EU, South Africa hold third summit

Commission to provide €122 million in educational support.

The European Union and South Africa held their third-ever summit in Brussels today (28 September). The talks involved Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, and Jacob Zuma, the president of South Africa.

Van Rompuy said that the two sides had worked through a “very rich agenda” and singled out the role of emerging economies in the global governance system and the situation in Sudan as especially important. Van Rompuy said that Sudan had entered a “crucial phase”. An independence referendum in south Sudan in January has raised fears of a return to violence.

The EU also pressed Zuma on Zimbabwe. South Africa wants the EU to lift its sanctions on the regime of President Robert Mugabe, a move that many member states view as premature. “The next elections [in 2010] will be an important milestone,” Van Rompuy said. “In case there would be positive developments in Zimbabwe we would be prepared to look at these measures.”

Barroso said that the summit reflected “the broadening and deepening” of the bilateral relationship. He stressed the importance of completing negotiations on an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the countries in the South African Development Community (SADC) before the end of the year and said that the goal was achievable.

South Africa is worried that an EPA could create divisions among its regional trade partners. Zuma reiterated his commitment to completing EPA talks by December but said that it would not be “the end of the world” if this failed. Officials described the negotiations as “stuck”.

Also during the summit, the two sides finalised a grant of €122 million to support primary education in South Africa. Androulla Vassiliou, the European commissioner for education and culture, and Angie Motshekga, South Africa’s minister for basic education, signed the EU’s largest-ever budget support programme for South Africa. Around 70% of development assistance received by South Africa comes from the EU and its member states.