The European Parliament has called for stricter scrutiny of European Union aid and development programmes in Africa to ensure that they deliver measurable, sustainable and tangible benefits to people in partner countries.
Udo Bullmann, a member of the European Parliament, said stronger monitoring of EU interventions was necessary to guide future decisions on development assistance, particularly as the global geopolitical landscape changes and African countries increasingly demand greater autonomy in their economic partnerships.
Bullmann made the remarks while speaking with African journalists at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. The meeting was facilitated by the Taz Panter Foundation as part of a workshop on the impact of global powers on local realities, held from September 20 to 29 in Berlin and Brussels.
He said the future of Europe’s external relations would depend largely on stronger partnerships with countries of the Global South, stressing that such relationships must deliver benefits to local populations rather than focus primarily on the interests of external powers.
“In times of geopolitical insecurity, where actors like China or the US follow a strong strategy of pure extractivism in Africa, the EU wants to offer an alternative,” the German lawmaker said.
According to Bullmann, Europe’s engagement with Africa should be based on partnerships that place the interests of people and the environment at the centre of cooperation.
He noted that Europe’s growing need for critical minerals to support its technological and economic transition had increased its interest in Africa, Latin America and Asia, where many of the resources are located.
“Instead of simply exporting raw materials, I advocate for a larger part of value creation to stay, for instance, in Africa. If more processing and refining is done locally, we can ensure that more jobs and prosperity are created locally,” he said.
Global Gateway
Launched in 2021, the EU’s Global Gateway strategy is a €300 billion initiative aimed at strengthening connections between Europe and partner countries around the world.
The programme focuses on five major areas: digital infrastructure, climate and energy, transport, health, and education and research.
Last year, the EU envoy to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, said the bloc was seeking to deepen its partnership with Nigeria through the Global Gateway framework.
In March, the EU announced a €290 million investment package for Nigeria to support areas including digital infrastructure, healthcare manufacturing, agriculture and migration management.
However, Bullmann raised concerns about how effectively the impact of such interventions is currently assessed.
He said there was a need for a clearer and more comprehensive framework to measure the actual outcomes of EU-funded projects in partner countries.
“Monitoring the outcomes of our programmes is important to ensure that they have a positive impact on the people of our partner countries,” he said.
He added that greater scrutiny and stronger collaboration with local stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations, civil society groups and parliaments, would make it easier to identify weaknesses and improve development programmes.
Bullmann said the impact of development projects could be assessed through measurable indicators such as the number of jobs created, whether workers receive fair wages, the environmental consequences of projects and their long-term sustainability.
“This is what we need,” he said, adding that discussions were already at an advanced stage within the European Parliament on establishing a framework for measuring the outcomes of EU-funded projects.
