“On my phone call with President Cyril Ramaphosa, I highlighted the EU’s commitment to deepen ties with South Africa, as a reliable and predictable partner.”
Those were the exact words of Antonio Costa, President of the European Union Council (EUC), with which he assured South Africa on Monday, that the body would not abandon the country, in the face of the ongoing spat between Donald Trump, President of the United States and Cyril Ramaphosa, his South African counterpart.
The EU’s “full support” is coming ahead of the G20 parley, slated in Johannesburg, this February, and against Trump making good his threat to freeze US aid to South Africa last week, citing a law in the country that he alleges allows land to be seized from white farmers, despite Johannesburg’s denials.
The measure against Johannesburg is believed to be instigated by Elon Musk, the South-African-born world’s richest man, currently playing a key role in Trump’s administration, who had been complaining that the government of the African National Congress (ANC), was promoting “openly racist ownership laws,” including seizing lands belonging to the white communities in the country.
The US had indicated that it would not be at the G20 talks of foreign ministers in Johannesburg on February 20-21, with Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, who justified the stance saying the decision was to show Washington’s discomfort with Ramaphosa and as further measure for his government for engaging in an “anti-American” agenda.
But, Costa who spoke to Ramaphosa to convey the support of the EU, was quoted to have said: “I expressed the EU’s full support to South Africa’s leadership of G20 and its ambition to strengthen multilateral cooperation and the Pact for the Future to address the most pressing global issues. There will be a meeting between the European Union and South Africa on March 13.”
