State of the Union 2018: Towards a new 'Africa - Europe Alliance' to deepen economic relations and boost investment and jobs

The European Commission is proposing a new ‘Africa – Europe Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs’ to substantially boost investment in Africa, strengthen trade, create jobs, and invest in education and skills.

On 12 September, on the occasion of his State of the Union Address, President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “Africa does not need charity, it needs true and fair partnership. And we, Europeans need this partnership just as much. Today, we are proposing a new Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs between Europe and Africa. This Alliance, as we envision it, would help create up to 10 million jobs in Africa in the next 5 years alone. I believe we should develop the numerous EU-African trade agreements into a continent-to-continent free trade agreement, as an economic partnership between equals.”

Today’s package builds on the commitments taken during the African Union – European Union Summit which took place in November last year in Abidjan, where the two continents agreed to strengthen their partnership. It sets out the key strands of action for a stronger economic agenda for the EU and its African partners.

High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini said: “Europe and Africa share many of the same interests: we both want a stronger Africa – with quality jobs for its youth, a better business climate, and peace and security for all. In these years we have started to build a real partnership of equals with Africa. We are already strong political partners, the next step is to be true economic partners and deepen our trade and investment relationship. We want to give young people opportunities to achieve their aspirations. Boosting responsible investment in Africa is a win-win for both sides.”

Expected results

The Alliance will lead to concrete results such as the creation of up to 10 million jobs in the next 5 years. With EU financial support mobilised by 2020:

• 35,000 students and academics from Africa will benefit from Erasmus+ by 2020. A further 70,000 will benefit by 2027, reaching a total of 105,000 in ten years.
• 750,000 people will receive vocational training for skills development.
• 30 million people and companies will benefit from access to electricity thanks to the EU’s leveraged investment in renewable energy and a boosted generation capacity by 5 GW.
• 24 million people will have access to all season roads through our leveraged investment in transport infrastructure.
• 3.2 million jobs in Africa are expected to be created under the External Investment Plan just by the Investment Programmes focussed on small and medium-sized enterprises.
• With a guarantee of €75 million, a single investment programme from the External Investment Plan will generate 800,000 jobs.

Consultation and dialogue with African partners will be organised in the coming months to jointly define priorities and take further action. The Alliance will take into account the diversity across the African continent and the specificities of each country, including the contractual relations of the Northern African countries through their Association Agreements and their experience of co-operation with the EU through the European Neighbourhood Policy.

Original source: European Commission
Published on 12 September 2018