The EU–AU Trade and Development Partnership: Towards a New Era?

This paper provides an overview of AU–EU trade and development relations with a specific focus on the main structural inequalities and drivers, and suggestions for building a more equitable partnership, but also on promoting African post COVID recovery. Therefore, trade and development cooperation still remains a key area with the greatest potential to harness the relationship but also achieve the partnership’s long-term objectives. Accordingly, this paper stresses the need to take a different approach in terms of priorities and negotiating stance within the proposed new EU strategy for Africa. It also provides policy recommendations for enhancing the trade and development cooperation arrangements in order to make the mutual-interest-based partnership a reality.

Paper prepared in the framework of the project "The future of AU-EU cooperation: Towards a new era?", organised by the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) in collaboration with the Fondation Jean Jaurès (FJJ) and implemented with the support of the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). Published also in French: "Partenariat de commerce et développement entre l’UE et l’UA. Vers une ère nouvelle ?".