Angola's Eu Membership: Exploring The Complex Relationship

Angola is a country in Southern Africa, with a population of around 37 million people. It is the second-largest Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country in the world, and the seventh-largest country in Africa. Angola is not a member of the EU, but it does have a high-level partnership with the EU through the Joint Way Forward (JWF), which was signed in 2012. The EU and Angola work together on issues of common interest, and the EU has allocated a substantial amount of grant funding towards this partnership. Angola is also a member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), an international organisation that promotes cooperation between Lusophone nations.

Angola's economy

Since gaining independence in 1975, Angola's economy has been dominated by the production of raw materials and cheap labour. Angola has vast mineral and petroleum reserves, and oil production and supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing about 45% of GDP and 90% of exports. Oil revenue has allowed the government to implement ambitious development programs to build roads and other basic infrastructure. However, Angola's dependence on oil makes it vulnerable to external shocks, and efforts to diversify the economy have had limited success.

Agriculture is another important sector, with a third of the population relying on subsistence farming. Angola has abundant agricultural and arable land and favourable climatic conditions, making it a sector with high potential for economic diversification. However, severe wartime conditions, including the extensive planting of landmines, have brought agricultural activities to a near standstill.

The construction industry is also growing, with various housing projects stimulated by the government. Angola's financial system is maintained by the National Bank of Angola, which has implemented monetary policies that have contributed to the sector's growth and a decrease in the inflation rate.

Angola's largest investment and trade partners are China, the European Union, and the United States. The country is committed to diversifying its economy, increasing the export value of non-oil/extractive industries, and integrating into the global market. Efforts to attract foreign investment and improve economic stability include the development of a National Climate Change Strategy and the signing of a Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement with the EU.

Angola's political system

The government is made up of three branches: executive, legislative and judicial. Legislative power rests with the 220 parliamentarians elected to the National Assembly.

The 2010 constitution grants the President almost absolute power. Elections for the National Assembly take place every five years, and the President automatically becomes the leader of the winning party or coalition. The President is responsible for appointing and dismissing members of the government, the judiciary, the military, the police, and various other key figures and bodies.

Since independence in 1975, Angola has been ruled by the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). The MPLA implemented a Marxist-Leninist one-party system, which was replaced by a multiparty democracy in 1992. However, power has remained concentrated in the presidency, and critics argue that the country falls under the category of an authoritarian regime.

Angola has been working towards diversifying its economy, increasing the export value of its non-oil/extractive industries, and integrating into the global market. The EU is supporting these efforts through various initiatives and programmes.

Angola's history

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country in both total area and population and is the seventh-largest country in Africa.

Angola has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Age. Its formation as a nation-state originates from the Kingdom of Kongo, the hegemonic state of a number of other Kikongo-speaking kingdoms that flourished in and after the 14th century. The Kingdom of Kongo became extremely wealthy and powerful through establishing the Atlantic slave trade with the Portuguese Empire. Its first explorers established relations with Kongo in 1483, and additional migrants gradually began building coastal settlements and trading posts.

The banning of the slave trade in the 19th century severely disrupted Kongo's undiversified economic system. European settlers gradually began to establish themselves in the interior. The Portuguese colony that became Angola did not achieve its present borders until the early 20th century. There had been strong resistance by native groups such as the Cuamato, the Kwanyama, and the Mbunda.

After a protracted anti-colonial struggle (1961-1974), Angola achieved independence in 1975 as a one-party Republic. But competing movements still struggled for power in the new nation. The country descended into a devastating civil war the same year, between the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba; the insurgent National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, an originally Maoist and later anti-communist group supported by the United States and South Africa; and the militant organization National Liberation Front of Angola, backed by Zaire.

The MPLA stayed in power. Since the end of the civil war in 2002, Angola has emerged as a relatively stable constitutional republic.

Angola has vast mineral and petroleum reserves. Its economy is among the fastest-growing in the world, especially since the end of the civil war. But economic growth is highly uneven, with most of the nation's wealth concentrated in a disproportionately small part of the population. The largest investment and trade partners are China, the European Union, and the United States.

Angola's relationship with the EU

Angola is not part of the EU. However, the two have a high-level partnership through the Joint Way Forward (JWF), which was signed in 2012 and provides a platform for dialogue and cooperation on issues of common interest. The EU allocated €275 million in grant funding towards the partnership with Angola for the period 2021-2024. Angola is also in the process of joining the Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) EPA Group.

Angola's foreign policy is premised on the imperatives of continued influence with key trading partners, including members of the EU, although Europe has influence in rather limited areas of Angola's domestic and foreign policy. Angola is committed to diversifying its economy, increasing the export value of its non-oil/extractive industries, and integrating into the global market. The EU supports Angola's sustainable and inclusive development in line with Angola's long-term development vision "Angola 2050" and the EU's Global Gateway Strategy.

Team Europe in Angola brings together the EU, the European Investment Bank, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands. The EU-Angola partnership focuses on sustainable economic diversification, transparent and effective governance, and improving the skills and competitiveness of the workforce.

Angola has vast mineral and petroleum reserves and is mainly dependent on commodity exports (primarily oil and related products). Angola's economy is among the fastest-growing in the world, and the EU is one of its largest investment and trade partners.

Angola's relationship with Portugal

Angola and Portugal have a long historical relationship that dates back to the 15th century when Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão arrived at the mouth of the Congo River in 1482 and established relations with the Kingdom of Kongo, which was located in parts of present-day northern Angola. The Portuguese presence in Angola was further consolidated in the second half of the 16th century through the establishment of alliance policies with local kingdoms, the appointment of governors for the region, and the founding of the city of São Paulo de Luanda. Angola became a colony of Portugal and was incorporated into the Portuguese Empire, with the Portuguese rule lasting from 1575 to 1975.

During the colonial period, Angola was a major Portuguese trading arena for slaves, with over a million people shipped to Brazil as slaves between 1580 and 1680. The slave trade was officially abolished by the Portuguese government in 1836. In addition to the slave trade, the Portuguese also established cities, towns, and trading posts, built railways and ports, and developed a Westernised society in Angola. However, the deep traditional tribal heritage in Angola remained, and the minority European rulers had little interest in eradicating it.

In 1951, Angola's status changed from a colony to an overseas province of Portugal, and in 1956, the early beginnings of a guerrilla independence movement against Portuguese rule emerged, led by the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) based in northern Congo. The dissatisfaction with the government, economic situation, and the colonial wars in Portugal culminated in the Carnation Revolution on April 25, 1974, a peaceful leftist military coup d'état in Lisbon that ousted the incumbent government. This eventually led to Angola's independence being proclaimed on November 11, 1975, which Portugal recognized, and diplomatic relations were established between the two nations on March 9, 1976.

Since then, Angola and Portugal have continued to maintain bilateral relations, and both nations are members of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries and the United Nations. There have been high-level visits and several bilateral agreements signed between the two countries, covering areas such as cultural, economic, and scientific cooperation, promotion and protection of investments, and elimination of double taxation. Additionally, there are direct flights between the two countries, and thousands of Portuguese citizens live and work in Angola. However, relations have also been tense at times, especially following a money probe by Portuguese prosecutors targeting high-ranking Angolan leaders in 2013. In recent years, efforts have been made to repair and smoothen bilateral relations, with high-level visits and agreements focusing on strengthening economic, cultural, and educational ties.

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