The EU and the AU have jointly launched a public consultation at the beginning of February on the elaboration of a joint EU-Africa Strategy to be approved at the second EU-Africa joint Summit that should be held in Lisbon at the end of 2007. The first phase of the consultation runs until the end of April. ECDPM (European Centre for Policy Development Management) has been asked to facilitate this consultation process, which aims at seeking the views of African and European Non State Actors on the future EU-Africa joint Strategy.
This is the third issue of the Europafrica bulletin (click here for the previous issues), which will give you an up-date on the public consultation for a joint EU-Africa Strategy. This edition focuses especially on events that have taken place.
The bulletin is issued every two weeks. Subscribe by sending an e-mail to: europafrica@ecdpm.org
News
Preliminary report of the Internet consultation
ECDPM has prepared a preliminary report on the Internet consultation on the EU-Africa strategy. It summarises the ideas that have been raised in the initial stage of the consultation process from the beginning of February until mid-March and was presented to the African and European officials taking part in the negotiations at their second meeting on 23-24 March in Addis Ababa (see institutional negotiations). A draft final report of the first phase of the consultation (February-May) will be presented on 23-24 April at the civil society conference organized near in Bonn on the joint EU-Africa Strategy (see below). The outcomes of the conference will then be integrated into the final report that will be presented to EU and AU officials in view of the joint EU-Africa Ministerial that will take place mid-May 2007. To be able to draft the report in time we ask you to submit your contributions no later than the 15th of April.
Preliminary report of the internet consultation doc – pdf
Presentation of the report at the joint expert meeting 23-24/3 ppt – pdf
African civil society seminar on the joint EU-Africa Strategy in Accra, Ghana
An African Civil Society seminar on the joint EU-Africa Strategy organized by the African Union Commission took place in Accra Ghana on 26-28 of March. The purpose was to kick-start the African consultation on the EU-Africa Strategy, to inform civil society of the process as well as formulate initial recommendations for the negotiations. A steering committee of representatives from civil society was elected to follow up on the process until the end of the year. The results of the conference should be published shortly.
Conference on ‘Civil Society and the Joint EU-Africa Strategy’ on 23-24 April
The European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) is organising a Conference on ‘Civil Society and the Joint EU-Africa Strategy’ in cooperation with VENRO, the Association of German development NGOs. It will take place on 23-24/4 in Bad Honnef (near Bonn, Germany).
As one of the first civil society events on this topic in Europe, this conference will bring together around 100 African and European civil society actors and AU and EU officials. The aim of the conference is to formulate clear expectations of a representative sample of key Civil Society Organisations vis-à-vis the EU and AU regarding the contents of the EU-Africa strategy and their role in it. A further aim of the conference is to identify common viewpoints and to develop recommendations to the official negotiators, so that these can be taken into account in the deliberations of the EU-Africa Ministerial Troika Meeting that will take place on 15 May in order to adopt a first outline of the Joint Strategy.
Download the draft programme (provisional) – doc
Parliamentarians brain storming on the joint EU-Africa Strategy
An informal ‘Brain Storm’ lunch meeting on the joint EU-Africa Strategy took place at the European Parliament (EP) on the 21 March. The discussions emphasised the importance of involving parliaments in the process, at continental, regional and national levels. Read more.
ACP-EU Follow-up Committee’s consultation on the joint EU-Africa strategy
The ACP-EU Follow-up Committee met in Brussels 8 March 2007 to consult on the joint EU-Africa strategy. Questions raised include whether a shared EU-African vision should not be elaborated before the thematic content of the strategy.
Read the ECDPM report.
Some more questions to trigger the debate
On the basis of the comments made so far and in liaison with the institutional negotiations, a series of more specific questions has been posted on the website on the five themes (shared vision, key development issues, governance, democracy and human rights, trade and regional integration and peace and security) to further trigger the debate. These questions will also be one of the inputs for the civil society seminar that will take place in Bonn on 23-24 April.
Related events:
25/4: ‘Africa and the European Union: what partnership?’
Organised in London, by BOND
26/4: ‘Civilian Conflict Transformation and Peace-Building – a Challenge for Africa-Europe`s Policies’
This seminar is organised in Berlin, Germany, by the Church Development Service (EED) in collaboration with VENRO.
23-24/5: International Conference: ‘Responsibilities of Governments & Civil Society in the Fight Against HIV and AIDS in Africa – The Way Forward to 2015’
Organised in Bonn by VENRO
28/5: Cameroon: National Consultation on, ‘European Union – African Union Strategy: A Youth Perspective.’
Organized by: Cameroon Youths and Students Forum for Peace (CAMYOSFOP) in Yaounde, Cameroon
Institutional negotiations:
The second joint EU-Africa expert meeting took place on 23-24 March in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The officials continued the discussions from the initial brainstorming held in February and drafted a first version of the outline of the strategy. A summary report of the public consultation was presented at the meeting, and it was argued that civil society should be involved in the second phase leading up to the Lisbon Summit, as well as in the implementation of the strategy.
A drafting committee was set up, which will meet on the 12-14/4 in Addis Ababa and on the 26-28/4 in Europe after the civil society seminar near Bonn, to finalise an outline of the strategy to be presented at the joint Ministerial Troika meeting on 15 May.
Read the joint press release.
Latest contributions to the public consultation
A summary of the contributions to the consultation covering the period from the beginning of February until mid-March can be found in the report mentioned in the news section above. In addition, it is worth pointing out that several contributions have recently been submitted by organizations. These contributions include:
• EUROCHAMBRES – the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry – concerning issues of export and investment strategies. Read more
• UN office in Brussels – arguing that the MDGs should be the driving force of the EU-AU strategy in its political and economic as well as social dimensions. Read more
• International coalition of product development public-private partnerships (PDPs) researching health solutions for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected diseases – expressing hope that the Joint EU-Africa Strategy will provide an opportunity for the EU to accord science and the development for new health technologies a more central role in its development policy. Read more
• Joint contribution by 10 European organizations working on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and the response to HIV/AIDS – arguing that SRHR and the response to HIV/AIDS are critical for poverty reduction and the achievement of the MDGs, and should, therefore, figure prominently in the EU-Africa Strategy. Read more
• Union pour la Paix Permanente, Goma, DRC – argues that the EU can share its experience concerning ‘good governance’, supporting for instance the capacity-building of African judiciary systems. Read more
All position papers submitted by organizations are listed here.
About the consultation process
The public consultation takes place on the internet, but is also spread across the two continents through different conferences and seminars. The aim is that the ideas generated through these events will be shared and further debated on the web site. Please let us know of any events that you are planning, so we can put them in the calendar.
Learn more about the consultation process:
Organisers of the consultation / Who can participate? / Why this consultation? / The basis for the consultation / Consultation timeline / Opportunities offered by the consultation / Limitations to the consultation / How will the consultation take place? / Getting progress updates / About the web site / How to participate
How is the public consultation linked to the institutional negotiation?
Post your comments
