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The Africa Confidential Blog
Europe and South Africa strengthen ties after Trump freeze
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With geopolitics in flux, alliances are shifting. United States President Donald Trump’s attacks on South Africa, including the suspension of government programmes, the boycott of its G20 presidency, and claims of ‘genocide’ against white farmers by Trump advisor Elon Musk have pushed Pretoria to embrace the European Union more closely. A few months ago, European Commission officials worried about South Africa’s ties with China and Russia. But on 19 February, top EU and South African officials talked pointedly about being ‘reliable partners’ and the importance of multilateral institutions such as the UN, the WTO and the ICC.
They will hold a bilateral summit on 13 March, during which Brussels will announce investments in clean energy projects, and possibly reach a deal on critical raw minerals. Yet the US withdrawal will leave some gaps. The EU and other humanitarian aid donors have indicated that they will try to bring forward payments to partners now facing cashflow problems because of the 90-day US aid suspension. But they are unlikely to boost aid budgets to cover the US’s absence. The immediate cost will be thousands of lives in Africa, and elsewhere. On areas such as security and migration, EU-Africa relations are more strained. The EU’s minerals trade deal with Rwanda and its reluctance to sanction Kigali for its invasion of Congo-Kinshasa infuriates South Africa but sends a clear message about regional security.