Representatives of 54 African and 28 European States, including over 30 heads of state, will meet in Brussels on 2 and 3 April for the fourth EU-Africa Summit. The meeting has a broad-ranging agenda under the title “Investing in People, Prosperity and Peace”.

Perhaps the most important item on the economic agenda is the completion of a range of free trade agreements between Europe and various African blocs, including a Southern African Development Community (SADC) group that incorporates South Africa. These Economic Partnership Agreements (or EPAs) will redefine Africa’s trading relationship with Europe, but have been bogged down for a decade amidst controversial negotiations that have strained relations between the two continents.

In a forthcoming publication, Christopher Wood looks at what issues SADC should focus on at the EU-Africa Summit, and where there is room for compromise.

Download the paper above.

By Christopher Wood, researcher in the Economic Diplomacy programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs.