Challenges and opportunities for the EU in Africa’s extractives sector

The policy brief examines the 'resource curse' in Africa, where mineral abundance often correlates with under-development due to weak institutional quality. It argues that the EU's Raw Materials Initiative (RMI) must better align with the African Mining Vision (AMV) to ensure mining catalyzes long-term development rather than remaining purely extractive. The author highlights the risks of 'Dutch Disease' and the prevalence of illicit financial flows (IFFs), noting that transparency alone is insufficient for accountability. The brief concludes that EU private sector actors and policymakers must move beyond corporate social responsibility to become 'systems shapers' who address political economy realities and reduce power asymmetries to achieve extractive justice.

• The transition to a low-carbon future will significantly increase the demand for minerals and metals, with the World Bank estimating a need for roughly double the current volume of mined materials for carbon-neutrality, including cobalt, lithium, copper, and platinum.
• The 'resource curse' in Africa is primarily mediated by institutional quality; where strong institutions are absent, resource rents often incentivize political repression and exploitation by elites rather than broad-based economic reform.
• African countries frequently face a 'commodity trap' characterized by the export of low-value raw materials and the import of high-value finished products, which hinders industrialization and negatively impacts terms of trade.
• The EU's Raw Materials Initiative (RMI) and the African Mining Vision (AMV) have potentially competing objectives and require better alignment to ensure mining serves as a 'flywheel for development'.
• Transparency measures in the extractives sector are often insufficient on their own to create meaningful accountability, as unethical financial transfers can be obscured within complex financial statements.
• Illicit financial flows (IFFs) from Africa, such as profit transfers to tax havens, undermine the potential for resource wealth to benefit host countries and require stronger action from the EU and international actors.
• EU private sector actors often operate in 'limited access orders' where elite rent-seeking can lead to unethical deal-making, and their capacity to drive the Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16) is limited by a focus on narrow business interests.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2019). Challenges and opportunities for the EU in Africa’s extractives sector. https://saiia.org.za/research/challenges-and-opportunities-for-the-eu-in-africas-extractives-sector/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Challenges and opportunities for the EU in Africa’s extractives sector. 2019. https://saiia.org.za/research/challenges-and-opportunities-for-the-eu-in-africas-extractives-sector/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Challenges and opportunities for the EU in Africa’s extractives sector |date=31 May 2019 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/challenges-and-opportunities-for-the-eu-in-africas-extractives-sector/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2019challenges, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Challenges and opportunities for the EU in Africa’s extractives sector}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2019}, month = may, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/challenges-and-opportunities-for-the-eu-in-africas-extractives-sector/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }