10th Commission-to-Commission meeting in Addis Ababa: President von der Leyen highlights importance of the EU-AU partnership

21 College members are in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, today to participate in the 10th Commission-to-Commission meeting of the European Commission and the African Union Commission. President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who had chosen to visit the African Union (AU) for her first trip abroad in December, underlined the importance of the EU-AU partnership this morning: “The African Union and the European Union are natural partners and we have a lot in common, so we have a lot to win if we work closely together and exchange experiences and knowledge, and look for win-win situations. There are a lot of common points we have to discuss and where we can find common paths towards the future. I truly believe that the stronger Africa will be, the stronger we will be too.” Discussions focused on the following topics: peace, security and good governance; trade and investment; a transition towards a cleaner, carbon-neutral and digital economy; and migration, human mobility and skills. At the joint press conference with Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, President von der Leyen underlined that today’s meeting is an important step to take the longstanding relationship between the two institutions to the next level. Today’s discussions will contribute to thenew Strategy with Africa due to be presented in early March. The President’s speech at the opening session is available online and her press conference remarks will be available here shortly. Find more information on the Commission-to-Commission meeting here, as well as in factsheets on the European Union-African Union Partnership and on EU-AU Commission-to-Commission meeting to take cooperation forward.