Insight
Access denied: The EU’s discriminatory visa regime is undermining its reputation in Africa by Katherine Pye, 2 April 2025 EU leaders claim people-to-people links between Europe and Africa are a strength, but the EU’s visa policy tells a different story. The EU should reform the Schengen visa system to boost its soft power. The European Commission says that the EU’s partnership with Africa is one of its top priorities. Africa’s rapid economic development has made it the second fastest-growing region globally after Asia: last year, 11 of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies were in Africa. Yet EU leaders worry – with good reason – that their geopolitical adversaries and competitors are becoming preferred trade, investment and security partners for many African countries. Europe’s increasingly stringent approach to migration has become a major source of friction with African governments, and its visa policy is also doing considerable damage to the EU’s image among Africa’s intellectual, cultural and business elites. There is no evidence that the EU’s attempts to reduce irregular migration by making it harder for travellers to get Schengen visas are working. The EU should therefore revisit its approach to visas. The fact that African citizens want to visit, study and do business in Europe is an element of soft power, on which the EU could capitalise to gain influence on the continent. In 2022, 30 per cent of African Schengen visa applications were rejected by the EU – up from 18 per cent in 2014. This is significantly higher than the global rejection rate of 17.5 per cent. Some of Africa’s largest economies – notably Algeria and Nigeria – had Schengen visa rejection rates of between 40 and 50 per cent. While one might have expected the number of Africans applying for visas to increase with its growing population, the number went down from 2.2 million in 2014 to 2.05 million in 2022. Rejection rates have risen dramatically in the past decade even as the overall number of applications has decreased.
CER INSIGHT: ACCESS DENIED: THE EU’S DISCRIMINATORY VISA REGIME IS UNDERMINING ITS REPUTATION IN AFRICA 2 April 2025
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