| | The partnership between the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) in Darfur is attracting renewed, and critical attention on the former's growing political role in Africa. The EU is a major aid provider in Africa and has tended, since the beginning of the 1990s, to expand its exclusively developmental role to a more political one through a greater involvement in security issues. In the Horn of Africa, however, most former colonial powers have only maintained loose links with their former colonies, with the obvious exception of France in Djibouti. The Horn's very strategic location has slowly made it a US chasse gardée where the EU and its member states often remain behind the scene. Since the 9/11 attacks it has been one of the regions most closely observed by Western intelligence. Counter-terrorism issues have clearly influenced US politics in the region. This Briefing will examine whether the EU shares these and other US concerns. |
