courtesy: European Council TV
Leaders of African countries and the European Union met in Brussels on April 2 and 3, under the theme Investing In People, Prosperity And Peace.
Also joining the 4th EU-Africa summit are African institutions and international observers.
The 2014 summit agenda includes education and training, women and youth, migration, growth and job opportunities, investing in peace and ways to enhance EU support for African Security.
The European Union was represented by president of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and president of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso.
European Council President Van Rompuy says that “ the theme we have chosen addresses the everyday concerns of our citizens– their safety and security, their job prospects, and their future as families and individuals.
European Commission President Barroso says: “the summit will deepen our partnership of equals and seize further cooperation opportunities by expanding political, economic, investment and trade ties.”
However leaders of some countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe are not attending.
Previous summits took place in Cairo in 2000— Lisbon in 2007 and in Tripoli in 2010.
Still at the EU in Belgium, a special high-level meeting on the Central African Republic was held in the margins of the EU-Africa Summit.
The discussion focuses on the urgency to restore security and re-establish stability in the Central African Republic to promote national reconciliation and political transition in the country and to further coordinate actions by the international community to this end.
The meeting explored further humanitarian and development aid to the people of the Central African Republic.
The meeting is co-organised and co- chaired by the president of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, the French President Francois Hollande and President Abdel Aziz Of Mauritania, the current holder of the African Union presidency.
Also participating in the meeting are the head of state of the transition in the Central African Republic Catherine Samba-Panza, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and several African and European heads of state or government that are involved in the humanitarian and security aid to the Central African Republic.
by: Malou Francisco
EBC International – The Netherlands
European Bureau correspondent
