Marcelo calls on the EU to have a "new commitment" to Africa

The President of the Republic considered, this Saturday, that sometimes the European Union is "too focused" on itself and "loses its vision of the world", calling for it to "turn outwards" and have "a new commitment" to Africa.

Marcelo made these requests during a session at the Eurafrican Forum, in Carcavelos (Cascais), which consisted of a dialogue with the President of Angola.

João Lourenço considered that Europe can "do more and better" in Africa, stressing that "the potential is great and there are opportunities" for investment in sectors such as energy and infrastructure that would bring mutual benefits to both continents.

After hearing these words, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa agreed that there are a number of sectors in which cooperation between the two continents "is inevitable," such as digital, "high technology," and the energy transition, and called for a "new European commitment to understanding Africa."

"Why does Europe take so long to understand things that are obvious? Because Europe has been forming piecemeal and with a lot of attention to internal geopolitics," he considered.

For Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the EU “is sometimes too focused, too focused on itself, on its own navel,” on issues such as enlargement to other member states, institutional functioning, internal crises, and, “now, recently, the war in Europe and investment in Defense.”

"Every time Europe is called upon to focus on itself, it loses its vision of the world, even when it comes to explaining why certain issues that appear to be European are global issues. And it immediately loses sight of its relations with Africa, and this has happened many times," he warned.

It is because of this particular focus on internal issues, the President of the Republic continued, that "Europe is commercially, in the sum of its realities, very strong, but does not appear as often as necessary as a global international power, particularly in the economic and financial sphere."

At this point, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa addressed the 25th EU-China summit, which took place this Wednesday in Beijing, to emphasize that he viewed this meeting "with appreciation" and emphasized that there is "no reason for Europe not to be attentive to economic and financial cooperation with China."

Marcelo emphasized that this has seen "years of standstill," but expressed hope that Europe is beginning to understand that "turning outward is greater than turning inward."

"And, when looking outward, this outside (...) is an outside within, because it is a reality that exists outside and within Europe, which is called Africa. It seems self-evident," he said.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also addressed the fact that Angola currently holds the rotating presidency of the African Union (AU), praising João Lourenço for adopting "three strategic lines": the defense of peace, "a continental vision with strategic axes of mobility at all levels" and a "change in funding."

"These three main lines are lines that can only be, and must be, understood by Europe and the EU, starting now at the EU-AU summit," in November in Luanda, he said.

For Marcelo, at a time when "the trend seems to be not multilateralism" but "closure," this summit could be crucial for Europe to better understand the importance of its partnership with Africa and its importance "in the balance of global power, now and in the future."

"The importance of building an international system with reliable rules, values, and principles for the international economy to function. All of this is being built," he argued.

At the end of the conversation, when asked to leave a message as European leader, to Africa and the AU, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he was "very confident in the European commitment, in what represents a qualitative leap in the European Union" and in a "new phase" in relations between the two continents after the November summit.

The Angolan President declared in Lisbon that the CPLP is more than the Portuguese language; it is culture and trade between member states, and that Africa has the potential to serve the world, with due investment.

The President of the Republic of Angola, João Lourenço, was at the 8th EurAfrican Forum this Saturday morning, promoted by the Council of the Portuguese Diaspora at the Nova School of Business and Economics University (Nova SBE), in Carcavelos (Lisbon), where he was the guest speaker for the 'Conversation with the Presidents', which closed the event, in a dialogue with the Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, moderated by the editorial director of Sapo, Joana Petiz.

For the Angolan head of state and also current holder of the rotating presidency of the African Union (AU), the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) “is more than the Portuguese language, it is culture, commercial exchanges between member states” and the diversity of the Portuguese language itself, in terms of accents across the globe, are an “enrichment of it”.

The Portuguese head of state considers the CPLP a project that has influence across various continents and that can be a bridge between institutions such as the African Union and the European Union, whose chairman is former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa.

"Do you know who initiated the European Union-Africa summits? Portugal. First in 2000, then in 2007, and now the next one will be in Angola," in the capital, between November 24th and 25th, said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

For the AU president, the potential of Angola and the African continent, in general, is not limited to its human potential, as it has a young population that symbolizes the future.

"Regarding Africa, I think we shouldn't limit ourselves to talking about demographic potential. It's a fact that Africa is an essentially young continent (...) and it has an advantage in terms of a workforce that can serve the continent and the world," João Lourenço emphasized.

"Therefore, Europe should look at its demographic potential differently, investing in Africa, even to prevent young Africans from crossing the Mediterranean and arriving in Europe under the conditions we're familiar with. If investment is made in Africa, they will not only serve the continent, but they will also serve the rest of the world, serve Europe, under better conditions, with greater qualifications, thus enabling them to occupy, let's say, the job market," he reiterated.