At the Africa Week, José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission has delievered a speech on “The EU and Africa: a Partnership based on Dialogue” yesterday at the meeting of the European Parliament and the Pan African Parliament in Brussels.
In his speech, he underlined that 2008 brought intercultural dialogue within Europe to the top of the political agenda, it has also emphasised the role that dialogue plays in shaping relations with our partners. This has been particularly true for EU partners in Africa. According to him, the success of last December’s EU-Africa Summit, 2008 is also an important year for implementing the Africa-EU Partnership, which was agreed in Lisbon by African and European Heads of State and Government. It is partnership that embodies a new vision of relations between Europe and Africa: a relationship between equal partners determined to tackle global challenges together, including food security, migration, energy and climate change says Barosso.
Moreover, he clearly emphasized that the Joint Africa EU Strategy has been designed to involve all stakeholders, including continental institutions – such as the African Union and the European Union – their Member States and Regional Economic Communities, civil society organisations, the private sector, artists, researchers and scientists. Therefore, he recalls that it is important that both the Pan-African Parliament and the European Parliament play a key role in implementing and monitoring this strategic partnership. Involving both parliaments in this way ensures democratic and public scrutiny over the progress we make, and guarantees accountability.
In his opinion, thanks to the Joint Africa-EU Strategy, there is a shared vision and common policy framework in place to unlock the full potential of this partnership. A partnership where dialogue, culture, and the positive role of migrants in Europe and in Africa feature prominently.
