In Africa, all the 54 sovereign countries are members of the African Union. It is a proof of the political inclusivity and oneness achieved by the continental body. Europe has 51 independent states but only 27 are members of the European Union, following Britain’s exit.
The African Union has African Standby Force (ASF), a multinational military force of about 25,000 personnel. This unit was set up in 2015 to intervene in armed conflicts across the continent. The European Union does not have a unified military force.
On July 17, 2016, AU launched its African Union passport in Kigali, Rwanda. This will create a visa-free access to all the 54 member states, offering great trade and integration opportunities. They will be issued to all African citizens by 2018. The EU has just lost a key member; Britain. This will present new travel and trading restrictions within Europe.
African Union has several economic blocs that have helped international trade within different regions. They are Economic Community of West African States (West Africa), Arab Maghreb Union (North Africa), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and East African Community (Southern and Eastern Africa). These have opened up trade across the 54-member states. European Union has mainly opened up trade within its 27 members, leaving out the rest of the continent.
The United Nations has a global mandate to intervene in international and national civil strives to protect un-armed civilians from violence. It carries out this responsibility through its peace-keeping unit. African Union provides at least 50 percent of the United Nations Peacekeepers. Ethiopia is the second biggest single contributor to UN Peace keeping missions globally, with at least 12,900 troops.
Under the African Union, Africa is one of the most hospitable continents and incidents of discrimination towards nationals from all over the world are very low. In Europe, racial segregation is still prevalent. Black Europeans, people of African descent and Muslim women have been the major targets of racially-motivated crimes.
The European Union has not yet accepted Balkan nations; Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo into its fold, despite being European countries. In Africa, only Morocco is not part of African Union. It left OAU in 1984 after Western Sahara was admitted into the continental body. Morocco claimed Western Sahara to be part of its kingdom.
