Senegalese authorities should feel free to use European Union development funds to purchase Chinese‑made buses if the deal benefits local workers, a senior EU socialist lawmaker has said.
Udo Bullmann, a prominent member of the European Parliament, made the remarks amid controversy over a €300‑million EU tender for buses and related infrastructure in Dakar. The contract is widely expected to be awarded to a Chinese state‑linked firm that has previously been found in breach of EU rules on foreign subsidies.
While several EU officials and lawmakers have criticised the prospective outcome — one even calling it “madness” — Bullmann said he would back granting European money to a Chinese‑linked company provided it boosted Senegal’s workforce.
“The criterion is a skilled African workforce and the creation of African added value,” Bullmann told reporters in Brussels on Monday.
In June, during the Senegalese government’s visit to China, the two countries agreed to set up a bus assembly plant in Senegal. Bullmann said that as long as the winning bidder hires local staff, he sees no problem with the Chinese offer.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” he said, while acknowledging he was not familiar with the project’s specifics. “I welcome investors who come to Africa and train African workers to higher standards. That makes all the difference.”
Bullmann, who chairs the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with South Africa, is currently coordinating the Socialists’ Africa Days in Brussels, bringing together African politicians and policymakers. Europe, he argued, remains Africa’s best partner.
“If you want exploitation, you go to the Chinese. If you want political repression … you go to the Americans. If you want friendship, you go to the Europeans,” he said.
The EU’s development chief, Jozef Síkela, said in May that future EU aid projects would include “measures to strengthen European preference” — a stance Bullmann rejected. “What we need is a rule that gives preference to local production. That is what matters most,” he said, adding that EU‑backed tenders should favour African products.
Barry Andrews, chair of the European Parliament’s development committee, also said Senegalese authorities should choose the bid that suits them best. “In essence, you are asking Senegalese to pay twice as much,” Andrews noted, referring to the fact that CRRC’s offer is less than half the price of the only European competitor, Scania.
