Frank Mattheis, Dimpho Deleglise, and Ueli Staeger to Present a Study on the African Political Integration Process and Implications on Relations with the European Union to the European Parliament
UNU-CRIS Research Fellow Frank Mattheis, and UNU-CRIS Associate Research Fellows Dimpho Deleglise and Ueli Staeger have recently finalised a study for the AFET committee on ‘African Union: The African political integration process and its impact on EU-AU relations in the field of foreign and security policy’.
They will present their work to the European Parliament on 24 May, 2023, 15.35pm (CEST). The event will also be livestreamed and recorded (click here for streaming).
The study was coordinated by the Policy Department for External Relations of the Directorate General for External Policies of the Union, and focuses on the EU’s increasing diplomatic, financial, and institutional engagement with the African Union (AU). The three UNU-CRIS scholars analyse the complex dynamics shaping African political integration as well as foreign and security policy cooperation. In this domain, the EU remains the AU’s principal partner, even though their relationship has gained more political momentum because of differing perspectives on the war in Ukraine and the EU’s pursuit of flexible security arrangements in Africa.
Based on the findings of the study, the authors recommend that the EU adapts its funding arrangements, cooperation formats, and multilateral engagement to remain in tune with the AU. In this effort, the European Parliament can add specific value through parliamentary diplomacy.
