Vol 64 No 25 | EUROPEAN UNIONAFRICA The case for reparations 14th December 2023 The debate over reparations for colonialism and slavery has arrived in the European Parliament. Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, a Malian-born German MEP for Alliance90/The Greens, is preparing a text on...
Vol 64 No 25 | MAURITANIAEUROPEAN UNION Cash for no influence 14th December 2023 A year after a handful of MEPs and European Parliament officials were arrested and €1.5 million in cash seized by police, the Qatargate 'cash-for-influence' scandal has also exposed...
Vol 64 No 23 | EGYPTEUROPEAN UNIONNORTH AFRICA Into the arms of Abdel Fattah el Sisi 6th November 2023 The likelihood that the Israel-Hamas war will trigger a refugee crisis has pushed Brussels to strike a migration deal with Cairo Fears that a full-scale ground invasion of Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces will create tens of thousands of refugees have prompted the European Union to reorganise its...
DISPATCHES Vol 64 No 22 | EGYPTEUROPEAN UNION Brussels fast-tracks migration deal with Cairo amid Gaza migration fears 24th October 2023 The European Commission is set to conclude a 'cash for migrant control' deal with President El Sisi as regional crisis escalates As regional tensions rise, European Commission officials are urgently trying to finalise a 'cash for migration control' deal with President Abdel Fattah el Sisi's government. READ FOR FREE
DISPATCHES Vol 64 No 21 | TUNISIAEUROPEAN UNION Erratic Saïed jeopardises cash for migrants deal with Brussels 11th October 2023 European officials bristle after autocratic leader dismisses their offer as 'derisory' The future of the €785 million (US$828m) 'cash for migrant control' deal between Tunisia and the European Union is in question after President Kaïs Saïed dismissed a €60m... READ FOR FREE
Vol 64 No 21 | EGYPTEUROPEAN UNION Commission divided over Cairo 19th October 2023 Open divisions within the European Commission are emerging as President Ursula von der Leyen seeks to offer Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el Sisi a similar deal to her...
Vol 64 No 20 | EUROPEAN UNIONAFRICABRITAIN Western governments send mixed signals on aid and trade 28th September 2023 Brussels, London and Washington are jostling for Africa's green minerals with China but cutting funding Wrongfooted by a spate of military putsches in Africa amid deepening financial woes in the region, western policymakers had promised a policy reset. Instead, new rows have blown...
Vol 64 No 19 | EUROPEAN UNIONSAHEL Caught cold by the coups 19th September 2023 Von der Leyen calls for a bolder strategy amid the wave of putsches and deepening crisis in the Sahel European Union officials are scrambling to revise their approach to the Sahel and West Africa after being blindsided by the military coups d'état in Niger and Gabon.
DISPATCHES Vol 64 No 16 | EUROPEAN UNIONAFRICAN UNION Future of ACP in doubt after signing of much delayed trade deal 25th July 2023 Member states question value of African-Caribbean-Pacific trade organisation Over two years of tortuous negotiations on a successor pact to the Cotonou agreement – between the European Union and countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific... READ FOR FREE
Vol 64 No 16 | TUNISIAEUROPEAN UNION Bang to rights 3rd August 2023 Confusion abounds about the legal basis for the 'cash for migrant control' agreement between the European Commission and President Kaïs Saïed .
Vol 64 No 15 | MOROCCOEUROPEAN UNION Brussels stays on the hook 20th July 2023 The first test of EU-Morocco relations following the Qatargate corruption scandal suggests that Brussels is as keen as before to partner with Rabat. The European Commission confirmed in...
Vol 64 No 14 | EUROPEAN UNIONAFRICA Migration cash dominates vote for top EU jobs 3rd July 2023 Commission President Von der Leyen allies with Italy's Meloni on African 'Southern Partnership' scheme European officials have been mulling plans to spend over €10 billion (US$10.9bn) on migration control schemes with Libya, Tunisia and Egypt alongside their current accord with Turkey. With...
Vol 64 No 13 | EUROPEAN UNIONAFRICA How Brussels's green tax will hit Africa 12th June 2023 Europe's carbon levy has become law with African states in line to suffer collateral damage After two years of debate, the European Parliament has passed a carbon pricing mechanism which will apply to all countries trading with member states of the European Union...
DISPATCHES Vol 64 No 13 | TUNISIAEUROPEAN UNION Brussels rescues Kaïs Saïed with cash for migration control deal 13th June 2023 The billion euro migration pact with Tunis presages similar pacts with Algeria and Egypt By offering a financial package worth up to €1.5 billion (US$1.61bn) to Tunisia as part of a new 'cash for migration control' deal, the European Union has handed... READ FOR FREE
Vol 64 No 10 | NIGERIAEUROPEAN UNION Will you be my strategic partner? 11th May 2023 The European Union's diplomatic service, the European External Action Service, has earmarked four countries, one from each continent, as 'key strategic partners' as it seeks to boost its...
DISPATCHES Vol 64 No 9 | SUDANEUROPEAN UNIONARAB LEAGUE National rivalries and policy clashes complicate peace-making efforts 25th April 2023 A multilateral bid to end the war of the generals in Khartoum is in the balance as a regional crisis looms The latest attempted ceasefire in Sudan announced by Antony Blinken, the United States Secretary of State, and publicly agreed by both warring parties – the Sudan Armed Forces... READ FOR FREE
Vol 64 No 9 | EUROPEAN UNIONAFRICA Changing of the diplomatic guard 27th April 2023 The European Union is sending new blood to lead its diplomatic missions in the Sahel as Europe seeks to rebuild its waning influence in the region.
Vol 64 No 8 | EUROPEAN UNIONBRITAIN The great aid exodus 13th April 2023 The heavy cuts to Britain's aid spending in Africa over the past five years are symptomatic of a falling commitment to development strategies and spiralling refugee costs across...
Vol 64 No 7 | LIBYAEUROPEAN UNION Coastguard in the dock 30th March 2023 European Union backing for Libyan authorities who stop and detain migrants means the bloc has 'aided and abetted' rights violations against migrants, according to Chaloka Beyani, the lead...
Vol 64 No 6 | EUROPEAN UNIONAFRICA Brussels backs Italy's hard line on migration 9th March 2023 A leaked letter from the European Commission chief spells out the EU's plans to deter and return migrants to their home countries A week after the sinking of a boat carrying several hundred migrants off the Calabrian coast in southern Italy which killed more than 60 people, European Commission President...
DISPATCHES Vol 64 No 6 | EUROPEAN UNIONAFRICA Pesticides row adds to toxic relations 7th March 2023 African parliamentarians have accused European Union economies of exporting carcinogenic pesticides to their countries, adding to mounting tensions over trading rules and migration Speakers at the joint parliament assembly between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific in Brussels, on 2 March accused EU countries of double standards by... READ FOR FREE
DISPATCHES Vol 64 No 5 | EUROPEAN UNIONAFRICA President Macron administers last rites to the post-Cotonou treaty 23rd February 2023 The 79-member African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) grouping is at risk after support wanes for a new accord France's President Emmanuel Macron appears to have given up on the negotiations for a successor to the Cotonou Agreement between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and... READ FOR FREE
Vol 64 No 4 | MOROCCOEUROPEAN UNION Qatargate fuels Rabat's schism with Euro MPs 13th February 2023 Relations between the European Parliament and Morocco are nosediving, jeopardising agreements on trade, energy and migration The fall-out from the Qatargate scandal is tarnishing both the European Parliament, the European Union's legislature, and Morocco's security services. It will also complicate efforts by the European...
DISPATCHES Vol 64 No 4 | EUROPEAN UNIONAFRICAN UNION Cuts in aid and trade on table as European leaders mull tougher action on migration 7th February 2023 As right wing anti-immigrant parties gain ground in Europe, Brussels is trying to balance its internal tensions with a more coherent Africa policy European Union leaders are to use a special summit on 9 February to find new ways to organise the return of unauthorised migrants from Africa and the Middle... READ FOR FREE
Vol 64 No 4 | EUROPEAN UNION Fortress Europe 16th February 2023 EU leaders adopted their toughest stance yet on migration at the special summit in Brussels on 9-10 February, threatening to suspend aid, tariff-free trade and visa access to...
DISPATCHES Vol 64 No 3 | MOROCCOEUROPEAN UNION Qatargate probe turns the heat on Rabat 24th January 2023 Belgium's judicial investigation into the bribery of European politicians is going beyond Qatar to include Morocco It is the biggest probe into corruption in the European Union for over two decades and centres on claims that Qatar and Morocco bought influence in the European... READ FOR FREE
Vol 64 No 2 | UNITED STATESEUROPEAN UNIONAFRICA IN 2023 Grand ambitions, little money 11th January 2023 After the summits in Brussels and Washington, their big promises will be tested on debt, trade and investment this year For many of the delegates who travelled to Washington DC for the United States-African leaders' summit on 13-15 December, the first such gathering in eight years, it was...
DISPATCHES Vol 64 No 2 | BURKINA FASOEUROPEAN UNIONSAHEL More European diplomatic dominoes fall as French ambassador is expelled from Ouagadogou 10th January 2023 The military juntas in the Sahel are sidelining Europe's efforts on security in favour of Moscow's forces When Burkina Faso's junta expelled France's ambassador, Luc Hallade, last week it reinforced the sense of failure of Europe's diplomatic and security policy in the region. READ FOR FREE