Skip to content
resolution motion

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the state of play of advancing EU-Africa trade and investment relations

B-10-2026-0435

Official HTML ↗
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 8 Oct 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament's resolution takes stock of EU-Africa trade and investment relations and sets out what it wants done. It backs the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), calls for better use of Global Gateway and Aid for Trade, and asks for binding rules on critical raw materials and pesticides. It calls for sustainable infrastructure, industrialisation and local processing in Africa, support for small firms and women, and a continent-to-continent trade agreement in the long term. It wants Parliament to scrutinise new types of agreements, such as Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships (CTIPs), and asks the Commission to publish an annual implementation roadmap for them.

Key points

  1. Calls for a sustainable, competitive infrastructure and industrial base in Africa, with high value-added processing of raw materials, and deplores major infrastructure gaps.
  2. Asks the Commission, member states, African countries, enterprises, investors, the African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank to close these gaps using EU financial instruments, integrated corridors, clean energy, digitalisation and simpler trade procedures.
  3. Wants support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, access to finance, digital skills, innovation, formalisation of trade, women's empowerment, business-to-business meetings and the diaspora.
  4. States that political stability, social cohesion, good governance and the rule of law are preconditions for a good business environment, and welcomes countries that strengthened their regulatory environments and connectivity.
  5. Supports the AfCFTA, which aims to eliminate 90 % to 97 % of customs duties, calls for its swift and inclusive implementation, and welcomes the April 2026 Memorandum of Understanding between the AfCFTA Secretariat and the EU in Addis Ababa.
  6. Calls for the Global Gateway Africa-Europe Investment Package to deliver results, avoid unsustainable debt, support jobs and value chains, and be assessed periodically, including through European Court of Auditors audits.
  7. Says trade and investment relations must be mutually beneficial, that supply chain diversification should deepen local value creation, and that de-risking through public or multilateral institutions is essential.
  8. Calls for agreements on critical raw materials based on mutual benefit, transparency and sustainability, with free, prior and informed consent, technology transfer, support for small and medium-sized enterprises and dispute settlement provisions.
  9. Wants Global Gateway to create local added value and decent jobs, prioritise transport, energy and digital projects, increase visibility and parliamentary scrutiny, and not replace official development assistance.
  10. Calls for the EU-Africa partnership to promote food sovereignty, local fertiliser production and research, and for African exports to comply with EU health, environmental and sanitary rules; recalls the announced EU export ban on hazardous pesticides.
  11. Calls for stronger digital trade cooperation, digital skills and infrastructure, and support for open-source, trustworthy and human-centric artificial intelligence in African partner countries.
  12. Calls for Parliament's scrutiny of Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships and other new agreements, an annual implementation roadmap, and a continent-to-continent trade agreement preceded by a strong intra-African market.

Who is affected

  • African countries and the African Union: the resolution backs the AfCFTA, local processing and a continent-to-continent agreement.
  • EU investors and businesses in Africa: it seeks legal certainty, notably under the EU-Angola Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement.
  • African small and medium-sized enterprises and women: it calls for access to finance, digital skills and gender equality.
  • The Commission: it is asked to negotiate agreements, publish a CTIP roadmap and keep Parliament informed.

Figures and deadlines

  • 2.9 % of world trade is Africa's share, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development.
  • 14.9 % of total continental trade is intra-continental trade in Africa.
  • 97 % of African exports enter the European market duty-free.
  • 12 million new jobseekers enter the African labour market every year, while only 3 million jobs are available.
  • African countries lose 2 to 5 % of GDP to climate extremes and divert up to 9 % of budgets to responding to them.
  • China's trade with Africa reached EUR 297 billion in 2025.
  • The EU provides 38 % of Aid for Trade funding.
  • The AfCFTA aims to eliminate 90 % to 97 % of customs duties.