ABSTRACT
The sense of pessimism pervading the state of Africa’s relationship with Europe since the 1990s is best summarized in the ominous language of Fortress Europe and marginal Africa. Fifty years since its inception, the Euro-African relationship is facing a midlife crisis, searching for meaning, direction, and redefinition. Illustrative of this crisis are the debates about the future of the relationship that emerged during the transition from the Lomé to the Cotonou Conventions and, more recently, contrasting perspectives that dominated the Tony Blair Commission on Africa. For the European Union (EU), the necessity of charting a new course has entailed creating links with Africa that reflect the broadening of European regionalism and the imperatives of globalization. For Africa, the priority has entailed finding its economic and political feet against the background of gradual weakening of its postcolonial relations with Europe.
