EU-Africa summit ends ‘with more concrete commitments’

The prime minister, António Costa, has welcomed the outcome of the EU-Africa summit that concluded in Brussels on Friday, welcoming the adoption of a joint statement that was “concise, with fewer words and more concrete commitments”.

Speaking to the press at the end of the two-day summit that brought together the EU Member States and the African Union (AU), António Costa stressed that “a very important political declaration was adopted, very concrete, with a very precise timetable for implementation,” focusing on mechanisms for financing peace and development.

Asked about the difference in relation to joint declarations adopted at previous summits, he said that “the difference this time,” at the 6th EU-Africa Summit, is that it is “a much more concise declaration, with fewer words and more commitments,” with an annexe that identifies precisely which projects will be funded by the new investment package for Africa.

In addition, he stressed, “this entire investment mechanism will be monitored” and it was decided that annual meetings will be held in the spring between the European Commission and the African Union Commission, during which a progress report on the implementation of projects will also be made.