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(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2024 9(1), 229-245 | European Forum Insight of 02 July 2024 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. EU approach to International Investment Law. - ii.1. EU competence over Foreign Direct Investment. - ii.2. Integration of sustainable development into investment agreements. - III. EU-Angola SIFA. - iii.1. History of the agreement. - iii.2. Substantive provisions of the EU-Angola SIFA. - IV. Is the EU-Angola SIFA a step forward towards the promotion of sustainable investments? - iv.1. Differences with other IIAs. - iv.2. An effective way to implement SGDs? - V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) In 2019 the EU Commission launched the ambitious so-called European Green Deal, a set of proposals aimed to revise and update EU legislation and to put in place new initiatives with the goal to ensure that EU policies are in line with climate and SDGs goals. To reach the targets set out by the EU institutions, a crucial role is attributed to private investments, which can mobilize the necessary capital to make feasible the green transition. In this regard, trade agreements are an important driver for sustainable growth both in the EU and in partner countries insofar as they promote private investments in strategic sectors while at the same time they contribute to sustainable development. While the EU Commission has already started to insert trade and sustainable development (TSD) chapters in its trade agreements, another possible path has been identified in the conclusion of new-generation bilateral investment agreements. This Insight examines the recently adopted EU-Angola Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement (EU-Angola SIFA) as the first of this new generation of investment agreements. Specifically, this Insight points out that, while the agreement is not yet in force and it will take several years to gauge whether it successfully serves as a stimulus to attract sustainable investments, it can already be considered a further attempt to balance the necessity to attract private capitals indispensable for the green transition with the preservation of States’ regulatory powers.

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There are many dimensions to conflict in Africa. It depends on the nature of the underlying demography, heterogeneity, and historical context of the state’s social and political problems. The impact of the coronavirus has greatly affected the socioeconomic structure and governance system in Africa, leading to social conflicts. Moreover, the social conflict led to deaths, job losses, and human capital reductions, resulting in economic catastrophes in South Africa, Egypt, and Ethiopia, among others. In Nigeria, the government was unable to cushion the impact of Covid-19, frustrated by the issues of poverty and inequality, wherein the masses were pounded with hunger and insecurity; a corrupt policing system precipitated the social unrest in 2020. Nigeria’s social issues, coupled with the shock of Covid-19, cumulated into protest actions, looting, and police brutality. The government’s inadequate response to the political crisis and state of unrest greatly influenced the public’s belief and outlook on social concerns. The research postulates the following question: how did the social conflict in Africa and Nigeria become overheated during Covid-19? The paper adopts a qualitative method that explores existing literature and media sources on social conflicts and Covid-19 in Africa and Nigeria. The study anchors its theoretical framework on the fragile state theory. The paper concludes that Nigeria’s weakened socioeconomic structure met with the shock of the horror of Covid-19, which sparked social conflict in the country.

Although Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship (GDEC) are proposed as complementary in educational policy documents, they are still perceived as interrelated fields but with specificities that tend to depower projects aimed at either domain. The research-training project presented aimed to develop awareness in teachers of different school levels of what ESD and GDEC share, and then proceed with associations to co-design educational programs on global competence. Surveys to assess the starting level and the effectiveness of the diverse interventions are included. The paper presents the outcomes related to teachers’ perceptions (N=219) at the beginning of the training and students’ global competence (N=4.426) before the start of the interventions in schools. Per un’educazione globale. Una ricerca-formazione per integrare sviluppo sostenibile e cittadinanza globale. Sebbene l’Educazione alla Sviluppo Sostenibile (ESS) e alla Cittadinanza Globale (ECG) siano proposte come complementari nei documenti di politiche educative, sono ancora percepite come ambiti interrelati ma con specificità che tendono a depotenziare i progetti mirati all’uno o all’altro campo. Il progetto di ricerca-formazione presentato si propone di sviluppare negli insegnanti di diversi livelli scolastici consapevolezza su ciò che accomuna ESS e ECG, per poi procedere con associazioni ad una co-progettazione di percorsi didattici sulla competenza globale. Sono previste rilevazioni per valutare il livello iniziale e l’efficacia dei diversi interventi. Il contributo presenta gli esiti relativi alla percezione degli insegnanti (N=219) all’inizio del percorso formativo e alla competenza globale degli alunni (N=4.426) prima dell’avvio degli interventi nelle scuole.