Panterstiftung workshop: Africa is looking for partners – Europe is looking for itself

T he complaints about decline and decay in this country make it easy to forget global standards. Today, Germany's economic output alone is around 1.5 times larger than that of Africa - even though 20 times more people live there. The EU even generates around eight times as much – with just over a quarter of the population. What obligations lie in this wealth? And what enormous opportunities does it open up for a partnership with the African continent: for the fight against poverty, green transformation and sustainable development?

But today Europe's highly nervous societies are primarily concerned with themselves: they are afraid of Russia, feel abandoned by the USA, are divided by the rise of right-wing extremists, overwhelmed by the climate crisis and overwhelmed by migration.

There is a lack of courage and strength for a neighborhood policy that will shape Europe's and Africa's future together. Other actors fill this vacuum: Russia with military cooperation, China with infrastructure, the Gulf monarchies with investments. Or they turn away – like the USA.

Colleagues from 16 African countries are taking part in the 5th Africa workshop of the taz panter foundation. A 64-page, elaborately designed magazine was also created. It can be ordered now by email to stiftung@taz.de with the subject “Afrika-Magazin” and your name and postal address. Thank you!

The magazine's texts also appear here on taz.de.

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Since April 2026, print, TV and radio journalists from 16 African countries have reflected on how their continent's relationship with the world's major powers is changing at the 5th taz Panter Africa Workshop. They looked at their own countries and asked: What opportunities do new collaborations offer? What dangers arise from new dependencies? And what role do you want Europe to play?

Donations to the taz panter foundation provide financial support to independent and critical journalists on site and in exile as part of the projects “War and Peace Diary” and “Our Window to Russia, Belarus and other post-Soviet countries”. On the last day of every month our podcast “Free Speech” appears, in which voices from the foundation’s projects have their say.

You can find the resulting texts with their answers collected here on taz.de and printed in the new issue of transcontinental magazine, which you can order now.