The European Union and the African Union launch the consultation process on a Joint EU-Africa Strategy
Commissioner Louis Michel and the Chairman of the Commission of the African Union Alpha Oumar Konaré today launched the public consultation process on a joint EU-Africa Strategy, which shall develop a political vision and practical elements for the future partnership between the EU and Africa.
For the first time ever the European Union and the African Union, will develop a joint strategy for the future of their partnership. This strategy should be adopted by the EU/Africa summit in Lisbon in the second half of 2007.
In 2005, the EU presented its own Africa Strategy, putting Africa at the heart of its political agenda. With the new EU-Africa strategy which will be agreed jointly between the European Union and the African Union, a decisive step will be made to further develop the existing political and strategic partnership between both continents, a partnership based on common interests and mutual respect.
In order to define the main challenges, objectives and priorities of the EU-Africa Strategy, a wide consultation process of stakeholders in Europe and Africa has been launched today by Commissioner Michel and Alpha Omar Konaré, chairman of the Commission of the African Union. At this occasion Commissioner Michel said: “I would like to invite today members of the civil society, trade unions, entrepreneurs and all African and European citizens concerned and committed by the future of our continents to make your voices heard and provide your valuable input to this important process.”
The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Professor Konaré said, “I request all Africans, whatever their social status is, in Africa and in the Diaspora to participate in this consultation. This is your opportunity to be part of the development of the joint Strategy for our future partnership with the European Union. You are the voice of Africa so rise up and be heard through your respective input in this consultative process.”
The consultation launched today is designed to collect opinions about the future of Euro-African relations addressing challenges or suggesting solutions to issues that may shape the EU’s and Africa’s common future. In a two-stage process, the consultation will feed first into a draft discussed at the EU-Africa Ministerial troika meeting in Brussels on 15 May and secondly into the final EU-Africa strategy which should be adopted towards the end of the year at the EU/Africa summit.
The consultation is carried out via a special website http://europafrica.org which is managed on behalf of the EU and the AU by an independent foundation, the European Center for Development Policy Management (ECDPM).
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It is a good thing that the EU and the AU should have a joint strategy but first things first, this can only be effective if the AU has thesame(or a more representative) state of influence in Africa as those the EU in Europe, taking into consideration the fact that, individual African countries are now on an increasing rate signing bilateral agreement with other nations, that are in a sly manner keen to put the EU out of business in Africa because of their unprecedented need for resources. I think, that, if the EU wishes to maintain its position in Africa, it must first start by promoting regional integration and make it known to Africans the necesities of a single voice, not only political but socio-cultural as well econmically and why not militarilly, i mean the real thing, that is, Africa should be integrated with such reasons and values as the main pillas of the EU. Not only for the sake of that they have a union, it must be for the sake of African development and the world atlarge.