The President of the African Union (AU), Alpha Omar Konarè, met Romano Prodi and the European Commissioners in Brussels last week to review the relations between the two major international organizations of continental character. The EU and AU delegations discussed and reinforced the strategic partnership between the European Union and Africa, with the declared objective of adopting the political and economic measures capable of improving the African ability to offer the necessary responses to the challenges of globalization, marginalization, conflicts and the reduction of poverty. According to Prodi, the African Union established in 2002 on the institutional model of the EU and since then the direct beneficiary of aid from Brussels both for socio-economic development and democratization – “represents a hope for the whole continent because it works for the development and the unification of Africa”. Peace, regional integration, economic partnership deals, water and energy supplies were the main issues on the agenda of the meeting. The EU promised investments in terms of human and financial resources to tackle them”.
