On renewing the EU-Africa partnership: building common priorities ahead of the Angola Summit

B100471/2025

European Parliament resolution on renewing the EU-Africa partnership: building common priorities ahead of the Angola Summit

(2025/2933(RSP))

– having regard to the seventh EU-African Union (AU) Summit, which will take place in Luanda, Angola, on 24 and 25 November 2025,

– having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the EU and its Member States, of the one part, and the Members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), of the other part, also known as the Samoa Agreement, signed on 15 November 2023 and provisionally applied since 1 January 2024, which replaces the Cotonou Agreement and provides the overarching framework for EU-Africa relations through its dedicated Africa-EU Regional Protocol,

– having regard to the Joint Africa-EU Strategy adopted in Lisbon on 9 December 2007, which laid the foundation for a continent-to-continent partnership between the AU and the EU, and to the lessons learned from its implementation,

– having regard to Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, adopted by the AU Assembly on 31 January 2015,

– having regard to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);

– having regard to Article 208 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

– having regard to Article 21(2)(d) of the Treaty on European Union;

– having regard to the outcomes of recent Africa-EU summits, in particular that of the sixth EU-AU Summit, which took place in Brussels on 17 and 18 February 2022,

– having regard to the Global Gateway strategy and to the Global Gateway Africa-Europe Investment Package announced at the sixth AU-EU Summit, through which the EU committed to mobilising up to EUR 150 billion by 2027 to boost Africa’s capacities in the areas of digital connectivity, transport infrastructure, the energy transition, education, health, and research,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/947 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 June 2021 establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe, amending and repealing Decision No 466/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EU) 2017/1601 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 480/2009 (NDICI – Global Europe),

– having regard to the development effectiveness principles laid down at the Busan High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in 2011, which build on the aid effectiveness principles set out in the 2005 Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness and the 2008 Accra Agenda for Action;

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Africa-EU relations, in particular its resolution of 25 March 2021 on a new EU-Africa Strategy – a partnership for sustainable and inclusive development,

– having regard to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, which entered into force in 2019,

– having regard to the Abidjan Declaration, which was the outcome of the 4th EU-Africa Youth Summit, held in Abidjan from 9 to 11 October 2017,

– having regard to the outcome document of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, which was held from 30 June to 3 July 2025 (Sevilla Commitment),

– having regard to the Paris Agreement on climate change and to the joint commitments of the EU and African states under it, as well as to the outcomes of recent UN climate change conferences (COPs) relevant to Africa, underlining the importance of cooperation in combating climate change,

– having regard to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity on 19 December 2022,

– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

– having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989,

– having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,

– having regard to the Nairobi Declaration on African Business and Human Rights Forum of October 2024, which commits to responsible business conduct that is aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,

– having regard to the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance;

– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the seventh EU-AU Summit, taking place in Luanda, Angola, on 24 and 25 November 2025, marks 25 years of EU-AU partnership, focusing on strengthening cooperation in key areas, such as peace and security, economic integration, trade, multilateralism, green development, digitalisation, migration, mobility and human development;

B. whereas the Samoa Agreement between the EU and the OACPS provides a renewed overarching legal and political framework for cooperation between equal partners, on the basis of shared commitments and responsibilities; whereas its effective implementation requires transparency, inclusiveness and the genuine participation of parliaments, civil society and young people on both continents;

C. whereas the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 SDGs outlined therein remain the only universal, overarching and comprehensive framework for eradicating poverty, fighting inequality and climate change, and ensuring prosperity and peace for all; whereas the SDGs must continue to serve as the guiding compass for EU-Africa cooperation, ensuring policy coherence for sustainable development across trade, climate, finance, migration and peacebuilding; whereas the EU and Africa share responsibility for accelerating progress towards these goals through a partnership grounded in solidarity, mutual respect, accountability and tangible results;

D. whereas, according to the UN Development Programme’s Human Development Report 2023-24, 23 African countries remain in the low human development category, and inequality continues to be one of the main barriers to achieving the SDGs;

E. whereas recent significant cuts to the budget of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and reductions in support by other major development and bilateral actors have jeopardised essential programmes in health, education, food security, governance and civil society support across Africa; whereas the funding cuts come at a time when African countries are facing multiple crises, including conflicts, debt distress and climate change shocks;

F. whereas the financing gaps for sustainable development are large and growing larger still, reaching an estimated USD 4 trillion annually;

G. whereas Africa’s ongoing sovereign debt crisis has intensified in the past decade and is likely to worsen in the coming years; whereas, in a climate of geopolitical turmoil and rising interest rates, Africa’s public debt ratio doubled between 2010 and 2022, rising from 32.7 % to 65 %;

H. whereas the EU is the largest donor of humanitarian aid to Africa; whereas the global humanitarian system is facing an unprecedented funding crisis, with only 43 % of the UN’s USD 50 billion humanitarian aid appeal being fulfilled in 2024;

I. whereas the proposed restructuring of EU external action funding under Global Europe, including the merging of previous geographic and thematic programmes, risks undermining the EU’s capacity to support Africa effectively by reducing the responsiveness and visibility of projects on the ground, and by potentially limiting the meaningful participation of local and regional actors in the design, implementation and oversight of initiatives;

J. whereas the AU’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want is Africa’s own long-term blueprint for inclusive growth, regional integration, gender equality and sustainable development;

K. whereas the AfCFTA is a transformative project for Africa’s integration and economic sovereignty, yet Africa’s development is marked by excessive dependency on the export of raw materials; whereas this dependency creates vulnerabilities to price volatility and hinders industrial development;

L. whereas the European Parliament and the Pan-African Parliament are key democratic institutions representing the voices of the peoples of Europe and Africa and play a vital role in ensuring transparency, accountability and public participation in the partnership;

M. whereas civil society organisations, trade unions, youth movements and local authorities are essential to promoting democratic dialogue, inclusion and social justice within EU-Africa cooperation;

N. whereas peace, security and good governance are prerequisites for prosperity, yet several African regions continue to face instability, terrorism, unconstitutional changes of government, and humanitarian crises;

O. whereas democracy, human rights and gender equality are core values of both the EU and the AU, and women and young people are key agents of change for Africa’s democratic and economic future;

P. whereas gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are prerequisites for sustainable development, peace and prosperity; whereas women and girls continue to face structural discrimination, gender-based violence, and limited access to education, healthcare and decision-making;

Q. whereas Africa has the world’s fastest-growing population of young people, which both offers significant potential and poses growing challenges in terms of fostering economic development, combating poverty, reducing inequalities and providing quality education for all; whereas education and skills development are central to EU-Africa cooperation, and both the EU and the AU acknowledge the importance of investing in human capital, technical and vocational training, research, innovation, youth mobility, and stronger links between education systems and the labour market;

R. whereas remittances sent by members of the African diaspora are a vital source of income for households and national economies across the African continent;

S. whereas a balanced, humane and right-based approach to migration is crucial to achieving the SDGs;

T. whereas climate change and environmental degradation threaten lives and livelihoods across Africa, despite the continent’s minimal contribution to global emissions; whereas joint EU-AU leadership is essential to achieve a just and green transition;

New strategic partnership of equals

1. Reaffirms the EU’s strong commitment to a renewed and genuine partnership of equals with the AU and African states, grounded in shared values and common interests and solidarity in addressing global challenges, and based on effective cooperation that delivers benefits for people on both continents and reflects a joint commitment to democracy, human rights, social justice, peace and sustainable development;

2. Reaffirms that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs must serve as the common compass for the renewed EU-Africa partnership, which should align all political, financial and investment frameworks, including NDICI – Global Europe and the Global Gateway strategy, with the SDGs, the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, ensuring social, environmental and economic impact across both continents;

3. Calls for the establishment of a genuine new strategic partnership of equals between the EU and the AU, building on the Joint Vision for 2030 adopted at the sixth EU-AU Summit in Brussels and guided by shared priorities with regard to prosperity, peace and governance, human development and environmental stewardship; stresses that this partnership must convert common aspirations into measurable commitments, including through transparent and participatory mechanisms involving parliaments and civil society on both continents;

4. Highlights that the EU is Africa’s largest trading and investment partner and stresses the need to rebalance trade relations in favour of value addition and diversification, notably regarding critical raw materials; supports the full implementation of the AfCFTA as a driver of continental integration and acknowledges the need to address, in this respect, concerns that economic partnership agreements risk fragmenting African regional integration and hindering intra-African trade;

5. Calls on the Commission to ensure, in the design and implementation of the Global Europe instrument under the multiannual financial framework for 2028-2034, that programmes dedicated to strengthening democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the work of civil society organisations in Africa remain clearly ringfenced, adequately funded and fully protected from being merged or diluted so as to safeguard their visibility, effectiveness and direct impact on local governance and societal resilience;

6. Recalls that all forms of development cooperation should be grounded in the aid effectiveness principles established at the Busan High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in 2011; stresses, in this regard, that the implementation of the Samoa Agreement and the Global Gateway must align with the AU’s Agenda 2063 and uphold the principles of equality, mutual accountability and African ownership across all strands of cooperation;

7. Urges the Commission, the European External Action Service and the Member States to ensure that projects implemented under the Global Gateway Africa-Europe Investment Package are co-designed with African stakeholders, aligned with national and regional priorities and implemented transparently; insists that the Global Gateway should always adhere to fundamental EU values, including respect for human rights, good governance, democracy, transparency and environmental sustainability;

8. Believes that the cornerstone of the Global Gateway’s success is its engagement with the genuine needs of partner countries; stresses the importance of aligning Global Gateway priorities with priorities for local development, and of combining policy dialogue, investment, development cooperation and diplomatic engagement to maximise strategic coherence and long-term impact; recalls, equally, that investments under the Global Gateway must go hand in hand with accountability, transparency and parliamentary oversight; stresses that improving the visibility of EU-funded Global Gateway projects and communicating about them more effectively is essential for demonstrating the EU’s added value, ensuring accountability to citizens in Europe and partner countries, and highlighting the tangible benefits of the Africa-Europe partnership on the ground; underlines the crucial role of EU Delegations in this process and highlights the need to strengthen their capacities, rather than reducing them, in order to ensure the effective coordination and implementation of Global Gateway initiatives;

9. Insists that investments must comply with high social and environmental standards and contribute to local value chains; stresses, to this end, its strong support for the extension and systematic use of the EU inequality marker across all external action instruments and programmes, including those related to the EU-Africa partnership;

10. Underlines that official development assistance must remain focused on the reduction of poverty and inequalities; calls on the Member States to sustain and step up progress towards the long-standing UN target of allocating 0.7 % of gross national income to official development assistance and to increase the share directed to least developed countries, in line with EU and international commitments; urges the EU and its Member States to prioritise allocating grants and concessional financing on the basis of vulnerabilities, particularly in least developed countries and fragile or conflict-affected countries; encourages the exploration of innovative and legally sound financing tools, including the voluntary reallocation of International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights;

11. Expresses deep concern about the mounting debt burden facing many African countries; acknowledges that large-scale investment initiatives and loans provided under the Global Gateway risk aggravating debt distress; calls for the EU to support comprehensive debt restructuring and the reform of the global financial architecture to ensure fairer terms and transparency, building on the Sevilla Commitment that resulted from the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development of June 2025;

12. Recalls that the 2030 Agenda identifies the reduction of illicit financial flows as a priority area; calls for the EU and its African partners to step up their cooperation to combat tax avoidance and evasion, base erosion and illicit financial flows;

13. Notes the changing landscape of international development assistance, where evolving priorities among major global donor countries, including recent large-scale cuts in USAID programmes, have created significant financing gaps in essential services; calls on the Commission and the Member States to realign NDICI – Global Europe and Team Europe programming with the officially agreed objectives and minimum spending targets for sub-Saharan Africa and thematic programmes, and to use these instruments to swiftly bridge financing gaps where appropriate, prioritising health, education, food security and climate adaptation in the most vulnerable African countries;

Peace, security and good governance

14. Reiterates that peace and prosperity are inseparable; expresses its deep concern about the persistence of violent conflict, terrorism, extremism and unconstitutional changes of government in several African regions; calls for greater support for African-led peace and security architectures, conflict prevention, mediation and post-conflict reconstruction; stresses that security cooperation must comply fully with international law and prioritise civilian protection and governance reform;

15. Supports African-led peace operations and mediation efforts under the African Peace and Security Architecture;

16. Insists that good governance, transparency and accountability are the backbone of sustainable development; encourages support for civil service reform, anti-corruption mechanisms, free and independent media, and strong civil society participation; calls for enhanced cooperation on electoral observation and democracy-building, in partnership with the AU and regional organisations;

17. Reaffirms the essential role of women and young people in peacebuilding and governance; urges both the EU and the AU to implement the Women, Peace and Security agenda and the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, ensuring equal participation in decision-making;

Investing in human development, young people and mobility

18. Affirms that people-centred cooperation is the core of the EU-Africa partnership; welcomes the Youth Action Plan for 2022-2027 and the Youth Mobility for Africa initiative; calls for the Erasmus+, Horizon Europe and Intra-Africa Academic Mobility schemes to be scaled up to reach far more students and researchers, and for increased support to be provided to African universities and vocational institutes;

19. Emphasises that health security is a shared global public good; welcomes EU support for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, for vaccine manufacturing hubs in Africa and for the African Medicines Agency; calls for continued cooperation on pandemic preparedness, local pharmaceutical production and universal health coverage;

20. Calls for a rights-based approach to migration and mobility, ensuring safe and regular pathways, the protection of refugees and displaced persons and the fair treatment of migrants; urges the EU and the AU to address the root causes of irregular migration through job creation, governance and climate resilience; supports the expansion of legal and circular migration pathways; stresses that all migration cooperation must respect international law and human rights;

21. Acknowledges the vital role of diaspora communities in deepening ties between Africa and Europe; encourages structured dialogue with diaspora networks and support for initiatives linking remittances and entrepreneurship to sustainable development in countries of origin;

22. Reiterates that gender equality and women’s empowerment are prerequisites for inclusive growth; urges both continents to uphold women’s rights, ensure access to education and sexual and reproductive health services, and combat gender-based violence and harmful practices;

Climate, the environment and multilateral cooperation

23. Emphasises the urgent need for climate justice and a just green transition; stresses that this can only be achieved by setting ambitious goals for environmental, social and public governance (ESG+); recognises climate change as a defining common challenge and an opportunity for EU-Africa collaboration;

24. Recalls that projects financed under the Global Gateway should be climate-neutral and should speed up sustainable development and the transition to a cleaner and more circular economy;

25. Notes that the mining sector is among the sectors with the worst records of human rights violations, environmental degradation, the grabbing of indigenous peoples’ land, and conflicts; emphasises that EU-Africa strategic corridors for mineral resources must meet the highest sustainability and due diligence standards, while helping African countries to move up the value chain;

26. Calls for the EU to deliver its fair share of climate finance for African adaptation and mitigation efforts, prioritising early-warning systems, agroecology and the protection of biodiversity, and to take concrete action, including at COP conferences, to step up technology transfer; calls for sufficient funding for the global Loss and Damage Fund so that it can assist climate-vulnerable countries;

27. Underlines the particular responsibility of all major emitters, including emerging economies and G20 countries, to take the lead and show leadership in global climate action in order to meet the targets set in the Paris Agreement; calls for the EU and like-minded partners to spearhead a coalition of high ambition and work collaboratively with all parties to secure a successful outcome at COP30; urges the EU and its Member States to work towards providing an additional USD 1.3 trillion per year for climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as loss and damage, through public concessional and non-debt creating instruments, in line with the Baku to Belém Roadmap agreed at COP 29;

28. Proposes that the AU and the EU establish an annual high-level dialogue on climate and sustainability in order to monitor progress and align policies on energy, biodiversity and environmental protection;

29. Reaffirms that human rights, democracy and the rule of law are core pillars of the EU-Africa partnership; calls for enhanced support to civil society, human rights defenders, independent media and youth movements; warns about the shrinking civic space;

30. Emphasises the central role of education in unlocking Africa’s demographic potential, and stresses that education must be a central priority of development cooperation and a key pillar of the EU-Africa partnership;

31. Stresses the central role of gender equality and women’s empowerment in all dimensions of the partnership; urges action to remove barriers preventing girls from accessing inclusive and safe education; urges the EU and the AU to strengthen joint measures to eliminate gender-based violence and discrimination;

Way forward

32. Welcomes the seventh EU-AU Summit in Luanda as a significant opportunity for African and European leaders to reaffirm their commitment to the EU-AU partnership and build on the progress made under the Joint Vision for 2030, adopted in Brussels in 2022; calls on the participants to seize this opportunity to announce measurable commitments for the next five years, notably through the adoption of a Joint Action Plan for 2025-2030, implementing the Joint Vision for 2030;

33. Welcomes the AU’s admission as a permanent member of the G20 and supports greater African representation in global governance, including a permanent seat for the AU on the UN Security Council; urges the AU and the EU to coordinate closely in multilateral forums to defend democracy and the rule of law;

34. Underlines the importance of institutionalising the parliamentary dimension of future EU-AU summits as an integral component of their framework in order to ensure citizen representation, public oversight and a democratic contribution to the deliberations and outcomes of the EU-AU partnership;

35. Supports the revival of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly between the European Parliament and the Pan-African Parliament as a forum for democratic dialogue and oversight; encourages regular thematic meetings between parliamentary committees from both continents to ensure accountability within the partnership;

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36. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President of the European Council, the President of the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the African Union Commission, the Pan-African Parliament, the governments and parliaments of the EU Member States and the African Union Member States, and the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States.