Addis Ababa and Brussels, 19 May 2025
The African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) will convene a Ministerial Meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, 21 May 2025, bringing together representatives from over 80 governments to advance their strategic partnership ahead of the 7th AU-EU Summit later this year. This high-level meeting should have been the occasion to reinforce the partnership’s people-centred dimension. It could have been an opportunity for the Ministers to dialogue with citizens and benefit from their insights and ideas to transform the partnership.
Regrettably, despite best intentions and efforts by all involved, civil society and youth were presented with and invited to a side event scheduled for the day ahead of the Ministerial meeting, in which they had a minimal role shaping.
Although progress can be cited, as the side event was co-created by the services of the AU and the EU, this seems to have been achieved at the expense of involvement of civil society and youth.
While two rapporteurs are being given the opportunity to address the Foreign Ministers’ meeting and share the outcomes of the previous day, the value of this representation may be largely symbolic, considering the limited five-minute time slot, which could give the impression of inauthenticity.
Finally, the invitation for the side event went out less than 2 weeks before the event, and few of the members of the Africa-Europe Civil Society Platform (CSEP)* received it. No indication on the criteria for selecting participants was given.
The CSEP’s Interim Steering Committee has chosen to pursue an alternative approach for gathering African and European perspectives to ensure they are meaningfully reflected in the outcome of the Foreign Ministers’ meeting. This decision reflects commitment to a process which we believe supports a fair and impactful outcome. A joint statement is currently being disseminated to AU and EU Member States.
Despite the disappointment with an inadequate process this time around, Hakim Baliraine, Chairperson Alliance for Food Security in Africa (AFSA), expressed optimism and openness going forward:
“We are ready and willing to work together with the AU and the EU, as well as other groups of civil society and youth from Africa and Europe in the future if the process is different and responds to what we see as the basic minimums for meaningful engagement and co-creation.”
*In the three years succeeding the 6th AU-EU summit (February 2022), a coalition of volunteers from civil society and youth groups across Africa and Europe have been working tirelessly to enhance the people-to-people dimension of the partnership. This group, now united as the Africa-Europe Civil Society Platform (CSEP), aims to establish a structured and permanent mechanism for engagement with the AU-EU Partnership, based on principles of transparency, equal participation, accessibility, and inclusion. Interested organisations can confirm their interest in joining the platform and subscribe to the mailing list using this form.
Africa-Europe CS Platform 