The African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) Partnership holds untapped potential. However, just and sustainable cooperation will depend on genuine consultation—fostering mutual learning and unified action, and not just between Commissions, but across member states and the diverse communities they serve.

In June, the Bahá'í International Community's (BIC) Addis Ababa Office and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) AU Cooperation Office co-hosted an event, titled "Building Robust Frameworks for Joint Action and Mutual Accountability within the AU-EU Partnership," which built on this need for genuine consultation. The event also explored the role of the partnership in providing the conditions for the agency of diverse populations to find expression. 

Held in Addis Ababa, the event brought together representatives from the AU and EU Commissions, civil society, the diplomatic community, think tanks, and member state officials to explore what systems and processes are needed for local African and European insights to directly inform joint intercontinental strategies.

The discussions built on the commitments made in the Joint Vision for 2030, the 7th AU-EU Summit Joint Declaration, and recent recommendations from the Africa-EU Parliamentary Assembly. 

Throughout the week in Addis Ababa, the BIC’s Brussels and Addis Ababa offices drew on the event's insights to deepen conversations on the AU-EU Partnership with AU, EU member state, and civil society representatives.

Shemona Otu-Ansah, Representative from the BIC’s Addis Ababa Office, questioned whether spaces for shared learning could be built on a new vision of development—“where both are on equal standing, trying to collectively address social issues, rather than where one group is doing something for the other.” Reinforcing this view, Her Excellency Ms. Karin B. Stanghed, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the AU, emphasized that a strong partnership “cannot be built by governments alone… we need a partnership that is more connected and more rooted in the realities of our people.” 

Meaningful Citizen Engagement 

One theme that emerged was the need for structures that give local communities opportunities to engage with, contribute to, and shape AU-EU decision-making—structures where the insights of the citizenry are treated as essential expertise. 

• Ambassador Salah Hammad, Head of the AGA-APSA Secretariat at the AU Commission, added that “the partnership is not only about natural resources. It involves human beings… it must be transformed into a people-centered partnership.” 

• Ruth Kay Kangwa-Ndhlovu, African Youth Ambassador for Peace, noted that citizens measure engagement by “whether they can actually see their perspectives reflected in the decisions,” rather than by the number of meetings held. “What would meaningful engagement look like when we’re involving people early enough to help shape what the priorities are?” she asked. 

• Expanding on the theme of inclusion, Josiane Darwatoye, Gender Monitoring Officer at the AUC Office of the Special Envoy on WPS, emphasized the need to “share the power, to share the space with the citizens” and recommended that deliberations on the partnership trickle down to regional and national levels. 

• Supporting this call for structured engagement, Elise Nalbandian, Head of the Oxfam Liaison Office to the AU, said, “We need permanent structures which will give continuity,” rather than one-off spaces.

An Evolving AU-EU Partnership 

Beyond immediate reforms, the conversation also pointed to the deeper shifts needed for the partnership to evolve into a truly equal and enduring relationship.

• Dr. Paul-Simon Handy, Regional Director for East Africa and the Horn at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), highlighted the necessity of trust. “The future of the AU-EU Partnership will not be determined by the number of meetings we hold,” he said, “but rather by whether we can create institutions capable of generating trust, shared understanding, and collective responsibility.”

• Chloe Jamali, policy officer at the BIC’s Brussels Office, added that the Partnership’s evolution depends on how interdependence is understood: “By embracing it as a strength, rather than a risk to be managed, both continents can draw on knowledge that isolation cannot produce, and arrive at solutions that neither could reach alone.”