Thread by @althecat

Yesterday afternoon there was a Plenary session in the European Parliament on the eve of @AUEUSummit, scheduled for tomorrow and Friday. This tweet contains some edited highlights from High Representative @JosepBorrellF (who leads @eu_eeas).

But this misses a lot.

Thread....

https://twitter.com/JosepBorrellF/status/1493632307277840389

The full video of Borrell's opening remarks is here >> multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/video/eu-afric…

11 minutes, in English. The remarks kick off a debate that included 42 speakers and concluded with some closing remarks from @JosepBorrellF.

The full video of the high representative's Plenary session begins at 15.13pm and can be watched here. The interventions of the 42 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) from 15:22 are all short, limited to less than 2 minutes by procedure. multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/video/eu-afric…

I listened to most of it. And the contributions are all translated into numerous European languages. In this version of the recording you can choose your language.

Borrell's briefing concentrated on the outcome being sought by #EUAUSummit - namely a declaration on "concrete proposals" to take the 150 billion EUR #GlobalGateway plan forward.

Thread attached here covers the announcement as breaking news on Feb 10.

https://twitter.com/althecat/status/1491784094128082945

This 2nd thread compiled initial news coverage of the #GlobalGateway announcement, much of which was skeptical.

The key fact here however is that the Commission's President @vonderleyen and VP/High Rep. @JosepBorrellF both appear fully behind it.

https://twitter.com/althecat/status/1491780392235450371

At yesterday's Plenary the ambitious plan for a reset of Europe's relationship with Africa was also generally positively received by the MEPs who spoke.

#GlobalGateway is also closely aligned with UNFCCC COP efforts #climatechange & Europe's #GreenDeal >> ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/…

HR Borrell laid out 6 items to be worked on in the summit - from which concrete proposals and declaration language will be sought.

They break into 3 grps.
a. Africa's needs - 1-3
b. Europe's needs - 4-5
c. A joint initiative for "action on peace prosperity & climate -6

Items 1-3 are #GlobalGateway - investment - from private and public institutions - from Europe in Africa in:

- Climate Change (Energy, Transport, Adaptation, Mitigation)
- Health (Hospitals)
- Education (Schools and Universities)

Items 4 & 5 are what Europe wants in return, and will likely be the most difficult part of agreement to make concrete.

4. "Tools and solutions for Africa/Europe Security and Stability architecture"

An request which strikingly echoes Russia's request from Europe to the East.

Ukraine came up explicitly in the discussion that followed with an observation (I think from Borrell?) that the security crisis in Ukraine ought not to dominate resources and prevent solutions being sought to the security crisis around migration.

And this is Item 5 on the list of things to be discussed:

"An enhanced and reciprocal partnership on migration and mobility."

In the discussion that follows it is clear that Europe remains very concerned about the migration crisis, with several MEPs noting its importance.

At the end of his remarks Borrell came back to this - an item which practically speaking is at the heart of the "bargain" that Europe wants to strike at this summit. And which it appears they have convinced European nations to back them on - which is no small feat.

"We need to solve the problems the African people are suffering," HR @JosepBorrellF said. "African problems are our problems, and when we work to solve these problems we are also working to solve ours."

The final item in the list 6, brings it all together like a bow - and the way it is described it sounds like a partnership agreement:

"An AU_EU initiative for multilateral action on peace, prosperity and the climate."

For Ethiopians the presence of the word "prosperity" will jump out, probably with mixed feelings, but its inclusion will doubtless be welcomed by @AbiyAhmedAli who today arrived in Brussels to attend the summit.

https://twitter.com/PMEthiopia/status/1493980075804479488?s=20&t=GkPkrKLtqXzYoNgBaXLHJg

And it is this last item that to me is what makes this otherwise seemingly impossible objective of bringing together the former colonial overlords with the colonised & neo-colonised peoples of Africa in a partnership.

This is to my mind what is needed. And in the discussion numerous speakers spoke of this - including a young woman MEP who was born in Burkino Faso whose terse remarks dismissing the entire project were responsible for a key part of @JosepBorrellF's closing remarks.

The MEP told* a story about growing up and having Europeans arrive with cheques and promises, the result of which was pencils and school writing books. "Please stop this nanny diplomacy in Africa," she said.

(*Paraphrasing - the transcript of all this should be available soon.)

And her reaction is a reaction I seen a lot in replies and messages in response to to thread on the announcement.

MEPs and Borrell also spoke of "Trust" in the debate - as they needed to. As that will be what will be required to make this work.

In summary then we have a very high profile international event starting tomorrow.
Delayed by 2 years due to Covid, which comes from a legacy of failed AU-EU summits past. Albeit none with anything remotely as substantial to discuss as a 150 Billion EUR investment plan.

.... and a climate crisis that is becoming extremely real in all of our lives in terms of changing and extreme weather - a problem that can only be solved with Africa's assistance - another subject touched on by HR Borrell.

For me it was @JosepBorrellF's closing remarks - delivered at the end of the plenary - which were the most revealing, and on which the sentiment expressed here is based. I encourage you to listen.

- Same link beginning at 16:35 >> multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/webstreaming/p…

And I wish the EU and AU negotiating teams and leaders all the best in hammering out an agreement over the next two days - if they succeed it could become a world-changing historical turning point, a font of hope for 1.7 Billion humans - at a time when more hope is sorely needed.

/ENDS

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