AU-EU Ministerial Thematic Digests_May 2025
Brussels, May 2025
This year, 2025, marks a pivotal turn for the African Union (AU) and European Union (EU) as the two regional organisations celebrate 25 years of partnership. The Ministerial meeting in Brussels is set for 21st May 2025, and the 7th AU-EU Summit, later in the year, to be hosted in Africa. Since both Commissions have only recently been in place, this is the first time that the AU and EU Commissions will meet - it will not only be monumental to reflect on the 25 years but also carve a way for future cooperation.
The EU and African sides are working on the agendas for the ministerial meeting and the summit. We are aware that the ministerial meeting will be held in Brussels on 21st May, preceded by a senior officials’ meeting on 20th May at the EU Parliament.
The African side has focused on seeking mutual interests for a prosperous Africa and Europe, joint partnerships, as well as renewed collaboration on migration and mobility. The EU plans to table its agenda tied to the 4 Ps: Prosperity,People (e.g. migration), Peace, and Planet (e.g. multilateralism). The emphasis will be on peace and security, migration, and multilateralism.
The purpose of our dedicated engagement in the AU-EU partnership, through the 2025 ministerial and 7th AU-EU summit, is based on the premise that while civil society will be mobilised through the CSEM, we have a complementary vision to stay aligned with the development discourse related to migration governance. As such, the proposed range of activities would provide an opportunity to keep members informed and engage other non-state actors in the AU-EU partnership. In turn, the engagement provides an advocacy opportunity by determining for ourselves and articulating our messages to the officials presented as our “key opportunities for the future of a healthy AU-EU Partnership”. We will use the opportunity to reflect on the agenda of the ministerial and set the tone for our engagement for the summit. We are conscious that the Ministerial outcome document is instrumental in shaping the focus of the summit and the future of EU-AU partnership.
The African Non-State Actors Platform echoes the focus on conscious negotiation of mutual interests for a prosperous Africa and Europe, joint partnerships, as well as renewed collaboration on migration and mobility.
Read the FULL STATEMENT at THIS LINK
Photo credit: European Union