The coup in Niger is mostly caused by the neocolonial relationship between France and the African continent, former French ambassador Gérard Araud told EURACTIV in an interview, slamming the EU’s lack of unity towards a clear Africa strategy.
Work on pressuring Russia to stop its war on Ukraine must continue, even at a national level when the EU cannot, Jan Marian deputy foreign minister of the Czech Republic, told EURACTIV in an interview on Monday (3 June).
The disruption of grain deliveries from Ukraine can be a chance for African countries to step up food production at home, the African Union’s Commissioner for rural economy and agriculture, Josefa Sacko, told EURACTIV in an interview.
In a wide-ranging interview, the Russian ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov discussed Afghanistan, the ‘Crimea Platform’, carbon border tax, COVID and vaccines, and the new political season.
The EU’s plans to strike a ‘strategic partnership’ with Africa were one the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Portuguese government, which holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, is anxious to conclude the agenda by the summer.
As policy-makers in Brussels and Addis Ababa plough ahead with plans for what is billed as an ambitious ‘strategic partnership’ between the EU and Africa, civil society groups complain that they have been repeatedly shut out from having any influence over EU-African relations.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of strong EU-African relations, Iratxe García, the leader of the Socialist and Democrat group in the European Parliament, told EURACTIV as her political group launched its Africa week (13-15 October).
If there was any doubt about the importance of a strong relationship between Africa and the European Union they have been dispelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, says Samuel Outlule, Botswana’s ambassador to the EU and Belgium.
“Botswana has not been spared by the wave of COVID-19,” says Jimmy Opelo, Permanent Secretary at Botswana’s agricultural ministry, who revealed how his country has had to change its tack on farm policymaking due to the pandemic.
In a wide-ranging interview, Russian Ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, discussed Victory Day, Russia’s relations with its wartime allies, conspiracy theories about COVID-19, sanctions, disinformation and more.
Dr Richard Ikiebe has led recent efforts to get international community backing to stop nearly two decades of ethnic and religious killing in Nigeria. “Now, people are listening to us”, he says.
In an interview with EURACTIV Germany, Mohammed Baba Baituna, the founder of Green Sahel, spoke about conflicts in his home country Nigeria, where his organisation and other local activists have been trying to cushion the effects of climate change, which are strengthening the jihadist terror group, Boko Haram.
A week after the EU and Morocco launched plans for an ambitious new trade and political deal at the Morocco-EU Association Council, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita explained in an exclusive interview how his country wants to build its relationship with the EU.
In spite of the drop in numbers of crossing, the death rate in the Central Mediterranean has increased over the past few months. EURACTIV talked to UNHCR Special Envoy Vincent Cochetel about the situation in the world deadliest border.
Renewable energy will rewrite the geopolitical map, according to the man tasked with taking clean energy global. Adnan Z. Amin also told EURACTIV that any politicians not worried by the “truly frightening” risks of climate change are not in the right job.
Nearly 18 months after falling under a shower of bullets outside his parliamentary residence in Dodoma, opposition leader Tundu Lissu, the most persistent thorn in the side of Tanzanian President John Magufuli plans to re-enter the political fray.
Francis Mvemba tells EURACTIV why he hopes to defeat Congo's political class in December's presidential elections.
Europe has to tackle the root causes of migration and better manage population flows by investing in people rather than walls, Udo Bullmann told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
With negotiations on the next EU long-term budget about to start, Commissioner Neven Mimica defended the European commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and praised the role local authorities play in international cooperation in an interview with EURACTIV.com.
With their populations set to double by 2050, the Sahel countries – Niger, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina-Faso and Chad – have to develop their agricultural productivity to feed their populations. EURACTIV France reports.
Few people have better insights into the EU migration debate than Bernardino León, a man once described as the golden boy of Spanish politics. The diplomat said that disembarkation platforms and controlled centres for migrants, currently envisaged by EU leaders, won’t stop the flow of immigrants to Europe.
At the latest United Nations environment summit, pollution topped the agenda. The man leading the UN’s quest to clean up the planet hopes this meeting will act as the wake-up call countries need and that the fight will include the world of business.
Only increased EU-Africa cooperation on education, employment and integration of youth can defuse the migration time bomb in preparation for the next decades, but the starting point is democracy, the president of the Hellenic-African Chamber told EURACTIV Greece in an interview.
As the EU-Africa Summit kicks off in Abidjan, expectations are high on both sides of the Mediterranean. French MEP Maurice Ponga, who sees the problems faced by the two continents as increasingly interlinked, calls for a joint reaction.
