EU to work with whole continent of Africa: Urpilainen

Jutta Urpilainen, European commissioner for international partnerships, said at a press meeting in Helsinki on Friday that the European Union (EU) aims to work with the whole continent of Africa.

She said the EU will not identify priority areas or countries on the African continent, stressing that the EU is one of several actors active there.

She recalled that this coming week 22 of the 27 European commissioners will attend a meeting with the African Union (AU) in Ethiopia, and that in October Brussels will host the 6th EU-AU summit.

The European Commission is scheduled to start a consultation with the EU member states on its Africa strategy next month. "We seek a joint view of the EU member countries of how we should develop our ties with Africa," she said.

Urpilainen said that the strategy also aims at changing the image of Africa in Europe and will focus on opportunities. Africa's annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth is 4.7 percent, she noted.

Urpilainen said it was her duty to strengthen partnerships that would help Africa combat climate change in line with the European Green Deal.

She said that one of her priorities was to improve the prospects of young Africans. The EU, she said, offers educational and social programs that aim to help them become active and productive members of society, and to enable them to make their voice heard.