CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE - issue 03/2023

LE MONDE AFRICAN UNION
Africa-Europe: embarking on a shared future
The African Union (AU) has evolved into a significant advocate for the continent. Despite numerous
differences, cooperation with the European Union (EU) is on the rise. Austria is also increasing its
engagements in the region.
Text: Gerhard Bitzan
PHOTOS: ADOBE STOCK, EUROPEAN UNION; BMEIA, DRAGAN TATIC
The offer has been on the table for
quite some time. As early as 2007,
the Austrian government at the time
extended an invitation to the African Union
(AU) to open an office at the UN headquarters
in Vienna, alongside its existing offices
in New York and Geneva. This move would
establish a foothold within the EU as well.
The proposal was well-received. In 2012,
the AU Executive Council decided to establish
the Vienna office ‘as soon as possible’.
However, the implementation is still pending.
“The African Union is currently evaluating
its representation network,” explains
Envoy Robert Zischg, director of the Department
for Sub-Saharan Africa at the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, in an interview
with CD. He emphasises that such an office
would “reinforce Austria’s role as a diplomatic
hub and would also be in the interests
of the African states themselves.”
Still at a distance
EU President Ursula von der
Leyen and Macky Sall, President
of Senegal at the AU-EU-Summit
in 2022. Austrian Chancellor Karl
Nehammer visited Ghana in
April (right).
Africa is gaining increasing significance
in Europe, particularly in Austria. In addition
to pursuing an AU office, Vienna is
undertaking various other initiatives. The
government has been working on a comprehensive
Africa strategy for some time,
aiming to elevate relations with African
countries to a new level. This is accompanied
by numerous diplomatic contacts and
travels. In the spring, Chancellor Karl Nehammer
visited three African countries —
Ghana, Angola, and Egypt. Prior to that, he
visited Morocco. Foreign Minister Alexander
Schallenberg, who frequently travels to
the region in his ministerial capacity, is actively
seeking additional diplomatic representations.
Austria is set to establish a new
embassy in Ghana, and just this June, the
East African nation of Tanzania opened an
embassy in Vienna.
Many African countries possess signifi-
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