Landmark SAfrica-EU summit overshadowed by Zimbabwe crisis

AFP, 24/07/2008

South Africa and the European Union hold their first ever summit in the French city of Bordeaux Friday but divergent positions on ways of tackling the political crisis in Zimbabwe have cast a pall over the event.

Africa's top economy and the EU, its biggest investor, want to take their relationship to a "new level" at the summit, attended by French President Nicolas Sarkozy -- whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU -- South Africa's Thabo Mbeki and European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso.

"The Republic of South Africa is the main regional power in Africa and a member of the group of emerging countries. It is one of the drivers of growth in the continent and a success story that refutes Afro-pessimism," the EU said in a statement.

It said the summit aimed "at taking relations between the EU and South Africa to the next level."

The South African governnment was equally upbeat, saying "one of the main goals is to deepen relations between the European Union and South Africa."

But the diametrically opposed positions of the two sides on seeking an end to the protracted political crisis in South Africa's northern neighbour Zimbabwe, ruled since its 1980 independence from Britain by President Robert Mugabe, looms large.

The EU on Tuesday widened sanctions against Zimbabwe despite a deal between hardline President Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai aimed at finding a solution.

EU foreign ministers added 37 more people to a list of individuals under a visa ban and whose assets have been frozen, as well as four companies, and threatened to take further action.

The list -- which had already included Mugabe, his wife and other senior officials -- now totals 168 people and four companies, and sees the EU for the first time target businesses and those who run them.

Mbeki, who has been widely criticised for treating Mugabe with kid gloves, managed to broker a deal between Mugabe and the opposition on a framework for talks on a future government.

Mugabe was re-elected in a run-off last month after Tsvangirai pulled out, citing a campaign of intimidation and violence against his supporters that had killed dozens and injured thousands.

The EU sees Mugabe as a tyrant who has stifled human rights and democracy and led the once-model economy to ruin. The country has the world's highest inflation rate.

Mbeki on the other hand, has so far failed to publicly criticise Mugabe, and appears vociferously opposed to any attempt to arm-twist the octogenarian leader.

Although not on the agenda, the Zimbabwean impasse could mar the proceedings, officials said.

"It's almost inevitable given that it's the key crisis in southern Africa at the moment," an EU official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"South Africa has quite an important role in resolving that," the official said, describing South Africa as a "key protagonist."

A source at the European Commission said: "Zimbabwe is always on the agenda during meetings with the South Africans but we are not expecting anything significant."

But both sides said other key issues would include the situation in African flashpoints in Chad and Sudan's violence-riven Darfur region, the ongoing world trade talks, and the establishment of a free trade area between the EU and South Africa by 2012.

Bilateral trade has increased more than five-fold between 1994 to 2007 from 56.5 billion rand (7.5 billion dollars, 4.7 billion euros) to 313 billion rand, according to South African figures.

South African exports to the EU totalled 137 billion rand last year while imports were worth 176 billion rand.

Friday's summit will be preceded by a ministerial meeting headed by South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and her French counterpart Bernard Kouchner.

There are two declarations due to be adopted at the ministerial meeting: a common stand on climate change and another on the role of the private sector in improving the fortunes of the world's poorest continent.