further, closing embassies. But walking away, wagging a patronising white finger at states facing existential threats will do nothing to stabilise the region
The lack of financing for climate projects in Africa is a major obstacle for the continent to reach its goals under the Paris agreement. In this critical year for climate finance, scattered efforts threaten to stymie real progress
Europe’s old Sahel strategy is dead – and Russia is circling over its carcass
Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes expose how actors beyond the great powers can weaponise an interdependent global economy. To help overcome this threat, Europeans should advocate cooperation between the US and China
Italy’s much anticipated Africa strategy has some promising elements, but needs broadening if it is to really contribute to Italian, European, and African interests
The EU and Namibia have launched the roadmap of their renewable hydrogen partnership. To ensure it effectively helps the EU’s sustainability goals and boosts Namibia’s economic growth, planning should be clearer and more realistic
The UAE’s expanding role in Africa’s energy spaces could present a challenge to Europe’s energy security and decarbonisation ambitions – but opportunities for cooperation also exist that could accelerate the global energy transition
The UN rightly wishes to devolve responsibility for peace support operations to regional partners. But it should draw up novel ways to achieve this in Africa
The EU could form coalitions with the African Union at G20 summits on a variety of issues. To prepare for this, it should work with both the current and developing representatives of the organisation
The EU and its member states typically refuse to cooperate with unconstitutional governments. But they need to safeguard their security support to Niger to help combat the spread of jihadism in the region and prevent a counter-offer by Wagner
This project maps African regional initiatives in west and central Africa and provides a data-based and a geographical overview of the ‘à la carte’ nature of African regional cooperation
Violence is tearing Mali and the Sahel apart. But who are the armed groups behind the bloodshed? Where are international actors stationed in the region? And what motivates them all?
In the first big multilateral test for prime minister Giorgia Meloni, this mini-series will explore the four main priorities of Italy’s 2024 G7 presidency: Ukraine, AI, infrastructure, and Africa
Mark Leonard welcomes Cinzia Bianco and Theodore Murphy to discuss the crisis in the Red Sea and its escalation potential
Jeremy Shapiro welcomes Adebayo Olukoshi, Brian Kagoro, and Theodore Murphy to talk about Africa and the global order
Mark Leonard is joined by Theodore Murphy, Julien Barnes-Dacey and Marie Dumoulin to talk about Sudan
Mark Leonard is joined by Comfort Ero to learn more about the Nigerian perspective on global order
What does the end of Operation Barkhane in its current form mean for the Sahel?
What are the regional implications of the Tigray conflict and the prospects for transatlantic cooperation around the issue?
Where do we stand now in building a “strategic partnership” between the European and African continent?
As European leaders navigate the EU’s strategic future amid rising geopolitical tensions, a critical mass of middle powers, from India and Turkey to the Gulf…
La discussione “Corridoio India-Medio Oriente-Europa: tra sfide attuali e potenziale strategico”, organizzata dall’ufficio di Roma dello European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) ed ELEC – European League for Economic Cooperation, avrà luogo, in forma virtuale, mercoledì 12 giugno 2024 dalle ore 16:30 alle ore 18:00 sulla piattaforma Zoom
The global energy transition has become a battleground for competing interests, with Africa emerging as a pivotal arena. International players vie for access to Africa’s…
The economic shock after COVID-19 plunged many African economies into debt trouble. Yet, four years later, the current system for restructuring debts – the G20 Common…
The lack of affordable finance for climate projects in Africa is a key barrier for the continent to reach its adaptation and mitigation goals. It…
On 29 December 2023, South Africa filed its first-ever application before the International Court of Justice in response to the situation in the Gaza Strip,…
In 2020, the covid-19 pandemic laid bare the vulnerability of global sea trade to external shocks. A year later, the Suez Canal blockage sounded the alarm on…
On 28 February, Chadian opposition leader Yaya Dillo was killed in a shootout with security forces. He had been accused of leading an attack against…
Sudan is facing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. Ethnic killing plagues Darfur once again, millions have been displaced, and now a famine is looming. The fighting…
Migration in the Mediterranean has been a crisis factor for Europe for decades. To shed light on the issue, the discussion will revolve around ECFR’s policy brief edited by Lorena Stella Martini and Tarek Megerisi, which examines the case study of the Central Mediterranean route to analyse European externalization policies, focusing primarily on migration to Italy
Outside of the stock market fibrillations, the fear is that Libya will run out of hydrocarbon revenues and that state coffers will be emptied, fostering instability and illicit economic activities
If those sponsoring the Unsmil UN mission in Libya fail to take control and create space for a new political process, Libya will continue to disintegrate on every front
