Source: European Parliament
Pierre‑Romain Thionnet, Matthieu Valet, Thierry Mariani
on behalf of the PfE Group
B10‑0470/2025
European Parliament resolution on renewing the EU-Africa Partnership: building common priorities ahead of the Angola Summit
The European Parliament,
having regard to the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy and the European Union–African Union (EU-AU)) strategic partnership,
– having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, of the other part[1],
– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the European Union (EU)-African Union Summit will take place in Luanda, Angola, on 24-25 November 2025, marking the 25th anniversary of the launch of the EU-AU strategic partnership at the Cairo Summit in 2000, and is expected to serve as a key milestone in redefining priorities, strengthening mutual commitments and responding to evolving global challenges affecting both continents;
B. whereas Africa holds an essential geopolitical position and is home to a significant share of the world’s critical raw materials, including cobalt, lithium, rare earths and copper, which are indispensable for new technologies; whereas Africa is increasingly becoming a theatre of great power competition, notably through the growing presence of China and Russia, and the EU needs to reassess its role in this context;
C. whereas the EU is Africa’s leading partner in trade, investment, development initiatives and humanitarian aid, and has earmarked over EUR 150 billion under the Global Gateway initiative for African infrastructure until 2027, to support connectivity, the green transition, health and education, and research projects;
D. whereas the EU and its Member States collectively remain the largest provider of official development assistance to Africa, contributing EUR 163 billion from 2011 to 2023, representing nearly 45 % of total official development assistance to the continent, through both bilateral assistance and instruments such as the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument, and its predecessors, as well as through the European Peace Facility, and the Global Gateway framework;
E. whereas illegal migration flows from and through Africa remain a major concern for the EU, with significant human, political and security implications; whereas cooperation on the return and readmission of illegal migrants, and prevention of illegal migration, remains limited with many of the countries of origin and transit, despite extensive EU support;
F. whereas research suggests that development aid provided under the current policy framework does not sufficiently reduce migration and may, in fact, increase it in the short-to-medium term; whereas the same studies have concluded that migration cannot be addressed solely through development aid, given that the ‘root causes’ cannot be universally defined; whereas there is also an increasing need to focus on border protection;
G. whereas the African continent is expected to experience the most significant demographic growth globally, with its population projected to reach nearly 2.5 billion by 2050; whereas Africa’s rapid population growth will fuel illegal immigration to the EU;
H. whereas the Sahel region faces increasing instability, characterised by military coups, terrorism, cross-border trafficking and weakening state institutions;
I. whereas the Democratic Republic of the Congo remains mired in conflict, with the M23 rebel group and other armed actors accused of grave human rights violations and destabilisation, and of receiving external support, notably from Rwanda;
J. whereas Islamist terrorist groups, such as Boko Haram, Islamic State in West Africa Province and Fulani, as well as other affiliates of al-Qaeda and Daesh, have intensified their activities across several African regions, notably in the Sahel, Nigeria, northern Mozambique and parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
K. whereas the growing Islamist insurgency and terrorism in Africa has led to a resurgence in massacres, kidnappings, forced displacements and widespread insecurity;
L. whereas Christians remain the most persecuted religious community in the world, with massacres of Christians increasing; whereas one-in-five Christians in Africa are being persecuted;
1. Notes that the holding of the EU-African Union Summit is a vital opportunity to redefine and rebalance the EU-AU strategic partnership based on mutual respect, sovereignty and shared interests;
2. Emphasises that this partnership must move beyond donor-recipient dynamics and reflect common strategic interests in security, peace, prosperity and migration control;
3. Calls for a particular focus on the Sahel region during the summit; recalls that the increasing destabilisation of the Sahel region poses a significant threat to Europe, particularly in terms of illegal migration and terrorism; notes that the involvement of foreign mercenary companies has further exacerbated the security collapse in the region;
4. Calls for an urgent audit of EU development funding and reiterates its call to cease the funding of ideological projects, such as the provision of blenders for food preparation in schools in Africa that do not have electricity; recalls that aid must reach the intended recipients and not be used to fuel corruption;
5. Welcomes regional initiatives promoting domestic resource mobilisation, notably in financing for education and job creation, and stresses the need to encourage similar initiatives;
6. Stresses that all available tools must be used to put pressure on non-EU countries to take back their citizens who have been staying illegally or who have committed criminal acts in the EU; notes that such tools could include the use of conditionalities for development aid, trade and visa-free travel;
7. Stresses furthermore that the EU’s development cooperation must be conditional on good governance and effective cooperation on migration and border control, including the application of return and readmission agreements;
8. Urges the Commission and the Member States to conclude binding migration partnership agreements with African countries, focused on both the reduction of illegal migration and on facilitating the return of illegal migrants; stresses that there is no need for additional legal pathways for migration to the EU;
9. Highlights the strategic importance of African raw materials for European supply chains; calls for fair, transparent and sustainable resource partnerships;
10. Notes that Global Gateway is burdened by bureaucracy and social and environmental standards, which make it impossible for European companies to compete with Chinese companies’ growing influence in the region;
11. Condemns the ongoing violence and external interference in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; welcomes the peace agreement signed on 27 June 2025, in Washington, under US mediation, by Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo aimed at de-escalating tensions and ending Rwandan support of armed groups in eastern Congo; stresses, however, that this agreement will only be meaningful if followed by concrete, transparent and verifiable steps, including the immediate cessation of cross-border interference, the protection of civilians, and the full re-establishment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s territorial control;
12. Recalls that Christians are the most persecuted religious community in the world; calls on the Nigerian Government to ensure that the Christian community is safe from violence and persecution;
13. Underlines that churches are vital providers of essential social services in Africa; calls on the Commission to involve these partners in the implementation of EU programmes; calls on the Commission and the European External Action Service in this context to promote dialogue with churches in partner countries;
14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the European Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the African Union, the governments of all European Union and African Union Member States and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.