Anglo-French cooperation in Africa: bypassing or bolstering the EU?

At the December 1998 Saint-Malo summit, Britain and France promised to set aside past rivalries and work together on African issues. While brief indications were given as to possible areas of bilateral and ‘bi-multi’ cooperation, the terms and scope of this partnership were not spelt out. Was this to involve merely a deconflictualisation of approaches, whereby the UK and France avoid public quarrels and collaborate only at moments of crisis? Or was the aim to develop a relationship that was more like the Franco-german tandem, which is characterised by a high ‘degree of institutionalisation of exchanges.’ or was it their intention to build a partnership that was akin to the more ‘natural’ Anglo-American ‘special relationship’? These questions are central to this report, which draws upon extensive interviews with key officials in London, Paris, Brussels, New York, addis ababa, kinshasa, dakar and abuja. It focuses on:  UK-French rivalry in Africa from the colonial to early post-cold war period (section 2)  The factors militating in favour of closer Anglo-French collaboration (section 3)  The emergence of new linkages between the UK and France (section 4)  The extent of cooperation in response to the key challenges of Africa, notably poverty reduction, democracy promotion and chronic instability (section 5)  The constraints on collaboration (section 6)  Conclusions and an assessment of i) whether the UK and France have been bypassing or bolstering the EU; ii) what the scope is for future cooperation; and iii) what the implications of this cooperation are for the EU Africa strategy (section 7)