From Wall Street to Schuman Square? Development finance in EU-OACPS relations

This paper critically evaluates the geopolitical and financialized dynamics of EU-Africa relations, centring on the reformed European Financial Architecture for Development and the new post-Cotonou (EU-OACPS) Agreement. Due to China’s emergence as a rival development actor, the EU is leveraging private sector support to upscale its development finance and bridge its funding gap. This blending of neoliberal and geopolitical motivations might seem contradictory, but not when taking a postcolonial perspective. The EU-OACPS Agreement, supporting a chapter on ‘Investment’ and an ‘Annex II’ on the European Investment Bank, signals an intensified focus on ‘investment mobilization.’ This raises the question: "What does the EU-OACPS Agreement entail regarding ‘investments’ in/for Africa?". Even more so, in the context of (1) geopolitization and (2) financialization, within EU development finance. The study adopts a dual-method approach, combining document analysis and elite interviews with policy-makers. Our analysis identifies three crucial developments in the EU-OACPS Agreement that provide insight into the evolution of investment provisions: (1) the budgetization of the European Development Fund, (2) the consolidation and expansion of blending facilities and guarantees, and (3) the reduced role of the European Investment Bank. This transformation signifies a shift from traditional "aid and trade" relationships to investment-centred collaboration.