Europe can’t be well if things go wrong in West Africa – EU ambassador

The European Union’s ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, spoke with the Daily Trust Newspaper as the organisation celebrates its 75th anniversary in Abuja. He spoke on a range of issues, including the misconception of the EU’s interest in Nigeria and West Africa in general. He emphasised the importance of the relationship between the […]

The European Union’s ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, spoke with the Daily Trust Newspaper as the organisation celebrates its 75th anniversary in Abuja. He spoke on a range of issues, including the misconception of the EU’s interest in Nigeria and West Africa in general. He emphasised the importance of the relationship between the EU and Nigeria, disclosing that at least 28% of Nigeria’s foreign trade is with the EU. EXCERPTS:

 

After 75 years together, is there any reason for celebration? What would you say your achievements are?

Well, if you look back 75 years ago, Europe was still very much in ruins after World War II. We thought we were on the verge of a third world war. We just didn’t know what to do with Germany, which had been defeated and divided.

And this Schumer Declaration and this European integration process was a turning point where we launched into a completely new kind of relationship in Europe, breaking with the former century of relations based on domination, rivalry, power politics, to go into a relationship of cooperation, of equal partnership, of shared sovereignty and the result is tremendous. Today, a war between our member states is just unthinkable.

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We went from six founding member states to 27 today. We have 450 million inhabitants, a GDP comparable to the US or China. We are leading in the trade of goods and services, and we have a society based on free economy and market economy, but also on civil liberties and social inclusion, which is very attractive. We have a region attracting more tourists, students, and migrants. We have eight candidate member, candidate countries, which want to become members of the European Union.

So, our model is attractive, it is a success. Of course, it also has its shortcomings and weaknesses and challenges that we want to address, but I think we can be proud of what we’ve achieved over these 75 years.

 

What does Nigeria represent for the EU?

Well, for us, Nigeria is a major player, not only for the future, but also for the present. A few days ago, I paid a very interesting courtesy call to His Excellency, the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, and he reminded us that already 25% of Africans are Nigerians.

In 2050, it will be one-third. So, Nigeria is a giant, It’s a giant in Africa, it’s a giant in the world. West Africa as a whole is a neighbouring region for us, and we have many links, human, cultural, and economic, that we’ve had for a very long time. So, our destinies are intertwined.

The EU cannot go well if things go wrong in West Africa and vice versa. That’s why the interest we’re pursuing in West Africa and Nigeria is basically about promoting prosperity, stability, and sustainable development; having a friendly and strong partnership and relationship. A partnership among equals and based on shared values.

 

How does the EU engage with Nigeria?

Well, first through trade. We are already Nigeria’s first trading partner. More or less 28% of Nigeria’s foreign trade is with EU companies, with the EU.

Nigeria benefits very much from it, with more than 10 billion dollars surplus unlike its relationship with other important trade partners, with whom it has a deficit. With the EU, it is a trade surplus, and a significant one.

We are also the first export market for Nigeria’s non-oil exports. In terms of investment, we are also historically the first partner, the first source of foreign direct investment. One-third of the existing foreign direct investment in Nigeria comes from the EU, and it’s a quality investment in terms of environmental norms and respectful labour laws, for instance.

We are engaging in cooperation and partnership on green economy, climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, digital innovation, health, education, social protection, and humanitarian aid for the most destitute. We want this cooperation to benefit citizens – people in Nigeria, leverage more investments, create more opportunities, and create more jobs.

This is what we call the Global Gateway Strategy, which is our new cooperation strategy for the world, and in particular, here in Africa, to try to articulate more cooperation with the private sector and with investment projects. So, this is basically what engagement is about, but also in terms of people-to-people contacts, we have many Nigerian students going to study in Europe, for instance. In terms of science and innovation, we would also like to negotiate an agreement with Nigeria on this.

 

What other areas does Nigeria benefit from Europe?

Apart from what our individual member states also bring, 730 million euros of grants in the period 2021 to 2027, plus loans with very low interest rates from the European Investment Bank, the EIB, and now we have a new bank also coming to Nigeria to complement this offer, which is the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which is extending its mandate also to Nigeria.

So, we have, plus our humanitarian aid, also some 50 million euros annually from the European Union and our member states put more or less the same amount, focusing on the most destitute. So, it’s also a reliable and constant partnership. Unlike others who are withdrawing, changing their mindsets and reducing their support, we are staying on course, we are keeping our commitments with Nigeria, and we are maintaining our cooperation.

In these troubled geopolitical times, you need some stable partners and reliable partners, and this is what we want to be to Nigeria, and we feel that Nigeria is also for us.

 

You were talking about Nigeria, what about the Nigerians?

The citizens in Nigeria have a lot of talent, and we can see this in the digital sector, for instance, where we are very much helping with entrepreneurship. Young people, young women in particular, to develop their skills and their entrepreneurial projects. We have a network of digital transformation centres, for instance, which are doing this, and we also have several programs to help young people enhance their skills.

In the digital sector, we support the 3 million technical talents project of the federal government. We also support the Nigerian Jubilee Fellowship Program to help young people find internships and facilitate their integration into the labour market. So, Nigeria is a country with a lot of human capacities in particular, and so we want to help develop this.

We need skills in Europe also, so we want to have skilled Nigerians coming to Europe, but without promoting a brain drain in Nigeria, because Nigeria also needs professionals. I want to talk about that. We know that the population in Europe is mostly getting old, and we have a vibrant, young, educated, and well-skilled population in Nigeria.

 

What programs are you putting in place to facilitate easy labour migration from Nigeria to European countries?

What we want is to partner with countries like Nigeria to decide who is coming to Europe based on the necessity of our labour markets and the availability of these skills in Nigeria, of professionals willing to work in Europe, and without taking away from Nigeria the professionals needed there.

We want to have legal migration pathways agreed and organised together with the member states and with our partners like Nigeria.

We also have programs to fight migrant smuggling, trafficking of human beings, which is a spreading phenomenon. But our policy in Europe is based on respect for the rights of people and protection of persons more than anything.

What is your take on the crisis in the ECOWAS with the exit of three member countries, and how is it affecting your relationship with the West African bloc?

Our experience in Europe shows that we are stronger together as a region. Integration is better than disintegration.

Everybody wins with integration, everybody loses with disintegration. So, we have always been very much supportive in the 50 years of existence of ECOWAS, of this regional organisation, and we still are. We also have a sizable cooperation, second to none, with ECOWAS.

And of course, we encourage ECOWAS and its member countries very much to find a new way of coexistence, a relationship with their neighbours in the three exiting countries. You can’t change geography. You remain neighbours even if you don’t belong to the same regional integration organisation.

We went through this experience in Europe with Brexit, when the UK decided to leave the EU, and we have tried from day one on the EU side to engage positively with the UK to shape a new relationship.