Tiroler Tageszeitung, editorial, edition of September 3, 2023. By CHRISTIAN JENTSCH. "Africa: Europe has a lot to make up for".

2023-09-02 20:00:30

Innsbruck (OTS) – Europe is in danger of falling further and further behind in Africa. And it’s also your own fault.

A veritable wave of military coups has recently changed the political balance of power in West and Central Africa. And let the alarm bells ring, especially in Europe. After the military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Gabon, Europe fears for its influence and interests. France in particular is in danger of losing its supremacy in its former colonies. France has recently tried with thousands of soldiers to stop the spread of Islamist groups in the countries of the Sahel zone. And it largely failed. Now the former colonial power is facing an increasingly hostile atmosphere.
Europe would do well not to blame geostrategic opponents such as China and Russia, which is struggling for influence and is isolated from the West, for this development. Sure, both China and Russia are trying to slow down Europe in Africa if possible. The so-called “Battle for Africa” as a struggle for raw materials and geostrategic partners has long since begun again. And Europe is in danger of falling behind.
But Europe is also to blame for the misery. There was and is little sign of an encounter on an equal footing, as is now repeatedly emphasized in political Sunday speeches. Africa not only serves China and Russia as a supplier of raw materials. While good deals are made with the dictators, the population remains destitute and the environment suffers great damage. Niger, for example, with its rich uranium deposits, which France needs for its nuclear power plants, is still one of the poorest countries in the world. And the greed for natural resources has also ruined the Congo. Europe has a lot to make up for. And instead of a common strategy, Europe’s former colonial powers usually prefer to do their own thing anyway.