With both Europe and Africa uncomfortably stuck in the middle of the increasingly acrimonious U.S.-China conflict, Gyude Moore, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Global Development in Washington, proposes in a new article that stronger EU-Africa ties could serve as an important ballast for both regions in an era of heightened uncertainty. 

Europe’s embrace of multilateralism and its desire to not get involved in the Washington-Beijing feud align neatly with Africa’s priorities argues Moore. But the Washington, D.C.-based think tank analyst, who was also the former Liberian public works minister, makes it clear that if a new “EurAfrican” partnership is to be successful, Europe will have to change how it engages the continent. “Africa is far more than just a recipient of European aid,” he said.