By Sofie From-Emmesberger

Ethiopia just celebrated 129 years since the victory at Adwa – a historic moment for the country, the whole continent and beyond. At the ceremony, I paid special attention to H.E. President Taye Atske-Selassie reminding us that Adwa signifies freedom, strength, unity, respect and pride and encouraged us to “work with strength and discipline for wellbeing, prosperity and development”.

This is also how the European Union (EU) sees our partnership with Ethiopia. We share a range of interests and core values, including the need for collective approaches to peace and security, counter-terrorism, regional economic integration, tackling climate change as well as the goals of sustainable development and prosperity. Because of these shared interests, we want to pull in the same direction, building on the Amharic proverb ድር ቢያብር አንበሳ ያስር – “unity is strength”.

28 February 1975 was one of the decisive moments in our relations. On this day, the EU’s predecessor, the European Economic Community (EEC), and Ethiopia co-signed the landmark Lomé Convention, which established the foundation of what has become  a vibrant and resilient relationship. It is also  exciting for EU member states, 21 of them being present in Addis Ababa today, that their ties go back much longer in history. Together as “Team Europe”, the EU and our Member States are a strong, reliable partner, with our collective collaboration with Ethiopia in different forms amounting to around €1 billion euro annually.

Ethiopia has been and continues to be one of the EU’s most important partners on the African continent. At the early stages of our partnership, the focus was on development cooperation and favourable terms of trade; this has continued, as from 2001 onwards the “Everything But Arms” trade programme provides a unique facility for tariff-free access of Ethiopian products to the EU market. In parallel, the European Investment Bank (EIB) began investing in Ethiopia as early as 1982, financing multiple sectors from clean energy to women entrepreneurs.

In 2006, the EU established an office for its European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations – ECHO, in Addis Ababa, which first started with support to food security, health, and education. Humanitarian aid later switched to emergency support in conflict areas.

In 2016, the EU and Ethiopia signed a “Strategic Engagement”, committing both sides to close cooperation in different areas. With Prime Minister Abiy taking office and the development that followed, the EU adopted Conclusions on Ethiopia in 2018, taking note of the new impetus on political and economic reforms and welcoming the ambitious agenda towards a more democratic and just Ethiopian society. The adoption of these Conclusions also acknowledged the great potential encapsulated in Ethiopia’s diversity as well as its challenges.

Ethiopia’s tragic conflict from 2020 to 2022 tested our diplomatic ties. Nonetheless, the EU never abandoned the Ethiopian people, providing continued support in areas of need. The EU also pro-actively called for peace and actively supported the AU-led and Ethiopian-owned peace process, and moved quickly to provide funding including for disarmament, transitional justice, and the national dialogue. Meanwhile, in spite of geopolitical challenges in many parts of the world – such as Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine – the EU has continued to support Ethiopia across all areas of our relations.

The future bodes well for the EU and Ethiopia to further enhance cooperation, including through the EU Global Gateway and the Horn of Africa Initiative. Key focus areas for the EU’s engagement are the cooperation in renewable energy supporting Ethiopia’s home-grown Green Legacy initiative, in digitalisation, in agriculture and connecting to all these strands, in the private sector. All this is in support of the Government’s ambitious reform agenda, which the EU wants to succeed. Stability and security, dialogue and an effective rule of law are crucial factors that will contribute to unleash the full potential of these reforms. This is central also for European companies as they decide to invest, creating jobs and paying taxes. A space where all feel comfortable to express their views and ideas will contribute to innovation and development. The inclusion of women will improve GDP growth and contribute to inclusive development.

Above politics and economics, the future of EU-Ethiopia relations lies in their people. Cultural and educational exchanges have played an important role in building and fostering our relationship. The Erasmus+ scholarship programme sees dozens of Ethiopian students studying in Europe every year, contributing to strengthening our ties. Europeans from all trades and with various background have also made Ethiopia their home, and individual relations have been very strong between the two continents. There has also been a rise in sports, music, visual arts, and film festivals, and with these people-to-people interactions, an increase in cultural ties. The EU-Ethiopia relationship is not just political – it is deeply personal.

Given Ethiopia’s history as a co-founder of the United Nations, the EU views Ethiopia as an invaluable co-champion in upholding and promoting multilateralism and a rules-based international order. In these turbulent geopolitical times, this is needed more than ever.

All this is testament to the fact that what started as a mostly economic partnership has grown into a robust and diverse relationship based on mutual respect, shared interests and joint initiatives. Coming back to the proverbድር ቢያብር አንበሳ ያስር, as EU, we want to pull in the same direction and we are looking forward to the next 50 years of ever-closer cooperation with Ethiopia.

Sofie From-Emmesberger is Ambassador of the European Union to Ethiopia

By Radosław Sikorski

Browsing social media I have recently come across a map showing all the countries with GDP per capita higher than Poland’s back in 1990 and in 2018. The difference was striking. While 35 years ago there were quite a few such countries not only in Europe but also in South America, Asia and Africa, in time their number has significantly decreased. In 2018 there were no longer any South American or African states highlighted on the map.

By 2025, the group has shrunk even further. According to IMF’s data Poland’s GDP in 1990 was a mere $6,690 in current dollars. By 2024 it grew almost 8-fold to $51,630. All that in just three decades – one generation. And it goes on. According to the European Commission’s forecast, in the years 2024-2025 Polish economy will be the fastest growing large economy in the European Union.

How did it happen? Apart from the hard work of our citizens, two major factors – or, to be more precise, two institutions – contributed to the economic success: NATO and the European Union.

The first, which Poland joined in 1999, provided security guarantees and helped overcome decades-old division between Eastern and Western Europe. The second, which we joined five years later, took the process of easing long-standing disparities one step further. It granted new member states access to so-called “cohesion funds” but most importantly to the common European market.

Sources of success

After the fall of communism in Poland in 1989 and the return of messy democratic politics, despite all day-to-day political squabbles one thing remained constant no matter who was in power – Poland’s determination to join the two aforementioned organizations. Why?

We are a great nation but a medium-size country. We cherish our long history – this year marks a millennium since the coronation of our first king – but our population is much smaller than that of merely Beijing and Shanghai combined. Poland needs allies to boost its potential on the international stage.

What’s been true for Poland – in 1990 a poor country coming out of four decades of Russian domination and economic mismanagement – might well be true for many of the so-called „middle powers” in Asia, Africa and South America looking for room to grow.

These countries often need what Poland desperately needed 35 years ago and still profits from: good governance, foreign investments with no strings attached, but above all political stability, rule of law, and predictable international environment with neighbors eager not to wage wars but work together for mutual benefit. In fact, these factors can benefit every country, no matter the level of their GDP.

Today the international order is being challenged on multiple fronts. Sometimes for good reasons. Decades-old institutions – including the UN and its Security Council – are unrepresentative of the global community and incapable of dealing with the challenges we face. What they need, however is to be thoroughly reformed, not entirely rejected.

Imperialists illusions

To those desperate for change force might look appealing. It would be a mistake. Abandoning forums for international dialogue and resorting to violence will not get us far.

Take Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. According to Kremlin’s propaganda it is a justified reaction to western imperialism allegedly threatening Russia’s security. In fact, it is a modern-day colonial war against Ukrainian people who – just like us Poles 30 years ago – want a better life and realize they can never achieve this goal by going back to subjugation to Russia. That is what they are being punished for – an effort to free themselves from the control of a former metropolis. Kremlin aggression is a desperate struggle of a failing empire to restore its sphere of influence.

Russian victory – may it never come – would not create a more just global order. It wouldn’t benefit countries dissatisfied with where things stand now. It wouldn’t even bring about a more just and prosperous Russia. Suffice to say there are now more political prisoners in Russia than there were in the 1980’s when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. There are many more casualties as well.

War is hardly ever a shortcut to prosperity. Over the last millennium Poland experienced its share of invasions and uprisings against occupying forces. What finally brought us prosperity were three decades of peace, predictability, international cooperation and political stability.

That is why on assuming the presidency of the Council of the European Council Poland made its priority clear – security in its many dimensions, from military, through economic to digital. Europe safe, prosperous and open for business can benefit not only Europeans but a greater global community. Just as it benefited Poland over the last three decades.

It may sound dull but it worked. Just look at the numbers.

Radosław Sikorski is Poland’s foreign minister.