EU-Africa look for common ground

Lisbon hosts the first meeting between EU and African leaders in seven years.

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Sunday, 09, Dec 2007 07:19

Leaders from the European Union (EU) and Africa are looking to conclude a number of agreements as the joint conference draws to a close.

Heads of state from countries in both regions are looking to outline a commitment towards free trade and democracy after a meeting that has been dominated by terse exchanges over the situation in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe was only allowed to attend the conference after the African states called for a ban on him visiting the EU to be lifted. In response to the lifting of the ban, British prime minister Gordon Brown refused to attend the summit saying that the African leader's presence would divert attention from key issues.

During the conference, German chancellor Angela Merkel also criticised Mr Mugabe by saying he had harmed "the image of the new Africa" while African states objected to one of their heads of state being lectured about their policies.

African Union commission president Alpha Oumar Konare urged the EU to "avoid playing certain African regions off against each other" and to move away from "patterns of thinking that belong to a different era."

Yesterday the host of the conference, Portuguese president Jose Socrates, emphasised that the meeting, the first for seven years, was a "summit of equals" where all issues would be discussed openly.

Mr Socrates said: "For a number of years the relationship between the European Union and Zimbabwe made it impossible for the summit to be held... But through our joints efforts we will be able to achieve better results on all the issues on our agenda. Let's focus on the future."

"This summit is a summit of equals," he added. "We are equal in our human dignity... but also equal in terms of political responsibility."

Click here for a summary of the situation in Zimbabwe