This is the nineteenth issue of the Europafrica bulletin, which will give you an up-date on the implementation process of the Joint EU-Africa Strategy. The bulletin is issued 1-2 times per month. Subscribe by sending an e-mail to: europafrica@ecdpm.org.
News
New Website
After a long process, we have finally launched the new Europafrica.org website! We do not only present a complete new layout and design, but also specific News and Resources on the Joint Africa-EU Strategy and its Action Plan.
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Africa seeks sympathetic hearing from French-led EU
Today, France has officially taken over the EU Presidency until the end of the year 2008 and Africa will press former colonial power France for less paternalism from Europe and more flexibility on migration and trade during the French European Union presidency claims news agency Reuters in a recent article published yesterday.
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Many Side Activities of the Eleventh Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly
While the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) was on day two of its 16th Ordinary Session, some activities involving the stakeholders and partners of the African Union were scheduled to hold at the margins of the 11th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government, in Sharm El Sheikh, Arab Republic of Egypt.
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11th AU Summit: Crisis over the new elected Zimbabwian President Mugabe
The Zimbabwe elections have certainly overshadowed the pre-Summit meeting of the executive council taking place on the 27th until the 28th of June and the 11th AU Summit in Egypt. A draft summit communique by the African Union included a general condemnation of violence and a call for dialogue, but did not include any direct criticism of the Zimbabwean leader or of the run-off vote.
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Release of CSOs Sharm El Sheikh Declaration On the 11th African Union Summit
African Civil Society expressed their positions on the Key issues of the 11th African Union Summit Agenda, in Sharm El Sheikh. During a press conference today, CSOs’ representative launched a declaration with forty-three recommendations covering all pressing issues of the African continent.
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What French NGOs will do during the French Presidency of the EU
France is taking the lead of Europe on 1st of July. This French presidency of the EU is taking place in a particular context, marked by the French rejection of the European Constitutional Treaty by France in 2006 and the recent No from Ireland. Moreover, the European elections and the eventual entry into force of the amended Treaty will closely follow the French EU presidency. The future of Europe will be central in the debates.
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AU postpones continental gov’t debate to next summit in 2009
The debate begun since Accra on whether or not to form a continental government, as first stage towards United States of Africa, could not end at Sharm El-Cheikh in Egypt. Heads of state attending the summit have decided to postpone the question to their next summit says news agency APA.
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The 11th AU Summit: summary of the conclusions
The 11th African Union Summit has officially ended on the 1st of July in Egypt with some new conlusions on Zimbabwe, the AU Government and the AU Audit.
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G8: West told to fulfil its African aid pledge
The leaders of the G8 were under strong pressure today to live up to their aid promises to the world’s poorest countries as their three-day summit opened against the backdrop of a looming economic crisis commented the Guardian in an article published this Monday.
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Food crisis – how do we feed the world now and in 2050?
Investment, free-trade, abolition of subsidies, a change of direction on biofuels: all options submitted to a joint European Parliament-French government conference on 3 July. With people on earth set to be 9 billion in 4 decades and foodstuffs like rice and maize up in price over 70% in a year, academics, experts, European and African political figures met in Brussels to ask “Who will feed the World?”. Participants heard that climate and growing demand for meat are contributing to the crisis.
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EU looks at setting up €1bn fund to fight food shortages
The European Union is poised to give €1bn ($1.57bn, £792m) in unused agricultural subsidies to farmers in the developing world to fight food shortages, its farm and development chiefs confirmed by Barosso at the G8 in Japan.
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Development in a downturn? Comments
What did the G8 achieve in real terms and did it make any progress? Is development towards Africa in a downturn? Read the current comments on the G8 and the call for ‘Smarter Aid’.
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Progress Report by the G8 Africa Personal Representatives (APRs) on implementation of the Africa Action Plan
The G8 has long been committed to Africa’s development. One of the main agenda items of the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit is “Development and Africa”, under which the G8 discussed how the G8 can best support Africa-led development efforts. The results of the discussion among the G8 gives a new impetus to the G8-Africa partnership and be a good basis for G8 input into this year’s UN high level meeting on MDGs in September, the Accra Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in September, and the Doha Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development in November/December 2008.
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Good governance: Borrowing from EU for AU
Europe often sets the pace. That includes economics and politics. It’s continental union, the EU, didn’t start out with the latter in the closing years of the 1950s. It did with the former, says Tunji Ajibade.
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The Mediterranean Union – will it split Africa?
Launched a little over a year ago by the French Head of State, the Union for the Mediterranean project, which aims to strengthen and deepen the cooperation between both sides of the Mediterrean, was officially inaugurated on 13 July 2008 at the Paris Summit for the Mediterranean, which brings together 43 European and Mediterranean States, the Community institutions and the regional organisations.
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French Priorities with regard to Climate Change, Development and EU-Africa Relations, Agriculture and rural development
Ministers from the French Presidency of the Council, in office for the second half of 2008, took part in meetings with almost all of Parliament’s committees from 14-17 July to present their priorities. Here we present a summary of the main points of interest from a week of debates.
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Security and development in Africa: strengthening conflict prevention, resolution and management
The EU and the African Union are developing a security and development partnership, based on enhancing dialogue between warring factions, overseeing Africa’s peace and security architecture, and supporting African security operations, speakers told an EPC Policy Dialogue organised in cooperation with the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung. This should also focus on providing security as countries emerge from conflicts in order for them to develop, and civil society should be encouraged to play a major role in this.
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Critic on Commission’s proposal on special financing facility worth €1 billion to help developing country farmers
The European Commission proposed on the 18th of July 2008 to establish a special “facility for rapid response to soaring food prices in developing countries”. The fund would be worth €1 billion and would operate for two years, 2008 and 2009.
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Readings
A brief history of the G-8
We come to the G8 Summit here in Hokkaido, Japan. We have not only in Bush, Sarkozy, Brown, and Fukuda a group of discredited leaders with very low ratings at the polls in their own countries. We have as well a G8 that is, more than ever, lacking in legitimacy as the typhoon unleashed by the project of globalization that it has promoted is wracking the globe in the form of the simultaneous crises of skyrocketing oil prices, rising food prices, global financial collapse, and worsening climate change.
What Did the G8 Summit Achieve? Progress or Stalemate
Poverty, climate change, and the food crisis were at the forefront of the G8 Summit held in Hokkaido, Japan. Johannes Linn, Executive Director of the Wolfensohn Center for Development, assesses the G8 meeting outcomes and explores the implications of their commitments and other pending issues, including potential enlargement of the group.
Development in a downturn- by Simon Maxwell
The global economic turmoil of 2008 could endanger progress in tackling world poverty. To avert this, a new development narrative is needed that keeps the issue alive, says Simon Maxwell of the Overseas Development Institute.
A call for Smarter Aid
When world leaders gather in Japan for the G-8 summit, they will confront a pressing question–how to make aid smarter. While past summits focused on increasing the amount of aid to the poorest countries, this summit should also highlight smarter ways to effectively deliver foreign assistance dollars.
The Barcelona Process and the Mediterranean Union: Possibilities for the future – by Jean-François Jamet, Consultant, World Bank
The Union for the Mediterranean “constitutes an opportunity to relaunch Euro-Mediterranean integration,” writes World Bank consultant Jean-François Jamet for the Fondation Robert Schuman. The EU-Mediterranean partnership was launched in 1995 under the ‘Barcelona Process’ and is designed to boost cooperation between Mediterranean countries in areas such as security, development and culture.
Two and a half cheers for the Mediterranean Union – by Chris Patten
Despite himself, the French president pulled off the re-launch of the Barcelona Process. Now we need to make it fly. Maybe it is time to be a bit more generous to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and look at the outcome of what he does rather than the way that he does it.
Information about EARN
Nordic Africa Institute
Egmont Institute
Upcoming events
14/08/2008 Doing Business with China, The Centre for Chinese Studies and the Western Cape Investment and Trade Promotion Agency (WESGRO) – 08h00 to 15h00, Cape Town, South Africa
2-3/09/ 2008 Meeting of the Political and Security Committee –Brussels, Belgium
3/09/2008 Coreper I – Brussels, Belgium
3/09/2008 Coreper II – Brussels, Belgium
5/09/2008 Informal Coreper I – Toulouse, France
8-11/09/2008 13th Session of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly – Brussels, Belgium
8-11/09/2008 Meeting of the Bureau of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly – Brussels, Beglium
8-11/09/2008 Meetings of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly Standing Committees – Brussels, Belgium
08/09/2008 DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION Council Meeting – R20.2, 10am, Brussels, Belgium
10/09/2008 Global Europe: ‘Moet Minister Koenders zijn budget afstaan aan Brussel?’ – aanvang 20.00uur, entree gratis, reserveren via 0900-5894636 (LUX info), locatie LUX, Mariënburg 38-39, Nijmegen
11/09/2008 A joint meeting of the Bureau and the three Standing Committees of the ACP-EU JPA together with the EP ad hoc Delegation for relations with the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and the PAP ad hoc Committee for relations with the EP
14/09/2008 Global Sunday ‘Black leadership’ – LUX Nijmegen and the Centre for International Development Issues Nijmegen, 12.00h – 18.00h, location Cinemarienburg, Marienburg 59, Nijmegen
15-16/09/2008 General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC)- Brussels, Belgium
16/09/2008 Agriculture and development – Coordination SUD
16-17/09/2008 GMES – Global monitoring of environment and security 2008- Lille, France
17/09/2008 Coreper I – Brussels, Belgium
17/09/2008 Coreper II – Brussels, Belgium
18 /09/2008 Informal Coreper I & II- Kouru, France
25/09/2008 Climate change and development, Coordination Sud
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