Leaders of the European Union (EU) and Africa concluded on Sunday their two-day summit in Lisbon, which was overshadowed by the presence of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and trade.
The leaders adopted an ambitious joint strategy, which aims to "take the EU-Africa relationship to a new, strategic level with a strengthened political partnership and enhanced cooperation at all levels."
The document was hailed as a landmark achievement in EU-Africa relations by Ghanaian President John Kufuor, whose country holds the African Union (AU) presidency.
However, the implementation of the strategy is put into question as the two continents remain divided over human rights, trade as well as the Darfur conflict in Sudan.
The summit, the first in seven years, had long been held up by an impasse over the attendance of Mugabe.
Portugal, which holds the EU presidency, gave in to African leaders and invited Mugabe, making the summit possible.
The presence of Mugabe led to a trade of fire between the two continents as well as a boycott by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel lashed out at Mugabe on behalf of the EU in a Saturday session, saying: "The situation in Zimbabwe damages the image of the new Africa."
Merkel's harsh words met resistance from African leaders.
South African President Thabo Mbeki, who spoke immediately after Merkel, reportedly departed from his script and commented that Merkel was out of touch with the situation on the ground.
African leaders are fully conscious of the importance of good governance and human rights, he told the session.
"I must emphasize that we are doing this of our own accord, driven by the fundamental interests of our peoples, having drawn the necessary lessons from our own experience," he added.
Outspoken Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade echoed Mbeki later on Saturday. "I listened to the chancellor and I respect her... but she was speaking based on information most of which is inaccurate," Wade told reporters.
The stage was set for clash at the opening of the summit as Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates put human rights and immigration at the center of the strategy.
"Human rights are direct expression of human dignity. They are the universal heritage of humanity, which we have to preserve and defend," he said in his opening speech.
But Kufuor wanted to correct historical injustice and inhumanity in relations between the two continents.
"For almost 500 years, the relationship between the two continents has not been a happy one," he said.
The joint strategy says the EU-Africa partnership will be based on consensus on values, common interests and common strategic objectives. But it is obvious that the two continents do not have the same priorities nor put the same emphasis on some values.
The EU had hoped that traditional preferential treatments it granted to African, Caribbean and Pacific nations can be replaced by Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) by the end of this year as the former has been declared illegal by the World Trade Organization.
However, the majority of African countries have fears that the EPAs, which are based on market opening, would lead to flood of European products.
Up to now, only a dozen African countries have signed up to interim agreements while negotiations on EPAs will continue.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso admitted Sunday that EU-Africa trade talks are difficult.
"Obviously this is difficult because it implies change. It is a challenge for both Africans and Europeans and will require time," said Barroso in a statement.
But he appealed for deals on interim agreements, saying they are actually even better than the current arrangements. Trade flows can be disrupted without these arrangements, he warned.
Barroso argued that the EPAs aim at strengthening regional integration and bringing genuine development to Africa.
Barroso's counterpart in the African Union, Alpha Oumar Konare, on Saturday warned against the danger of "playing certain African regions off against each other."
"No one will make us believe we don't have the right to protect our economic fabric," he said.
On Darfur, top EU officials laid pressure on the Sudanese government over Khartoum's acceptance of a hybrid peacekeeping force in the region.
Barroso, EU foreign policy and security chief Javier Solana and EU development commissioner Louis Michel met Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on the sidelines of the summit on Saturday.
The Sudanese side said progress has been made on the issue of UN-AU hybrid peacekeepers and that there will be news on the statute of the hybrid troops soon.
Representatives of the United Nations and the Sudanese government also met on Saturday. Khartoum demanded clarifications in a number of areas, according to a joint statement.
Both the United Nations and Sudan were concerned that there were critical gaps in the force capabilities and asked the international community to provide these capabilities.
The leaders also endorsed a three-year action plan coupled with the joint strategy.
Source:Xinhua
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