Calistus

1)Democracy, good governance and human rights Good governance and respect for human rights are essential for peaceful and sustainable growth in any society. Africa and the EU share these core values. The Joint Africa-EU Strategy identifies democratic governance and human rights as a priority area for dialogue and joint action. Both parties believe that democracy can only be attained through the establishment of strong accountable institutions as well as an active and organised civil society. 2)Peace and security The partnership between the EU and Africa aims at building a peaceful, safe, secure environment, which fosters: human security political stability effective governance sustainable and inclusive growth. The African Union (AU) leads efforts across the continent to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts. The EU is a key partner for the AU on peace and security issues. Work in these areas has strong political backing and financial support from the EU’s African Peace Fac

1) European Union (EU) The origin of the EU, which presently consists of 28 member states, lies in the European Coal and Steel Community (1951) and the European Economic Community (1957). After further steps of integration through the treaties of Maastricht (1993), Amsterdam (1997), Nice (2003) and finally Lisbon (2009), the EU has developed to an ever-closer federation of states. It has seven institutions (Art. 13 Treaty on European Union – TEU) which are located in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg. 1) African Union (AU) The AU was founded in 2002 replacing the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which was already established in 1963. At present the AU has 54 members and nine institutions are to its disposal (Art. 5 Constitutive Act of the African Union – CA-AU) [ 4 ]. The most important are as follows: The Assembly of Heads of State and Government is the supreme institution of the AU as it acts as legislative as well as executive power. It among other things determines the