Europe and Africa must address the issue of illicit financial flows (IFFs) and prioritise the delivery of greater domestic resource mobilisation so that public resources can be invested in public services according to the directors of the European Think Tanks Group (ETTG). They also say that both continents could reduce their reliance on global supply chains.

But the directors are concerned that a long-awaited new EU-Africa partnership announced in March may be knocked off-course by the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus delays

In March, before the pandemic took hold, the EU outlined a long-awaited new Africa strategy with the ambition of forging a “partnership of equals”.

“The coronavirus now puts this strategy at risk and will be the first major test of the EU’s ambition,” the ETTG directors say on the EURACTIV news site.

Regional supply-chains

The directors do however suggest that Europe and Africa could work on solutions to avoid over-reliance on global supply chains that have become fragmented during the pandemic to the extent that several countries have run short of medical equipment required to fight coronavirus.

“While the integration of the global economy is inevitable and should be continued, it might be wise for both Europe and Africa to ensure a globalisation which is more regional in nature with less external dependency on global markets,” the directors say.

“The experience of the EU, prioritising the construction of a common internal market over global supply chains, can be an inspiration both for today’s EU and for Africa’s Continental Free Trade Area under construction,” they conclude.

Categories: Trade Based Financial crimes News

Tags: Africa, ETTG, EURACTIV, Europe, IFFs