EU-AU joint meeting opens in Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa, February 27, 2020 (FBC) –The 10th joint meeting of the European Union (EU) and African Union (AU) Commissions started in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa this morning.

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and 20 Commissioners of the EU, including EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, are in attendance of the meeting started at AU headquarters.

After the plenary, AU and EU Commissioners will meet in clusters to discuss all topics that are relevant to the partnership.

Discussions will focus on key issues such as growth, jobs, green transition, digital, peace, security and governance, and mobility and migration.

The 10th Commission-to-Commission meeting marks a record participation on the EU side, a testament of the priority relations which Africa represents for the new European Commission and its aspiration to take them to a new level.

The EU and the AU will discuss how to take forward their cooperation to address key challenges both Europe and Africa are facing such as the need to promote sustainable growth and jobs, green transition, digital transformation, peace, security and good governance, mobility and migration.

The meeting will also be an opportunity for the EU side to consult its African partners on the upcoming comprehensive Africa Strategy which President von der Leyen promised to deliver in her first 100 days in office and is due to be presented in early March.

Political dialogue between the EU and the AU takes place regularly at different levels. Commission-to-Commission and ministerial meetings take place every year, whilst EU-AU Summits at Heads of State level are held every three years.

At the 5th AU-EU Summit in 2017, African and European leaders identified economic opportunities for the youth, peace and security, mobility and migration and cooperation on governance as the strategic priorities for 2018-2020 and committed to tackle them jointly.