Africa-EU: Will Poland EU Presidency Be a Blessing?

By George Okore

WARSAW---Taking over from Hungary, Poland will for the next 184 days preside over the work of the major EU decision-making body - European Union Council. As host state, Poland under President Bronisław Komorowsk will organize and host most of EU events and offer direction towards EU development, integration and security.

The EU members are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Germany, Slovakia, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom. These countries should help African states to respect electoral outcome so as to promote diversity, inclusiveness, freedom, fairness and transparency of the electoral process.

On the other hand, African Union (AU) Chairman President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea will seek Europe’s support in tackling several major political, social economic transformations in the continent. Chiefly among them will be general elections in Africa. Supposed to be hallmarks of democracy, general lections in African regrettably breed conflict and violence since their outcome are often bitterly contested.

In anticipation of the huge workload, Poland has appointed Konrad Niklewicz- former journalist with Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper as its spokesperson during the 184 days of EU presidency. Apart from African concerns, other agenda Warsaw seeks to address during its term are the EU budget, the Eastern Partnership and energy security. Both Africa and Europe urgently need future energy systems to overcome the dependence on fossil energy. This is why the Partnership has to emphasize the development of decentralized renewable energies much more strongly.

The period will witness Central Europe thrust itself in world affairs as another state Lithuania assumes the chairmanship of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Both posts are central to Union relationship with Africa and the rest of the world.   The “Year of Central Europe” coincides with recent efforts by Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic to revitalize the “Visegrad” Cooperation Framework, in order to gain greater influence in world affairs.  The Visegrad Group was launched in February 1991 by the first generation of Central Europe’s post-Communist leaders Lech Walesa (Poland), Joszef Antall (Hungary) and Vaclav Havel (Czechlovakia).

Relationship between EU countries and African counterparts is governed by Africa-EU Strategic Partnerships, launched in December 2007 in Lisbon and serves as an important instrument to strengthen the partnership between the two continents. Their major areas of collaboration include Security and Defence, Foreign Relations, Human Rights and Global Challenges. However, experts like Jürgen Maier of the German NGO Forum Environment and Development says it should accommodate more stakeholders especially the civil society to succeed.

According to United Nations Secretary General Ban-Ki moon, Africa, like the rest of the world faces interconnected risks from conflicts and natural disasters, insecurity, poverty and diseases. The new EU presidency should therefore approach recent events like massive flooding in Southern Africa or uprisings in North Africa as calamities which make ordinary Africans vulnerable as never before.  

European Union Envoy to Kenya Mr. Eric van Linden says disastrous fraud undermining general elections in Africa is an urgent concern to be tackled. However, through Election Assistance and Observation Programme, EU promotes democracy, human rights and the rule of law worldwide. In Africa, Van Linden says EU has contributed towards strengthening democratic institutions, building public confidence in electoral processes, helping to deter fraud, intimidation and violence.

Experts like South African Institute of International Affairs National Director Elizabeth Sidiropoulos says other emerging powers such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China are likely to challenge EU dominance in African affairs. These new entrants are angling to be at the centre of global transformations and want help African countries overcome   pressing issues challenges including climate change, energy, economic and financial stability, security and development.