As the 6th EU-Africa Summit approaches, few are questioning the need for a fundamental reset of relations – in particular after the turbulent events of the past few years.

But what precisely does that entail? The path ahead is by no means clear, when long-standing challenges in Africa such as food security and migration are compounded by today’s immediate global concerns of health and climate change.

A panel of experts has been assembled  to discuss exactly what needs to happen before a genuinely new era of Africa-EU relations can begin .

They’ll be examining the effectiveness of the Africa-EU Partnership, after more than two decades of operating as the formal political channel through which the European Union and the African continents work together, and assessing whether it is working as well as it should to establish a shared vision for the future.

President Emmanuel Macron of France, who is hosting the summit, has emphasized his belief that to move forward, there needs to be a complete overhaul of the partnership between Africa and Europe.

Recently, he spoke of the desire to “establish a genuine system of peace and prosperity to build investments in African economies and build [a] shared future,” with the aim of “reforming an economic and financial New Deal with Africa.” He acknowledged that relations between the continents were “tired’.

Some might describe the state of affairs in stronger terms. Of many points of tension between Africa and Europe that urgently need resolving, perhaps the most critical in today’s climate are access to Covid 19 vaccinations, people trafficking in the Mediterranean and sustainable energy strategies. All need immediate attention and a renewed spirit of cooperation to resolve.

Underpinning these issues is the concern felt by policymakers on both sides that a traditional ‘donor-recipient’ mindset persists, despite being outdated and detrimental to all parties. In other words, it’s clear the dynamic between the two continents needs to change.