Web-Seminar on Futures of EU-AU Cooperation on APSA

A web-seminar on the futures of EU-AU cooperation on the Africa Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) was organized by the FES AU office and the Africa department of FES, on April 20, 2021. The deliberation is based on four scenarios of APSA 2040 developed back in 2020. The scenarios designed offer plausible alternative futures of APSA laying down a foundation where policy recommendations can be derived.

The web-seminar focused on the futures of EU-AU Cooperation on APSA, particularly on how Europe and Africa and EU and AU can jointly work towards Africa’s collective security mechanism. A highlight was given on the need for the new European Peace Facility (EPF) complementing the APSA and learn from past confounds of the APF. Cooperation between EU and AU should be based on long-term relationships and on basic and common values of human rights, democracy, and mutual accountability. As well, it was noted that the cooperation should secure resilience by linking humanitarian, development, peace, and security interventions.

Adding to these futures of EU-AU Cooperation on APSA, it was emphasized that the cooperation should be objective-driven focused on African arrangements rather than institutions such as avoiding legitimizing one organization at the expense of the other and financial resources contests. The seminar enabled to analyze the APSA scenarios in the European context, brainstorm the impact of EPF introduction to the European African Cooperation, and generally exchange ideas on how EU and AU should cooperate further so that APSA can adapt to new realities and security risks in the continent.