By Jon Cote
On February 17th and 18th 2022, the Leaders of the European Union and African Union held their 6th annual Summit in Brussels. Being co-chaired by Charles Michel (President of the European Council) and Macky Sall (President of Senegal and the African Union)-- the summit (having been long overdue), was last conducted in 2017, largely being pushed back as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and intergovernmental disagreements.
On the agenda was a broad range of measures to be addressed by both Africa, and the EU. Headliners included: Africa’s green transition, the acceleration of digital transition, sustainable job growth and creation, strengthened healthcare systems, and improved education. Through a direct investment package, the EU looks to provide African nations with specialized grants, loans and the EU’s new “Global Green Bonds” to help sponsor and create transformational projects across the continent. It is why the timing of this past summit in February occurs at a critical moment for the Union.
With great powers such as China and Russia vying for influence in Africa, and the United States Secretary of State Blinken echoing the rise of a new cold war– the European Union is increasingly being sidelined. Furthermore, European competitiveness on the global stage continues to decline. “The 28 countries currently in the EU accounted for more than a third of the world’s GDP in 1960. By 2100, they are expected to make up just one-tenth, according to a forecast by the Pardee Center of the University of Denver”. Furthermore, China’s Belt and Road initiative, sometimes called the New Silk Road, has allowed China to embark on the most ambitious investment scheme in the world, having invested between 2001 and 2018 around 41 billion into the continent, and drowning out competition in the task. To combat all of this, the European Union has attempted to counteract China in 4 main areas: investments in manufacturing and access to vaccines, medicines and health technologies, clean hydrogen production, youth mobility, and female entrepreneurship.
Strengthening Health Systems: Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines and Health Technologies
No other region felt the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic worse than that of the African continent. With much of the healthcare infrastructure, and trained professionals abundant in more developed countries, the rapid rise of COVID forced nations to conserve their healthcare resources to protect their own populations. As a result, COVID-19 had an unchecked reign on the African subcontinent, over 12 million individuals reportedly were infected (with totals expected to be almost double reported cases as a result of a lack of available testing resources).
Under the EU’s plans, the ambition by 2030 is to have improved vaccination coverage, strengthened African pharmaceutical systems and operational centers of capacities to meet domestic and regional demands. To achieve this, the EU has stepped in to provide direct funding to low-income countries– funding and helping build and structure local social services, all while enhancing domestic resource mobilization. The underlying nature behind these initiatives is sustainability, with all projects working towards the end goal of self-sufficiency among low-income communities across the continent.
An example of this framework can be seen in Rwanda’s healthcare system. Through partnership with the European Union, an integrated healthcare system was implemented that allowed for subsidized premiums and copayments of healthcare insurance by civilians for over 2 million of the poorest individuals in Rwandan society. In 2017, nearly 90% of Rwandans were found to be covered through this program, doubling Rwanda’s national life expectancy– putting the country on track to be the first African nation to achieve universal healthcare.
While the EU’s initiative works to help establish a clear framework and partnership for African nations, it completely fails to address the underlying problems that allowed COVID-19 to reign free across the continent. The brain drain phenomenon alone accounts for 2 billion dollars in extra spending on training and equipping doctors in Africa. While the EU already provides grants to students from Africa to study in Europe, what they neglect to do is provide more grants to medical personnel across the continent. The establishment of a medical exchange program would allow for healthcare professionals on the African continent to be directly exposed to western healthcare techniques and practices that can be brought back and used on the continent.
Another barrier to innovation and advancement within the African healthcare system stems from the lack of viable external suppliers– many of which reside within western nations. During much of the COVID-19 pandemic, western nations (including a majority of the EU states) hoarded control over vaccine development and production– while simultaneously denying developing nations (most notably in Africa) this ability for themselves. By building a monopoly of greed and selfishness over vaccines and their production, the EU portrayed its true priorities: Stockpiling well over what they needed first, and then feigning “empathy” towards the rest of the world afterwards.
Now, with vaccination rates at a record high across the European continent, and global competition returning to the African continent, the EU returned with “commitments” to helping ensure African vaccination. If the EU were serious in its commitments, a first step would be to recognize the implications of its actions on the production of vaccines within the African continent, and then to follow up with a comprehensive plan that would include breaking down the corporate choke-holds on vaccine patents, production and development through waivers and technology sharing. Establishing a joint-research based program that would allow for African scientists to work in cooperation with European scientists.
Accelerating the Green Transition: Clean Hydrogen Production in Africa
As Europe continues to struggle from the impacts of the Russian and Ukraine war, energy bills for families across the union are expected to surge to around 500 euros a month– a threefold increase over 2021 numbers, totalling 2 trillion when put together. With the African continent being abundant in its possession of natural gas, the importance for the continent to reposition itself as center to production and export of climate-friendly hydrogen has become crucial. Through becoming a leading producer of hydrogen and sustainable energy, the African Union hopes to bring in new streams of income, and employment for Africans across the continent.
With 35 billion euros already pledged towards the transition, the EU claims to be placing a greater focus on the implementation of a clean and sustainable transition. Companies across the globe are increasingly turning towards Green energy, with the EU’s green bonds being at the center of this emphasis. With the right investments, hydrogen production is expected to hit around 40 Gigawatts of electrolyser capacity in the year 2030– a goal that the European Union and African Unions both hope to capitalize on.
While the EU’s ambitions towards clean hydrogen production in Africa come as a core tenet of its green energy push, the reality stems from poor decision making by European leaders in the late 1990’s. The construction of, and eventual completion of Nordsteam 1 (a pair of offshore natural gas pipelines that run from Russia to Germany) paved the way for European dependency on Russia for its energy needs. Europe’s failure to become a leader in the production of natural gas and hydrogen have now resulted in renewed calls for change. To solve this, the EU must continue to work in partnership with the African Union to help provide the necessary technology and equipment to help produce, and maintain natural gas and hydrogen flows into Europe. To do this, the construction of new pipelines similar to that of the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline (also known as the Pere Duran Farell pipeline, or Gazoduc Maghreb Europe pipeline) must be implemented. Not only to help increase the flow of natural gas into Europe, but to help reduce reliance on Russia and provide alternate sustainable options.
While building more pipelines into Europe may help, it’s important furthermore that Europe continues to encourage investment in African natural gas operations. Offering to help and assist in the construction of trans-continental pipelines that help bring profits to all of Africa, not just that of the North African nations. With talks already underway for a proposal similar to this, time is running out for the EU to act. If the Russian-Ukraine war has taught the commission anything, it's that pushing off problems until preemptive measures are necessary is no longer sustainable.
Investing in Education and Training: Youth Mobility
One of the core goals under the United Nations Charter aims to provide all children with complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education. Investing in education is a crucial key to improving growth and labor force education. With around 1.6 billion children across the African continent out of school as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unprecedented disruption to learning requires an increased investment. With so much progress having been made across the continent, the EU’s investment in education remains focused on Youth Mobility and potential.
Through focusing on youth mobility in Africa, the EU hopes to promote student exchanges between both Africa and Europe– offering thousands of scholarships to students in Africa to study in Europe. All while being committed to bolstering training efforts that correspond to the increased opportunities available in the labor market, and building more innovative solutions to problems plaquing schools across Africa, such as the lack of teachers, and teacher talent.
The EU’s approach, similar to that of most western developed nations, takes a modest approach to an issue that has consistently plagued the African continent. In 2021, 67.4 percent of people aged 15 and up were able to read and write, with the vast majority of the most literate coming from Southern Africa– with literacy rates hitting their lowest around 54 percent in parts of West and Central Africa.
While the EU’s approach may be good for already educated children, it fails to take into account the basis for how youth mobility begins in the first place. With children being the most disproportionately affected by lack of access to education, the EU’s efforts should center around providing Africa with more resources to combat a very fundamental step in the education process: literacy. Through establishing paid missions, and corporate sponsorships in the African continent, the EU can look to sponsor youth mobility through granting them the very fundamental basis to an education.
Accelerating Sustainable Growth and Decent Job Creation: Female Entrepreneurship
Foreign and direct investment into the African continent hit a record 83 billion dollars in 2021, an amount that now totals 5.2% of the globe's total foreign direct investment (up from 4.1% in 2020). The European Union’s investment package focuses on multiple different sectors within the African continent, most notably: transportation, support to businesses, economic integration, inclusive economies in the north africa region, sustainable mineral raw material value chains and Africa-EU science, technology and innovation initiatives. While each section focuses on a different aspect of the overall African economy, the central focus of the program centers around female entrepreneurship on the continent.
Under the EU’s investment package, a program dubbed “Women Entrepreneurship for Africa” (WE4A) allows female investors and female led businesses to begin to integrate themselves more into domestic, regional, and international value chains. Providing 10,000 euro grants to over 120 women entrepreneurs across the African continent for a 3 month period (with an additional 50,000 Euro grant going towards enterprises with high-growth potential).
With investment opportunities continuing to rise, so too is international attention towards the region. While encouraging entrepreneurship has always been a goal of the EU, its “Women Entrepreneurship for Africa” is a start that begins a conversation across Africa: the role of women in Economic/Political power. The political, cultural and social environment that women face in Africa is one that has consistently stood as a struggle to female entrepreneurship. While the 10,000 euro grants to over 120 women entrepreneurs is a start, it completely misses the mark.
The main problem with this program stems from the reality that these 10,000 euros are only granted to female entrepreneurs after they have succeeded. The point of providing grants is to encourage, not award. Many of these aspiring female entrepreneurs and leaders face a system that consistently lacks access to appropriate training, financing, and human capital. Furthermore, many women in the field face open violence, and lack of media attention/coverage that hinders success.
To successfully promote sustainable growth and job creation in the form of female entrepreneurship, the EU should instead work to help solve the baseline roots for why female entrepreneurs struggled to begin with.
Conclusion
Through global gateway, the European Union looks to present a clear vision of its place in the world– one based around “democratic values, equal partnerships, environmental sustainability, and safe and secure infrastructure”. All of this comes at the backdrop of the Russia Ukraine war– a major contributing factor to soaring inflation, energy costs and food prices. All while fears of energy blackouts cloud over much of the continent as it heads into winter. With the Euro at a 20 year low, and economic conditions seeming to be worsening by the day, the European Commission's task at presenting a strong, unified front has become increasingly more paramount.
If the European Union truly wants to retain its status as a global player, steps must be taken to actively counteract the aggressive and oftentimes unethical methods being used by other super powers. If not, the Union itself may find its power, in an ever polarizing world, to be dwindling.
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