Med states press EU for new ‘southern partnership’ with Africa

A group of nine Mediterranean EU countries have urged the bloc to create a formal ‘southern partnership’ with African countries based on cooperation on energy and migration, according to a document seen by EURACTIV.

The draft document, which was circulated as EU leaders gathered for their regular summit in Brussels on Thursday (29 June), has been co-signed by Italy, Croatia, Spain, Slovenia, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, France, and Portugal.

The blueprint is presented as a response to the geopolitical challenges resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, stating that “the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean face the same challenges”.

“They are both affected by the consequences of the Russian aggression to Ukraine,” the group of states said.

The EU should “ensure that the two shores of the Mediterranean are strictly intertwined,” the document states, adding that “there is no such thing as a Mediterranean divide”, and that the region should be “a formidable asset” for the EU.

The inclusion of migration at the heart of the proposal is no surprise since the pace of EU-African cooperation on migration control has ramped up in recent months.

Earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a €1 billion ‘cash-for-migrant-control’ agreement with Tunisian President Kais Saied.

Ahead of Thursday’s summit, diplomats from a wide range of EU member states briefed that they would like to see the European Commission use the future Tunisia deal, the details of which are still a work in progress, as a model for other North African states, including Egypt and Morocco.

In a letter sent to EU leaders earlier this week, seen by Africa Confidential, von der Leyen wrote that the EU’s “aim should be for our current initiative with Tunisia to act as a blueprint for similar partnerships in the future”, adding that the EU executive “will seek new comprehensive partnerships with third countries”.

Morocco, Nigeria, and Egypt are the European Commission’s other “key priority partners” on migrant control, according to the letter.

In their document, the group of nine countries stated that a future EU Southern Partnership should aim to “enhance cooperation on migration and mobility through tailor-made, comprehensive, balanced and mutually beneficial partnerships”.

In return for more cooperation from African states on irregular crossings and migrant returns, the EU could offer “strategic use of forms of legal migration including Talent Partnerships and mobility”, it added.

On energy policy, meanwhile, a handful of EU governments have struck agreements with the likes of Egypt, Libya, and Algeria to increase gas supplies after their Russian supplies were halted following the start of the war in February 2022.

However, the EU as a whole has not developed a common approach for energy policy cooperation, despite mooting the prospect of striking deals with Ghana and Nigeria on new gas pipelines.

“The development of a common Mediterranean energy policy represents a precious opportunity to turn current dynamics into a win-win situation,” the group of countries argued.

Digital policy and EU investment via the bloc’s new Global Gateway scheme should also be at the heart of the partnership, the paper stated.

The document also called for formal structures to be put in place with regular EU-Southern Neighbourhood summits, “sectoral ministerial meetings” and “senior officials meetings”.

Spain, which takes over the rotating EU Council presidency in July, is planning to host a summit with regional stakeholders.

Madrid’s initiative to hold a mini-Mediterranean summit has already been welcomed by the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell, who recalled that it was “many years, too many” since a meeting of this kind had taken place.

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]