Complementary Area (II)
ADDIS ABEBA/NAIROBI The German Chancellor has begun his Africa trip with talks in Ethiopia and Kenya. Both countries are close allies of the USA and are regarded as strategically important partners on the southern flank of the Islamic area of influence. In order to exploit the African periphery for raw materials for the EU, Chancellor Schroeder is seeking the removal of trade barriers and is demanding the reduction of EU subsidies in Europe. The funds should instead be directed to the military arsenal in order to realize the ,,responsibility of the Europeans in Africa".
Germany would promote such a policy ,,in its own interest"and seek to remove trade restrictions ,,for agricultural products from African countries", declared Schroeder in Ethiopia. As a possible first step Schroeder mentioned a reduction in the subsidies for cotton production in Spain and Greece. In that, said Schroeder, he was at one with the French President. 1)The reduction in subsidies would open the way for cheap comparable African products and for the expansion of the EU's military budget which Berlin has demanded.
Promotion of Investment
In Ethiopia Schroeder signed an investment promotion agreement which permits preferential conditions for German corporations. German firms have shown interest in such investment after the Ethiopian Government introduced measures to liberalise the economy and promote privatisation. The German Foreign Office is critical of Ethiopia ,,dragging its feet"on investment but nevertheless sees good prospects for German influence there. The country is undoubtedly seen as a close ally of the USA but earns 10% of its export earnings in Germany, the largest importer of its goods.
Privileged Partnership
The German Chancellor also wants to establish a ,,privileged partnership"with Kenya. As early as October 2003 the German minister of State in the Foreign Office, Frau Mueller, was informed about Kenya's regional policy. The German adviser to the Chancellor Muetzelburg, is said to have good contacts in Nairobi: he had done much for opposition forces during his time as Ambassador there in the early 1990s and these were now in the new Government. The Kenyan Secretary of State responsible for the fight against corruption is advised by German experts. A Similar advisory role and cooperation is to be established between the German Intelligence Services (BND) and the parallel organisation in Kenya.
,,Responsibility of Europeans"
Foreign policy commentators in Berlin note that the German Chancellor's Africa trip began in two countries closley allied with the USA. On the other hand the Germans have excluded countries which are in the French sphere of influence. The Chancellor's Africa visit, commentators have noted, is taking place at a time when the great powers - for among other reasons new discoveries of raw materials - are seeking to extend their influence in the whole African continent. It was German Defence Minister Struck who asserted that ,,Africa is a European responsibility" 2)which is a variant of traditional German Geopolitics which saw Africa as the ,,complementary area"of their central European empire.
1) See also earlier article ,,Augean Stables"
2) Struck weist Vorwurf der Kompetenz-Ueberschreitung bei Reform zurueck; Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung, www.noz-online.de 17.01.2004
3) See also History
See also earlier articles Prosecution (I)and EU-Military Operation in the Congo
Sources:
Staatsministerin Mueller trifft kenianischen Aussenminister; Pressemitteilung des Auswaertigen Amts, www.auswaertiges-amt.de 10.10.2004
Schroeder und die ,,schwarzen Loecher"Afrikas; tageszeitung 15.01.2004
Auf dem Weg; Tagesspiegel 17.01.2004
,,Frieden, Stabilitaet und Demokratie - gemeinsame Herausforderungen fuer die Zukunft Afrikas"; Rede von Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schroeder vor der Afrikanischen Union, www.bundesregierung.de 19.01.2004
Schroeder setzt sich in Afrika fuer offene Maerkte ein; Handelsblatt 19.01.2004
