Country: European Union
Africa-Europe Summit Begins Amid Hope, Skepticism and a Wary Eye on China
European and African leaders kicked off a two-day summit in Brussels on Thursday amid a sense that ties between these two continents have reached a critical inflection point. European leaders, notably French President Emmanuel Macron, the current rotating president of the ...
EU-Africa Summit Set to Begin Amid a Rapidly Changing Geopolitical Landscape
African leaders have been arriving in Brussels all week in advance of the two-day Europe-Africa summit that begins tomorrow. But the timing of this year's gathering comes as some in Europe are bracing for what could be the continent's largest war since WWII and an increasingly contentious ...
German Construction Companies Struggle to Find a Way to Compete Against Chinese Rivals in Africa
European leaders have made it very clear in recent weeks that they intend to compete vigorously against Chinese rivals for a larger slice of the African infrastructure construction market. While that may sound nice, in practice it's going to be difficult. ...
The Global Gateway’s Real Challenge
With the EU-AU summit kicking off later this week in Brussels, I’ve been fielding questions from several journalists. They all kick off with one question: will the EU’s Global Gateway supplant the Belt and Road Initiative in Africa? In answering with a ...
Europe and China: Tell Us You Distrust Each Other Without Actually Telling Us You Distrust Each Other
Not surprisingly, China isn't mentioned once in the program of official events for the ongoing "Africa-Europe Week" that kicked off on Monday and will culminate in the two-day leaders' summit in Brussels. But just because China isn't on the ...
Like It Or Not, the EU’s New Infrastructure Push in Africa is Being Framed as a Challenge to China
European Union President Ursula von der Leyen seemingly went out of her way to avoid saying the C-word during her brief two-day trip to Africa last week that included stops in Morocco and Senegal. The C-word, of course, is China. Beijing's ...
European MP: We’ve Just Been “Doing the Donor Thing” in Africa and Now “Have to be Smart Like the Chinese”
Although China will likely not be on the official agenda at the upcoming European Union-Africa summit that will take place on Thursday and Friday in Brussels, China's role on the continent and how Europe can/should compete with Beijing will be on everyone's minds.
Africa’s Shifting Infrastructure Landscape
In the current heated discussion about the fluctuations and debt implications of Chinese infrastructure funding to Africa, one sometimes forgets exactly how transformative Chinese financing has been on the continent. It’s no secret that over the last fifteen years or so China has been the main funder ...
EU Chief Unveils First Global Gateway Projects in Africa
It's official! The European Union's answer to China's Belt and Road Initiative is now a reality. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the first initiatives under the EU's new Global Gateway program during a two-day visit to Morocco and ...
With An Eye on China, EU Chief Says Europe is Africa’s “Most Reliable Partner”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (photo) will arrive in Dakar on Wednesday for a quick trip before next week's Europe-Africa summit. One of the key highlights of her visit will be to unveil some of the first projects selected as part of the new Global Gateway ...