” “"I think the time has come to raise the level of our political contacts and move towards a strategic partnership": Louis Michel, EU Commissioner for development and humanitarian aids, in charge of relationships with Africa, just back from a journey to Pretoria (which also included visits to Lesotho and Botswana), comments his meeting with the South-African president Thabo Mbeki. "The European Union has recognised Africa as a geo-strategic priority and has committed itself more than ever to its economic and social development. South-Africa is playing a ruling role in Austral Africa and in the continent, which is reflected by its international profile and its commitment to multilateralism. So, we have a shared interest in maintaining wider and deeper contacts". Michel explained to Mbeki that the Commission intends to submit to the Council and to the Strasbourg Parliament a "report" about the relationship between South-Africa and the EU. The meeting was useful "to explore the areas in which the current partnership could be strengthened, from political dialogue to free trade, from humanitarian aids to a wide range of economic, scientific and cultural forms of cooperation". The big "shared goals" are still, according to the commissioner "peace, stability, a good government and the reduction of poverty in Africa".” “
