In 2007, the EU and the AU adopted the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) that aimed at a strengthened collaboration between the two continents based on a partnership of equals. However, six years into its existence, relations between the EU and AU have grown colder rather than warmer. In the context of the upcoming EU-Africa Summit in April 2014 the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) jointly organized an international conference on 16-17 September 2013 with European and African stakeholders in order to address key areas of common concern and interest that could contribute to the agenda setting of the summit.