A DECADE OF AFRICAN UNION AND EUROPEAN UNION TRANS-REGIONAL SECURITY RELATIONS

The first decade of the new millennium saw the European Union deploy nine security missions to the African continent, quoting the European Security and Defence Policy. Unlike the numerous United Nations security missions that European states had previously contributed to, these were part of a grand strategy designed to link the African Union and the European Union in a process of transregionalism defined as a unique organisational infrastructure (joint secretariat for research, policy planning, preparation and coordination of meetings and implementation of decisions). The rationale being that security and its associated peace and stability are the basis for sustainable development in other areas. This article follows the development of the trans-regionalism detailing the security missions.