AU-EU relations: 25 years of partnership
From 24-25 November 2025, leaders of the African Union (AU) and European Union (EU) gather in Luanda, Angola, for the 7th AU-EU Summit.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the AU-EU partnership – a milestone moment to reflect on how far it has come, what challenges remain and prepare for a new model of partnership. It will be crucial for both parties to utilise this unique opportunity – which only occurs every three or four years – to leave old wounds behind and elevate their game to create a truly relevant, transformative, and equal partnership.
As ECDPM, we will explore the summit and its outcomes from multiple angles: the evolution of inter-institutional relations, shifting geopolitical dynamics, the role of multilateralism and crucial thematic areas such as migration, climate and energy cooperation, food systems transformation and sustainable finance and more.
This dossier brings together key ECDPM analyses and takeaways related to the AU–EU partnership – providing context, insights and reflections to inform the discussions before, during, and after the summit.
The next summit in Luanda should be the starting point of a more honest and open political dialogue, one capable of producing compromises and mutual concessions on the historical imbalances and substantial divergences of views that have clouded the relationship well before the formal 25 years of AU-EU summitry.
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Would you like to know about our work on the AU-EU partnership, engage our expertise or share your thoughts? Get in touch with Kathleen Van Hove, who coordinates our work on AU-EU relations. For media enquiries, please contact Isabell Wutz.
