Marcelo calls on the EU to “turn outward” and “re-engage” in Africa

The President of the Republic said today that the European Union is sometimes "too focused" on itself and "loses its vision of the world," calling for it to "turn outward" 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.