Modernization of the Legal Framework for Cooperation Between the African Union and Regional Economic Communities with a View to Advancing Integration in Africa

The development of integration processes in Africa is taking place in the context of a sharp increase in foreign policy risks, geopolitical fragmentation, and deepening differences in the level of socio‑economic development of the continent’s states. These factors, on the one hand, complicate the strengthening of integration, but on the other, they create objective preconditions for the intensification of integration processes: the African Union (AU) is expanding its mandate, its coordinating role is growing, and the importance of subregional organizations in the implementation of integration initiatives is increasing. At the same time, Africa remains the least integrated region in the world. One of the key problems of African integration is the lack of coordinated normative and institutional interaction between regional economic communities (RECs) and the AU, which significantly complicates the implementation of the goals enshrined in the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community and the strategic development program “Agenda 2063”. The purpose of this article is to analyze the legal framework for interaction between the AU and RECs and determine their role in shaping the modern architecture of African integration. The objectives of the study include identifying institutional coordination mechanisms, examining the AU’s regulations, analyzing the application of the principles of subsidiarity, complementarity, and comparative advantage in integration associations, as well as assessing the dynamics of integration in Africa in 2021–2025. The methodological basis of the study consists of the following general scientific and special methods of cognition: comparative legal, formal legal, formal logical, structural‑functional, and systemic. The study’s findings demonstrate that the AU has established basic legal and institutional mechanisms for coordinating the activities of the RECs. However, their practical implementation is hampered by the slow ratification of regulations, overlapping membership of states in the RECs, and the lack of clearly defined principles for the distribution of competencies between the AU and the RECs. The authors conclude that the institutional foundation for African integration has been generally established, but it requires further development and strengthening of supranational instruments at both the subregional and continental levels. It is in the interests of the Russian Federation to assist African nations in addressing these challenges.