Magazine / Politics / Africa and Europe / Background | 29/11/2007

Africa and Europe

In today's world, the relations between Africa and Europe are defined to a great extent by the following aspects: trade, migration, development collaboration and forms of political cooperation.

Before achieving independence in the 1950's and 60's, the entire African continent except for Ethiopia and Liberia lay under the rule of European colonial powers. The colonisation of Africa as well as the slave trade which began in the 15th century had consequences for the further political and economical development of the continent. To name but one example; the one-sided orientation of African economies on the export of raw materials began in the colonial era, and has impeded the development process for Africa right up to the present day.

Oil pipelines belonging to the Italian oil company Agip in Obrikom, Nigeria.
Foto: AP

Today, relations between Africa and Europe are mainly defined via trade, migration, development collaboration and forms of political cooperation both bilaterally between the individual states and between African countries and the European Union.

Trade relations at EU level

When in 1975 the first Lomé treaty was made between the EU and 46 African states, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP states), this was generally considered as a model for a partnership between industrial and developing countries. Since the year 2000, these relations have been regulated after comprehensive reform in the Cotonou treaty in which a total of 77 countries participated, among these all the countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The cooperation between the EU and the ACP states is based on three pillars: mutual trade facilitations, development collaboration and political cooperation. The EU also has special relations with the North African Mediterranean countries, which have been laid down since 1995 in the Euro-Mediterranean treaty.

The EU has granted the African states wide-ranging preference for the entry of exports into the EU market. Raw materials and agricultural products which do not compete directly with those products categorised in the collaborative agricultural politics can enter the EU mainly without paying customs and without limitation of amounts. Some of the agricultural products important for African export, however, remain excluded from this agreement. The proportion of African ACP goods seen against the EU total imports was limited in 2004 to 2.4%. In 1975, this amount was nearly three times higher. African countries mainly continue to export raw materials, such as for example copper and gold, as well as agricultural crop products such as cocoa beans, coffee or cotton. However, the proportion of these raw materials has decreased in world trade, whereas worldwide trade with processed goods and services has shown a strong increase.

In many African countries, the reasons for the low increase in export for processed goods lies in the lack of infrastructure and in bureaucracy, which is rapidly getting out of hand, as well as, in many places, in corruption. The complicated original regulations contained in the Lomé treaty, too, in which is laid down how large the proportion of product value produced in an ACP country must be, play a role, as well as the increasing quality demands from the EU market. On the other hand, examples can be found where the trade preferences have had positive effects, for example in textile export from Mauritius or in flowers, fruits and vegetables from Kenya.

Over the last centuries, an erosion of trade preference has occurred. The access for other countries onto the EU market was improved and therefore the advantage for the African states has decreased. The latest example is the reform of the world textile market. Since the beginning of 2005, import limitations for suppliers capable of competing such as China have ceased to apply. This has led to African businesses being crowded out of the market, meaning the loss of thousands of jobs in the Kenyan textile sector.

In the Cotonou treaty made in the year 2000, free-trade zones between African regions and the EU were scheduled to be set up after a negotiation phase until 2007 and a transitional phase of around twelve years. The particulars will then be regulated in a so-called economic partnership treaty. In order to fulfil the rules set by the world trade organisation, these should guarantee customs-free entry for most products both out of African countries into the EU and vice versa. As the former colonial powers France and Great Britain possess the highest market shares in Africa, they will profit most from this.

The EU has negotiated such association treaties individually with the North African countries, which should open out into a Euro-Mediterranean free-trade zone. For most of the African countries south of the Sahara, customs-free entry of imports from the EU is problematic, as it is feared that local production will not be able to withstand the competition. In addition, a considerable decrease in customs revenues is to be expected, which are still an important part of state income and are used, for example, for financing education and health systems. As long as the EU agricultural politics continues to place subsidized product onto the market which supplant the local production in Africa, it cannot be expected that the African countries will profit from these new trade regulations.

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