Last summer’s “Black people’s fate is also fate” protests caused unease in many European countries with a legacy of slavery and colonialism.
Discover this dark history through revised school curricula and initiatives, such as Black History Month It’s hard. But it is urgently needed, not just to eliminate the boastful and completely false narratives that European “civilization” was still driven by nationalist and populist politicians in the past.
If the EU is to salvage weak efforts to initiate so-called negotiations, then a new dialogue is urgently needed. Equal partnership With African countries.This is also necessary if the European government wants to establish relations with the European Union Africans Europeans Citizens are on a sounder and more respectful basis.
There are encouraging signs.In Germany, the BLM protests are Change street Names with references to colonial times or racism. In France, Armed forces The Ministry provided local authorities with a guide to 100 Africans who fought for France in World War II so that streets and squares could be named after them.president Macron During his visit to Côte d’Ivoire in 2019, he condemned France’s “hegemony and the trap of colonialism”, which he said was “a serious mistake-the fault of the Republic”.
In Belgium, the authorities responded to the protests by dismantling public monuments of at least some kings. Leopold II, Its army occupied the Congo in the late 19th century and managed an exploitative regime that killed millions of people.
Last summer, King Philip of Belgium, an indirect descendant of Leopold II, took an unprecedented move. Write to the President of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi regret The “humiliation and suffering” caused during the Belgian colonial occupation. The king said that the pain of the past was “resurrected by the discrimination that still exists in our society”.
They may have been around for a long time and only have iconic meaning, but this posture is very important.
Macron’s Recent decision Inviting young Africans instead of their political leaders to the Franco-Africa Biodiversity Summit in July and involving African and Europeans in this effort is also a step in the right direction; bringing women entrepreneurs, cities and The same goes for business leaders’ efforts to bring in a continuous African-European dialogue.
Because of Europe and Africa They are interrelated and interdependent. They need each other to create jobs and growth on two continents, Ensure economic recovery after the pandemic and respond to climate change.
The EU is still Leading aid, trade and investment Actors across the continent.African Exit The trade of raw materials, chemicals and petroleum products, minerals and metals, as well as fisheries and agricultural products remains the backbone of many European industries.
However, even if Africa’s once vibrant growth rate has slowed due to the pandemic, its economic potential, young population and the establishment of a Free Zone of the African Continent, (AfCFTA) is modeled after the EU single market, Will intensify international competition and competition-especially between Europe and China.
EU policymakers insist that their policies are better than those of Beijing, although China is “One Belt One Road” Initiative Cause global concern that they are deteriorating Africa has High debt burden Make debt relief measures more urgent.
African commentator Complaint The EU regards its aid as a condition of human rights and other norms and adopts a “paternalistic” attitude, saying that the EU can learn from Beijing and negotiate, inform and cooperate with African countries on a truly equal basis. They make sense.
At the last minute, the leaders of the African Union cancelled the long-delayed online EU-Africa mini summit held in early December. Due to the coronavirus, the full format meeting originally scheduled for October was postponed. This cannot be regarded as another routine diplomatic accident.
It’s time to clean up. Rebuilding this relationship is difficult, because many increasingly confident Africans are skeptical of European motives, which is understandable. Over the years, the relationship between Africa and Europe has been characterized by an imbalance in donor/recipient relations. African governments seek to obtain EU trade and aid concessions, while European leaders have established privileged relationships with African elites while ignoring the younger generation of the African continent. Demand. The goal of European fortresses to stop African immigrants has increased distrust.
Portugal, which is responsible for cleaning up the mess, as the current EU presidency, hopes to replicate the successful EU-Africa summit it organized in 2007 this year.
But times have changed. Geopolitics are unpredictable, and there are countless uncertainties caused by the epidemic. More countries, including the UK after Brexit, are competing with the EU for economic opportunities in Africa.
One way forward is for the European Union to recognize the destruction caused by colonialism, and then the African government to recognize that a new generation of modern European leaders — as Charles Michel, President of the European Council of the European Union, pointed out last year — can no longer be “The burden of nostalgia“.
A joint statement that acknowledges past mistakes but also promises to start again may not immediately lead to an improvement in EU-Africa relations. But this will be a very good start.
If they have to make a plan Fairer relationship transformation For African countries, EU leaders must take collective action to get rid of the ghost of Leopold II—and other similar colonial “heroes”.
This will mean resolving Africans’ dissatisfaction with Europe’s role in the slave trade and the cruel aspects of colonial rule, as well as the persistence of modern discrimination, racism and unconscious prejudice.
This will require a change in Europe’s toxic debate on immigration, and implementation of The new EU anti-racism agenda And strengthen “International partnership“To replace the traditional EU aid policy-or, as it was well known in Brussels until recently, “development cooperation”, which is firmly embedded in the outdated white saviour narrative.
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Shada Islam is an EU affairs commentator based in Brussels.She runs the New Horizons project, a strategy, analysis and consulting company
