The European Union (EU)has expressed its commitment to expand cooperation with Africa in a range of aspects, including energy, food, and migration.
Following their 11th Commission-to-Commission meeting, co-chaired by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, the EU and the African Union issued a joint statement, noting that the ongoing conflict in Ukraine had harmed the economies of Europe and Africa. It was noted that current conflicts and tensions have exacerbated global food and energy security.
“Africa and Europe are bound by geography and a common destiny. Through sustainable investments worth at least €150 billion, the Global Gateway Africa-Europe Investment Package is the EU’s positive and substantial offer, which will help strengthen the continent’s resilience,” said von der Leyen.
Talking about the need to expand cooperation between the European Union and Africa, Mahamat, for his part, said: “We value our strategic partnership with the European Union and its active support to Agenda 2063. The destinies of our two continents are interlinked and we want to continue building a partnership of equals for the benefit of sustainable development for all.”
The European Union will send Kyiv 1.5 billion euros each month in 2023 to assist Ukraine in its struggle against Russia’s invading soldiers, according to the bloc’s leader.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU had given Ukraine 19 billion euros this year. “It is very important for Ukraine to have a predictable and stable flow of income,” she said, adding that Kyiv estimated its monthly needs at 3-4 billion euros “for the basics.”
The EU chief told a news conference the EU would finance 1.5 billion euros per month of that, with the rest expected to come from the United States and international institutions.
“That will give a total of 18 billion for the next year – an amount Ukraine can count on and where there is a stable and reliable, predictable flow of income.”
At least 15 EU countries seek a price cap in response to popular outrage over rising living costs, but Germany is adamantly opposed.
Despite hours of squabbling, European Union leaders have failed to achieve an agreement on a proposal to help protect their citizens from rising energy prices.
The group’s leaders emerged from their second summit in as many weeks at about 2 am in Brussels (00:00 GMT) with a “roadmap” to agreeing on a set of measures to lower energy bills, which have soared as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While the announcement of the summit text made a public show of unity among the 27 member states, the absence of any decision on capping gas prices indicated negotiations would remain difficult.
“We do now have a very good and solid roadmap to keep on working on the topic of energy prices,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in the early hours of Friday morning.
No timeframe was given on when a decision on price caps would be made, with EU energy ministers due to meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday for further discussions.
The published text calls on the European Commission and EU countries to find ways to shield consumers from the high prices “while preserving Europe’s global competitiveness… and the integrity of the Single Market”.
“There is a strong and unanimously shared determination to act together, as Europeans, to achieve three goals: lowering prices, ensuring the security of supply, and continuing to work to reduce demand,” said meeting host Charles Michel, the EU Council president.
The EU has been squabbling for months over which joint initiatives to adopt in negotiations made more challenging by the varying energy mixes in each country.
At least 15 EU states want a cap on gas prices amid growing public anger over the cost of living in countries including France and Belgium.
But Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, has resisted the call, arguing a cap risked freezing Europe out of the gas market and reducing incentives for energy saving.
Chancellor Olaf Scholzsaid the meeting outcome was a “good signal of solidarity” but there was frustration among other leaders.
Before the war, the EU got 40 percent of its gas from Russia, but in July it agreed to cut Russian gas usage by 15 percent. The move prompted Moscow to cut supplies, further contributing to the rise in prices. European gas prices reached a record high of more than 343 euros ($335) per megawatt-hour in late August.
“We are asked to show solidarity in sharing energy, but there is no solidarity on our calls for containing prices,” Italy’s outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi told his peers, an EU official familiar with the closed-door discussions told the Reuters news agency.
Prime Minister Alexander de Croo of Belgium, which exports gas to neighbouring Germany, shared similar sentiments.
“Solidarity should not just be on supply — it should also be on prices,” he told the gathering, according to the official.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who had gone into the summit saying Germanywas isolating itself, expressed satisfaction with the result.
“The next two or three weeks will allow the commission to come up with these mechanisms” to be implemented.
He said it sent a “very clear signal to the markets of our determination and our unity”.
She said the EU has so far given €19bn, adding: “It is very important for Ukraine to have a predictable and stable flow of income.”
It is estimated Ukraine needs about €3-4bn a month “for the basics” and the EUwill finance €1.5bn of this, with the rest to come from other countries and international institutions.
“That will give a total of €18bn for the next year – an amount Ukraine can count on and where there is a stable and reliable, predictable flow of income,” she said.
The bloc is divided over further strengthening sanctions on Russia and Iran over claims that Russia is using Iranian-made drones in its war.
Poland and the three Baltic states suggested banning Russian diamond imports and phasing out steel trade more quickly, but Belgium and Italy are among those opposed.
Hungary is against any sanctions on Russia, while Germany and France have said current measures already go far.
The contentious Northern Ireland protocol will be covered at a postponed meeting between the US presidentand the prime minister on Wednesday in New York.
The Northern Ireland Protocol must be resolved by negotiation, Joe Biden will say to Liz Truss when they meet later today, according to the White House.
In a meeting on Tuesday, Ms. Truss declined to discuss the protocol with French President Emmanuel Macron, and No. 10 did not indicate whether she will bring it up with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
But US national security adviser Jake Sullivan made it clear President Biden will discuss it “in some detail” with Ms Truss.
Mr Sullivan told reporters the president “will encourage the UK and the European Union to work out an effective outcome that ensures there is no threat to the fundamental principles of the Good Friday Agreement”.
“And he will speak in some detail to her about that,” he added.
The adviser said Mr Biden will “communicate his strong view that the Good Friday Agreement – which is the touchstone of peace and stability in Northern Ireland – must be protected.
“And we must collectively take steps – the US, the UK, the parties in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland – to ensure that it is protected,” he added.
Unilateral action
The UK and EU remain in dispute over the trading arrangements between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with the UK insisting physical checks on farm produce and other goods are removed.
The UK has insisted it will act unilaterally if a solution cannot be found and has drawn up legislation to enable the UK to tear up part of the protocol – the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill.
The EU and other critics say it will breach international law by effectively ditching key parts of the Brexit deal signed by Boris Johnson and the EU in 2019.
The bill was tabled by Ms Truss this summer and is expected to reach the Lords in mid-October, and threatens to further escalate tensions between the EU and potentially the US as well.
Mr Biden, who has Irish heritage, has previously raised concerns about Brexit’s threat to the peace process.
Lord Darroch, who served as the UK ambassador to the US under Ms Truss’ three predecessors, told Sky News it is “stone cold certain” that the lack of progress in striking a free trade deal with the US is related to that.
He said: “The Democrat administration has made this clear in briefings, there is going to be no trade deal unless wecan sort out the protocol in a way that the EU and particularly the Irish government is happywith, and no unilateral rewriting of it.”
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, he said there are “clearly tensions under the surface” – pointing to both the protocol bill and President Biden’s recent comments about “trickle-down economics”.
