In the heart of Luanda, Angola, leaders from Europe and Africa gathered on November 24 and 25, 2025, for the seventh African Union-European Union (AU-EU) Summit—a symbolic meeting marking the 25th anniversary of multilateral relations between the two continents. The summit, attended by heads of state or government from both blocs, including Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, European Council President António Costa, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, was charged with ambition and a sense of urgency. The world watched as 80 delegations negotiated over trade, minerals, migration, security, and the evolving shape of global governance.
Prime Minister Orpo, representing Finland, set the tone for his country’s priorities. “Deepening the economic partnership between the EU and African countries is an important goal for Finland’s export sectors,” he declared, underscoring the growing strategic, geopolitical, and commercial importance of Africa to Europe. According to the Finnish Government Communications Department, Orpo reminded the summit that “Africa is an important, close neighbour to Europe and its strategic, geopolitical and commercial importance continues to grow. The EU is Africa’s most important trading partner and its largest source of direct foreign investment. Establishing a trade agreement between the EU and Africa is an important future goal.”
But lofty goals met the realities of complex negotiations. As reported by Prensa Latina and other outlets, the summit closed with new pledges on cooperation—particularly in trade, minerals, and migration—yet no major breakthroughs. The final communiqué outlined commitments to strengthen commercial ties, expand collaboration on strategic minerals, and address migration challenges, all while supporting a rules-based international order. The leaders reaffirmed their support for the Joint Vision for 2030 declaration, adopted at the previous summit in 2022, signaling continuity despite the absence of dramatic progress.
Trade and minerals took center stage in the discussions. African representatives, including Angola’s Foreign Minister Tete Antonio, pressed for a shift in how the continent’s resources are handled. “We need to be able to export cobalt, but also vehicle batteries,” Antonio insisted, making the case for more value-added processing within Africa rather than the traditional model of exporting raw materials. This sentiment resonated with the summit’s broader theme of shared prosperity and the preservation of solidarity, cooperation, and dialogue, as Antonio put it: “We talked about peace, security and governance but above all, we recalled that we will have to work in such a way that prosperity is shared and that the values of solidarity, cooperation and dialogue are preserved.”
European leaders responded with investment promises. The European Commission, during the summit, announced new EU investment packages targeting energy, digital networks, infrastructure, and businesses across African countries. A highlight was the unveiling of the EU Finnfund Global Guarantee programme, a joint initiative by the Finnish development financier Finnfund and the European Commission, aiming to mobilize €2 billion in investments in the digital sector. This move, as described by the Finnish Government Communications Department, is designed to stimulate innovation and digital transformation, a clear nod to Africa’s ambitions for technological leapfrogging.
Migration, a perennial issue in AU-EU relations, was another major theme. The final communiqué set a dual goal: to curb irregular migration while improving legal mobility for citizens of both blocs. Leaders acknowledged the complex push-and-pull factors driving migration and pledged to work together on solutions that balance security with opportunity.
The summit was not just about economics and migration. Security and governance were front and center, especially in light of ongoing crises in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). Leaders condemned the killings by the Rapid Support Forces in El-Fasher, Sudan, and threw their support behind United Nations resolution 2773. Mediation efforts in Washington and Doha aimed at reducing tensions in eastern DR Congo also received a boost. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévost urged a careful reassessment of the EU’s approach to Congo sanctions, warning, “The European Union may have been too quick to be satisfied with having taken sanctions in February or March, without then worrying sufficiently about how the situation evolved. And today, I am not sure that new sanctions would be appropriate, at the risk that they be instrumentalised to justify the derailment of ongoing mediation processes.”
Underlying these discussions was a deeper debate about the future of global governance. President of Ethiopia, Taye Atske-Selassie, stressed the importance of inclusive multilateralism and equitable global governance—an appeal echoed in many African leaders’ calls for reforming international institutions. Prime Minister Orpo, for his part, expressed clear support for African countries’ efforts to gain two permanent seats on the UN Security Council, aligning with the summit’s broader push for a more representative international order.
The specter of Russia’s war in Ukraine loomed large over the proceedings. Orpo drew a direct line between the conflict and the summit’s agenda, saying, “Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine reminds us Finns of our own history. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is a threat to peace and security, not just in Europe but worldwide.” He emphasized the necessity of upholding the UN Charter and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, adding, “It is our duty to see that aggression and suffering do not become the new norm. Respect for the UN Charter and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states is in our common interest.”
European Council President António Costa echoed these sentiments, warning, “When we allow a state, whichever it may be, to flout the serenity and internationally recognised borders of another country, we authorise all of them to do the same. That is why there is no alternative to the multilateral and international order based on rules.” He stressed that the partnership between Europe and Africa must rest on “shared values.”
On the sidelines, Prime Minister Orpo held bilateral meetings with key leaders, including Kenya’s President William Ruto, Mozambique’s Prime Minister Maria Benvinda Delfina Levi, Germany’s Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and France’s President Emmanuel Macron. These meetings, detailed by the Finnish Government, underscored the intricate web of relationships and interests at play.
The summit also made space for the next generation and civil society. A Youth and Civil Society Forum ran in parallel, with Finnish Youth Delegate Alma Jokinen attending as part of Orpo’s delegation—a reminder that the future of AU-EU relations will depend on more than just heads of state and government.
As the summit drew to a close, leaders adopted a wide-ranging joint declaration on partnership and cooperation. While the gathering may not have produced the historic breakthroughs some had hoped for, it offered a renewed commitment to dialogue, investment, and reform. The path ahead remains challenging, but both continents left Luanda with a clearer sense of their shared stakes—and the unfinished business that still lies ahead.
