Dear <<First name>>,

While we are all waiting with bated breath for the next episode of the Brexit saga, one cannot underestimate the number and the importance of non-Brexit related issues which the European Union needs to decide, negotiate and agree on in the upcoming months. 

First up, after potentially tricky results in the European Parliament elections, will be the demanding task of choosing the new leadership that should shape the European agenda for the next five years. 

This new EU leadership will need to take over and finalise two key on-going negotiations: those on the new long-term EU budget and those on the renewal of the Cotonou Agreement with African, Pacific and Caribbean countries, both of which ECDPM has been following for many years. 

Anna Knoll and Pauline Veron looked at the budget and migration, covering all the different positions and the possible implications.

To spark some out-of-the-box thinking during the EU long-term budget negotiations, Mariella Di Ciommo, Emmanuel De Groof and Sanne Thijssen have written a paper highlighting cooperation between the EU and South Africa, Cabo Verde and Ghana on research and innovation, a field not talked nearly enough about but full of potential.  

On post-Cotonou, Alfonso Medinilla and Jean Bossuyt tell us it is time for both African members of the ACP and the EU to make a clear choice on the direction of Africa-EU relations after 2020, as the hybrid solution proposed by the European Commission might end up serving no one.


All the best,

Virginia

How do middle-income countries in Africa perceive collaboration with the European Union when it comes to research and innovation? The authors of this study analysed the cases of South Africa, Cabo Verde and Ghana. Read the paper >>

Governance

Carnegie looked at the effect of corruption on small businesses in Nigeria.

Brookings highlights the relevance of building local youth leadership in Africa to solve global challenges.

In a two-part analysis, Faten Aggad explains what is going on in Algeria and why it is happening now.


Peace and security

In a piece about European strategic autonomy, the Egmont Institute asks: Which military level of ambition?

Jean-Hervé Jezequel, Director of the International Crisis Group’s Sahel Project, sheds light on the intercommunity violence that is currently affecting Mali [in French].

The Jamestown Foundation provides a portrait of women within the Somalia-based al-Shabaab terrorist group.

The UN and Canada are launching a fund that will accelerate the deployment of trained and qualified women in peacekeeping, reports the Center for Global Development.


Food security

The International Food Policy Research Institute launched its 2019 Global Food Policy Report...

… and, in a recent blog, argues that we need to revitalise rural areas to fight poverty, malnutrition and poor quality of life.


Migration

The EU will no longer provide ship patrols to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, reports Reuters.

Among the aims of the new Africa Policy Guidelines, the German government lists the need to deepen collaboration with the African Union on migration.


Other

The European Commission launched its new open platform ‘EU Aid Explorer’.

The European Parliament is demanding a more ambitious aid budget, according to a DEVEX article featuring ECDPM’s Alexei Jones.

The Overseas Development Institute’s Principled Aid Index helps understand donor motivations…

… and a commentary, part of their series that looks at how Brexit is likely to impact low and middle-income countries, states that poorer countries should keep focusing on the long-term trade agenda.

The Tutwa Consulting Group shares insights on the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area for the economic development of the continent.

Poverty in Africa is now falling – but not fast enough, according to Brookings.