Paper short abstract:

At present EU in pursuing its policy aims in Africa has to face the reality of growing involvement of BRIC countries in African affairs. BRIC offers alternatives to the EU initiatives and approaches. This paper is about the new trends in the EU policies towards Africa in this context.

Paper long abstract:

EU, as well as BRIC countries, has a long history of relationships with Africa.

In the 21 century BRIC countries as emerging economies tend to play more important role on the continent. They start to offer alternatives to the EU initiatives and approaches in Africa which changes the political realities in which EU (as an organization and its members in individual capacity) used to operate on the continent. In this paper I use the acronym BRIC because South Africa's policy is not my subject in this context.

EU refuses to see BRIC(S) as a new integrated global player yet recognizes its growing strength. Many of the EU member countries (e.g. Britain) regard BRIC activities in Africa as a threat to their interests. EU was not prepared for this shifting balance of power.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss in which areas and ways EU faces new challenges from BRIC in its policies towards Africa and how it reacts to them. It also aims at describing the changing reality in African countries, changing mindset of African elites in this respect. (167)

While EU still works with Africa on the basis of the "donor-recipient" model, BRIC countries want to offer Africa a new model of the global order in which developing countries presumably will have more opportunities to have their say. In this international context EU receives new impetus to develop its common foreign and security policy approach to African problems, make the dialogue with the continent more constructive.