Press Release: The African Union Peer-to-Peer Mission to the 2024 European Parliament Elections

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 6 June 2024: The European Union (EU), in coordination with the Governments of Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, and with technical support from International IDEA, is pleased to partner with the African Union Peer-to-Peer Mission (PTPM) on the occasion of the 2024 European Parliament Elections.  

    The African Union PTPM will be led by His Excellency Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security at the African Union. The delegation will comprise 12 delegates from the Department of Political Affairs, Peace, and Security (DPAPS) of the African Union Commission (AUC), the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), Election Management Bodies (EMB), independent electoral experts, and International IDEA.

The overall objective of this mission is to facilitate an exchange between AU and African electoral stakeholders and interlocutors of the three EU Member States on election practices, with a focus on the European Parliament elections. This opportunity is a positive step towards further strengthening the already solid cooperation between the African Union and the European Union on electoral matters and democracy support. While not configured as an electoral observation mission, the mission will allow for comparing notes and building on best practices on electoral processes on the European and African continents. This peer-to-peer mission will contribute to enhancing the EU-AU partnership for the advancement of democratic principles and the promotion of international standards for democratic elections.  

      The delegation will visit Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and hold meetings with stakeholders in these countries, including: officials of European Union (EU) Institutions, specifically, the European Parliament (EP), the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Commission’s department for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), officials from the government of the three EU Member States, the Egmont Institute,  Centre for Citizenship Education (in Luxembourg), and the observation missions deployed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Election Watch EU. The delegation will also meet with officials of the Hague municipality to observe the vote count.

      The AU and the EU share common goals in promoting democracy, good governance, the rule of law, and respect for human rights and these goals are at the core of their partnership.  The EU institutions and EU Member States have been engaged in democracy support initiatives across Africa, with specific focus on electoral assistance to build the capacity of regional and national institutions that are crucial to the conduct of democratic elections and the strengthening of democratic resilience. For decades, the EU has developed a comprehensive and diverse policy framework to support democracy in Africa through the African Union (AU) as well as electoral institutions and other stakeholders working in the field.   
   
The PTPM builds on the commitments from the 19th AU-EU Human Rights Dialogue, which took place in Addis Ababa on 30 January 2024. The PTPM takes place in the context of the EU funded “Strengthening Pan-African Capacities for Electoral Observation and Assistance” programme that is being implemented by International IDEA and the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) in partnership with the Democracy and Elections Unit (DEU) of the Governance and Conflict Prevention Directorate (GCPD) of the Department for Political Affairs, Peace and Security.   
 

For more information contact: 

Olufunto Akinduro: Senior Programme Officer, Electoral Processes at International IDEA's Africa and West Asia Regional Programme, Email: O.Akinduro@idea.int , WhatsApp: +27732007112 

Filipa Barreiros: Political Officer, EU Delegation to the African Union, Email:   filipa.barreiros@eeas.europa.eu, WhatsApp: +251967431645  

Karine Kakasi Siaba: Ag Head DEU, GCPD/DPAPS, AUC. Email: KakasiK@africa-union.org , WhatsApp: +251931146392