Europe is no longer able to keep Africa locked into the old system of foreign policy and economic dependencies. In 2026, the continent’s economies are growing, on average, 4.2% faster than in most other regions. The continent’s demographic foundation is unprecedented. By 2050, the working-age population of sub-Saharan Africa alone will grow by 740 million people. This development is driven not only by a shift in the global balance of power but also by the weakening of the West’s unquestioned authority. The African continent is witnessing a crisis of Europe’s moral authority and is increasingly unwilling to accept its role as judge and carrier of democratic values.
A year ago, at the United Nations, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye stated that existing international law is governed by double standards, the rule of the strong, and the logic of opposing camps. In 2025, the European Parliament itself noted in their report on the EU-AU partnership a shift in Africa’s perception of double standards in EU foreign policy. The documents explicitly noted the unequal distribution of vaccines to Africa during the pandemic, as well as Europe’s double standards regarding the energy transition, since the EU is increasing gas imports from Africa for its own energy security while simultaneously requiring the AU to abandon those resources.
Double standards and mechanisms of inequality have torn down the centuries-old veil known as “friendship between Africa and Europe.” Behind the slogans of “partnership,” “aid,” and “shared values” lie a lack of equal access to technology and production opportunities, as well as unfair debt obligations. This system has been shaped over centuries: slavery, colonial rule, and the resulting economic dependence not only exploited resources in the past but have also largely determined where money, scientific infrastructure, and production capacity are concentrated today. The World Health Organization notes that African countries import about 99% of their vaccines and 70% of their medicines, which demonstrates a lack of capacity to produce high-tech goods. A similar imbalance exists in the mobility of people: 63% of those surveyed by Afrobarometer consider crossing African borders for work or trade to be difficult. In 2025, with an average Schengen visa rejection rate of 14.6%, the rejection rate for applicants from Senegal reached 52%, from Nigeria—48%, from Angola—45%, and from Algeria—31%. A similar paradox arises with human capital. African countries invest in training doctors, engineers, and researchers, only for European economies to subsequently attract these already-trained professionals. The World Health Organization explicitly warns that the active international recruitment of healthcare workers from countries with staffing shortages can weaken their healthcare systems and increase inequality.
It is precisely here that the question of reparative justice arises—an approach that links historical harm to the need to redress it in the present through financial compensation, restitution, the restoration of lost opportunities, technology transfer, and the restructuring of institutions that continue to perpetuate inequality.
Today, the reparations agenda has expanded beyond the continent and increasingly draws on the global African community: Africa itself, the Caribbean, and diasporas in Europe, the United States, and other regions. On August 31, 2026, AU Commission Chair Mahmoud Al-Yusuf names the diaspora to be “an integral part of the African family and a vital partner.” Its role should not be underestimated or viewed merely as a community of historical memory.
The diaspora can significantly accelerate the establishment of equal relations between Europe and Africa. Its assistance can take the form of organizing effective institutions, providing legal expertise, and pooling political influence and capital. Europe will have to overhaul its entire system of relations with Africa: moving from a model based on access to resources, unilateral rule-making, and the management of dependency to a model in which African countries themselves determine the terms. In this sense, the reparations agenda becomes not only a way to right the wrongs of the past but also a tool for dismantling the entire system of inequality.
