EU Pledges €1.1B to Support AfCFTA and Enhance EU-AU Economic Cooperation

On 14 October 2023, during a high-level dialogue in Addis Ababa co-chaired by Jutta Urpilainen, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, and Albert Muchanga, AU Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Industry and Mining, it was announced that the EU is providing EUR 1.1 billion to support the #AfCFTA and promote EU-AU Economic cooperation.

The financing falls under the Team Europe initiative which has supported the #SingleMarket in Africa both ‘financially and politically.’ On that note, the EU Global Gateway Initiative (#GGI) is focusing on mobilizing private capital to support the socio-economic development of Africa.

In addition, the EU is providing an additional EUR 20 million to the Africa Center for Disease Control (#AfricaCDC) in order to respond better to the mpox epidemic.

The Team Europe initiative involves collaborations across various fields including trade in goods, intellectual property rights, digital trade, competition, customs, and investment. Currently, about 70 projects are being implemented to facilitate trade across Africa.