Tomorrow, the African Union Commission and the European Commission will hold their annual College-to-College meeting in Africa’s political capital, Addis Ababa. The two Commissions work together as the engine of EU-Africa relations, collaborating on tackling challenges that the two continents are facing together. This annual meeting is the biggest EU-Africa political meeting of the year. Discussions will focus on key themes such as migration, peace, security and sustainable growth, as well as other policy areas enshrined in the Joint EU-Africa Strategy (JAES).
Ahead of the event, High Representative and Vice President Federica Mogherini, who will be heading the EU Commission delegation, said: “Europe and Africa are long standing and close partners. We share many of the same priorities and challenges: terror has targeted both continents, we all deal with unprecedented flows of people, we have a common interest in fostering growth and creating new opportunities for the African youth. Our present and future bind us together. This is why this high level meeting of the two Colleges – of the European Commission and the African Commission – is both crucial and timely. This will be my second visit to the African Union in just a few months, and I expect our work will foster common activities in many areas such as economic and social development, migration, fight against terrorism and international and regional issues.”
Besides High Representative Mogherini, Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, Andrus Ansip, Vice-President responsible for the Euro and Social Dialogue, Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides and Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc are also expected to attend the meeting. The College-to-College meeting will consist of a plenary meeting, followed by thematic clusters discussions and a joint press conference by the co-chairs AUC President Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and HR/VP Federica Mogherini.
