Cracks in EU, Africa relations

2007-12-09 15:42

Lisbon - European and African leaders sought more common ground on Sunday as they wrapped up a two-day summit marked by rows over Zimbabwe, Darfur and trade that exposed the faultlines in their relations.

The gathering of leaders in Lisbon - only the second ever such meeting - had been billed as an opportunity to forge a relationship of genuine equals.

But on Saturday the 67 leaders saw starkly different viewpoints emerge over issues such as human rights and immigration, with the shadow of colonialism preventing the display of any real warmth.

'All essential issues were broached'

Summit host Portugal nevertheless sought to put the meeting in the best possible light.

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates said: "All the essential issues for Europe and for Africa were broached.

"There were no taboo issues. It was a meeting that showed a mature and open relationship."

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel's upbraiding of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe illustrated how big a gap they still have to bridge half a century after African countries finally began to break free of the yoke of European colonialism.

After Merkel had accused Mugabe of "harming the image of the new Africa", President Thabo Mbeki - who has been the prime champion of a so-called African Renaissance - reframed the debate.

Mbeki said: "We continue to face challenges relating to governance in Africa, as this is the case with other regions of the world.

"However, to put the matter frankly, by far the biggest challenge we face in terms of implementing our programmes on good governance and human rights is the issue of resources."

Force could stem the bloodshed in Darfur

An African diplomat present at the meeting said that Mbeki then departed from his script and accused Merkel of being out of touch with the political situation in Zimbabwe, where South Africa had been tasked with mediating between the ruling party and opposition.

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir received a similar carpeting from a delegation of European leaders, including Portugal's Socrates and French President Nicolas Sarkozy who implored him to allow the rapid deployment of a UN-led peacekeeping force to stem the bloodshed in the western Darfur region.

"We told him it is in Sudan's best interests... that there is a halt to the massacres on its territory and that in order for the massacres to stop, the hybrid (UN-AU) force needs to be deployed as soon as possible," said Sarkozy.

Venue not for problem-solving

Portugal's secretary of state for cooperation and development, Joao Gomes Cravinho, said in a briefing on Saturday evening: "Most of the goals that we set out to achieve at this summit have been largely achieved."

He said the summit should not be seen as a venue for problem-solving but rather as a forum to more generally re-define relations and encourage dialogue, seven years on from the first EU-Africa summit.

He said the issue of Zimbabwe had been "marginal", although Mugabe's presence did prompt the former colonial power Britain to keep its ministers away from the summit.

- AFP