Euro-African Trade and Investment Relations and the Polycrisis

Gain hands-on experience about negotiations on agreements to tackle the Polycrisis, based on the theoretical knowledge on EU-African Trade and Investment Agreements

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CIVIS focus area
Cities, territories and mobilities
Open to
  • Bachelor's
  • Master's
  • PhD candidates/ students
Field of studies
  • Business and Management
  • Environment & Agriculture
  • Law
  • Medicine and Health
  • Social Science and humanities
Type
  • Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP)
Course dates
6 March - 27 June 2025

Trade and investment contribute substantially to the economic development of states by creating jobs and increasing the financial means of states to promote the welfare of the population though establishing health care systems, education facilities, or infrastructure - thus preventing health crises, poverty or food crises. While there are numerous Euro-African trade and investment agreements to promote economic development in Africa (and the EU), these agreements may also adversely affect the welfare of societies and states.

Increased imports may endanger national industries and cause job-losses, which may subsequently diminish state funds for health care, education, and infrastructure, and as a final consequence lead to poverty and migration. Foreign investors often put pressure on governments to lower economic and social standards, employ workers (including children) at conditions not meeting basic labor standards or ignore the impact of their activities on the environment. These adverse effects of trade and investment agreements may make it more difficult for African states to find solutions to address crises or the polycrisis.

In the BIP, students will analyze how the legal framework governing trade and investment relations between the EU and Africa addresses economic development and its impacts on non-economic concerns and gain hands-on experience about negotiating agreements to tackle the polycrisis in the framework of EU-African Trade and Investment Agreements.

The BIP, taking place in the summer term 2025, will be divided as follows:

  • first, seven virtual lessons covering issues like fundamental issues of trade and investment policy (evolution, EU and international legal framework, content, institutional setting, monitoring and dispute settlement mechanisms) and negotiation strategy.
  • then the group will be divided to form negotiation teams to simulate negotiations on the sustainability chapter of a fictitious Euro-African trade and investment agreement.
  • after two rounds of hybrid model negotiations, the physical part will take place between 23-27 June 2025, at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. The physical component will be divided into ongoing negotiation rounds and visits to Brussels-based trade institutions from the EU and the African Union.

*detailed information is provided in the attachment

Main topics addressed

  • Trade and investment and the polycrisis
  • The legal framework governing international trade and investment
  • EU external trade and investment policy
  • Evolution of the EU trade and investment agreements over time
  • Negotiation strategy
  • Modelling negotiations on polycrisis related issues in an EU-African trade and investment agreement

Learning outcomes

Based on the theoretical knowledge on the functioning of Euro-African Trade and Investment Agreements and their linkages to singular crises and/ or the polycrisis, the students will:

  • learn about the technicalities of trade negotiations (how to draft a negotiation position; how to draft pertinent elements of an agreement; negotiation strategy) in three successive sessions;
  • understand pertinent aspects of a specific African country (e.g. economic development, poverty, environmental situation etc.), its economic relations with the EU, and the consequences of EU trade and investment on the country’s development;
  • get in touch with African and EU international trade practitioners in the “Trade Policy in Practice” sections of the physical part.
Dates: 6 March - 27 June 2025 Total workload: 175 hours
Format: Blended ECTS: 6*
Location: Brussels, Belgium Language: English (B2)
Contact: gudrun.zagel@plus.ac.at; roman.puff@plus.ac.at  

*Recognition of ECTS depends on your home university.

Physical mobility

The physical mobility part will be running from 23 to 27 June 2025 in Brussels, Belgium. The schedule is:

23 June 2025:

  • forenoon: Introduction to negotiations
  • afternoon: Time to prepare negotiations

24 June 2025:

  • forenoon: First physical negotiation round
  • afternoon: Workshop: Aspects of singular crises/ the polycrisis to be considered in EATIAs: climate, environmental degradation, women, indigenous peoples

25 June 2025:

  • forenoon: Second physical negotiation round
  • afternoon: “Trade negotiations in practice_1” - Commission of the European Union, DG Trade/ Legal Service

26 June 2025:

  • forenoon: Third physical negotiation round
  • afternoon: “Trade negotiations in practice_2” - AU Representation in Brussels

27 June 2025:

  • forenoon: First physical negotiation round
  • afternoon: Debrief on negotiations

Virtual part

The virtual component will take place between 6 March - 29 May 2025. Divided in nine lessons, the virtual section provides the theoretical knowledge and skills necessary to negotiate an Euro-African trade and investment agreement and will prepare the model-negotiations on polycrisis-relevant sections of a Euro-African trade and investment agreement.

The distribution of content over the individual course dates can be found in the attachment.

Requirements

This course is open to Bachelor's, Master's and PhD's students at CIVIS member universities, with background in Economics, History, Law, Political Science, Sociology, related natural sciences concerned by the BIP's issue.

To prepare for the BIP, students will be provided with reading materials before the virtual BIP starts. Students may also attend the seminar Euro-African trade and investment agreements held at PLUS in the winter semester 2024/25 . The course takes place on Thursdays from 15:00-17:00 CET (studenty may only attend selected units or the full course). The course program and information about online access is available here. 

Also, the participants should have excellent English skills (B2), the ability to grasp and reproduce complex issues, and critical thinking.

NB: Visiting Students - Erasmus Funding Eligibility

To be eligible for your selected CIVIS programme, you must be a fully enrolled student at your CIVIS home university at the time you will be undertaking the programme. Click here to learn more about the eligibility criteria.

This course is also open to students with the same academic profile, who are enrolled at a CIVIS strategic partner university in Africa. Please check here, if you can apply and this particular course is open to applications from your university. Successful applicants will receive an Erasmus+ grant covering travel and subsistence costs during their stay. Applicants should be willing to extend their stay at the host university for 1-3 weeks for additional research and/or training purposes. 

Application process

Send your application by filling in the online application form by 31 October 2024, including:

  • CV
  • Motivation letter

Applications will be evaluated based on:

  • interest in the course subject as documented in the motivation letter
  • relevant preliminary studies;
  • confident use of written and spoken English. 

Apply now

Assessment

The grading will be based on:

  • the quality of written homeworks;
  • oral presentations in class and class participation;
  • participation in, and oral and written contributions to the negotiations.

Blended Intensive Programme

This CIVIS course is a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP): a new format of Erasmus+ mobility which combines online teaching with a short trip to another campus to learn alongside students and professors across Europe. Click here to learn more about CIVIS BIPs.

GDPR Consent

The CIVIS alliance and its member universities will treat the information you provide with respect. Please refer to our privacy policy for more information on our privacy practices. By applying to this course you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

  • Ruth Aura, Egerton University, lawyer. Focus on law and development, gender, climate change, human rights.
  • Alexandra Bögner, PLUS, political scientist. Focus on EU trade agreements and sustainability.
  • Kanifa Kamatara, MAK, agricultural scientist. Focus on livestock breeding, utilization of indigenous cattle.
  • Dzenata Karabegovic, PLUS, political scientist. Focus on political sociology, migration, democratization, human rights.
  • Laura Puccio, EUCOMM Legal Service, lawyer. Focus on international trade law and European law, interdisciplinary research.
  • Roman Puff, PLUS, historian. Focus on history of European integration, interdisciplinarity.
  • Adrian Stoicescu, BU, Associate Professor, University of Bucharest, focus on anthropology of conflict, interdisciplinary approach.
  • Emilio Tostao, Mondlane, economist. Focus on sustainability, climate change, food security.
  • Gudrun Zagel, PLUS, lawyer. Focus on international economic law, investment protection.
  • Andreas Ziegler, UNIL, lawyer. Focus on international (economic) law.

Documents