Projects
Strengthening the joint Africa-EU Strategy
In a nutshell
In 2007, at the second EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon, a framework was adopted that intends to structure the future relations between the two continents. This framework, called the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES), identifies joint priorities, with a focus on actions at the inter-regional, continental and/or global levels.
In brief, the core purpose of the Strategy is to:
1. Strengthen political dialogue and enhance cooperation between the two continents;
2. To jointly address global issues, such as climate change or peace and security;
3. Involve civil society, media and the private sector in continental cooperation;
4. Actively support Africa's continental integration.
At the fourth EU-Africa Summit in 2014, all parties adopted the JAES Roadmap 2014-2017, with the aim of further improving the implementation of the JAES, taking into consideration the experiences and developments in both continents.
In order strengthen the implementation of the JAES and to enhance the visibility of the partnership, a consortium consisting of five partners has been brought together, led by GOPA Consultants. Besides GOPA Consultants, two other organisations within the GOPA Consulting Group are involved with this project: GOPA Com. and B&S Europe.
Our approach
Now that the JAES had several years of experience under its belt, the Roadmap identified five new Joint Priorities for the period 2014-2017, which further emphasised the demand for a results-oriented approach:
1. Peace and Security
2. Democracy, Good Governance and Human Rights
3. Human development
4. Sustainable and inclusive development and growth and continental integration
5. Global and emerging issues
The consortium’s primary tasks are twofold: to facilitate the implementation of these action points and to carry out communication and outreach activities to enhance the visibility of the Africa-EU Partnership, while constantly striving to promote synergies with Africa in multi-lateral processes.
The JAES support programme has currently been running for over two-and-a-half years. The success of the programme, which demands expertise in the field of both implementation and communication, is a demonstration of the prosperous accumulation of strenghts under the GOPA Consulting Group.