Ongoing debates
The sheer quantity of information, the complexities of international interactions, but also the diplomatic ‘dress code’ of political discourses often make it difficult to grasp the critical issues that underpin the current debates between Africa and the EU. Therefore, this FES site provides an insight into some these debates and core issues at stake. It is a helpful tool to sharpen one’s awareness of contentious views and to find one’s way through these complexities of the ACP-EU relations.
Overview of the Multiple
Frameworks
of the EU-Africa
Partnership
in
Historical Perspective
Migration and Joint Afirca-EU Strategy discussed at the AUC
The African Union (AU) is hosting the meeting of experts of the 7th Labour and Social Affairs Comission (LASC) from the 28 to 30 September 2009. Convened every year, the event is holding at the headquarters of the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The joint Africa-EU Strategy was also on the agenda of the meeting.
African Parliamentarians And Civil Society Organizations Discuss Regional Integration
Parliamentarians and civil society organizations drawn from the different regions of Africa ended on Thursday, 30 July 2009, a two day workshop on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) at the African Union Commission Headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The participants of the workshop underscored the need for African countries to focus on the regional integration process of the continent. They outlined that EPAs are expected to create opportunities for building regional markets, stimulate investments, integrate the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) into the world economy and help in poverty reduction. The members of parliaments resolved to update participants in their respective constituencies on the EPAs progress report with the assistance of the civil society organizations. They arrived at a consensus that national and regional parliaments in Africa need to exercise the oversight function of parliament and assess the progress of regional integration in their respective regions. They also agreed on the issue of establishing regional forum and strategic partnership for parliamentarians, international organizations and civil society to promote public participation and ensure that EPAs are aligned to the development and regional integration objectives and programmes of African countries. The participants recommended high level engagements on EPAs between African countries and the European Commission in order to provide political guidance to resolve complex issues within the EPAs framework. They further recommended the need to improve communication between the civil society organizations and governments and assess the level of progress achieved; to conduct evidence based analysis and production sound technical briefs, among others. They requested the African Union Commission to explore the idea of establishing an “Observatory Mechanism” especially for monitoring the EPA implementation. The parliamentarians and civil society organizations called on African countries to focus on the strengthening of regional integration and collective self reliance.
Revealing Paradoxes of the EU Attitude
"According to a top official leading the European delegation at the Libreville meeting [2 Feb 2009], “The European Commission’s mandate is to negotiate a trade agreement, not a cooperation for development agreement.” This statement is in flagrant contradiction to all statements made by both politicians and negotiators since the beginning of the negotiations and marks a reversal that will have a negative impact on any future EPA agreement."
G20 a legitimate forum to manage the financial crisis ...?
The G20 Group met on April 2nd 2009 for the London Summit. The countries in the group together produce around 85 per cent of the global economy’s output and are meeting early this year in light of the global financial crisis. Despite, and perhaps because of, the dominance of these countries in the global economy there are questions surrounding their legitimacy to be making arrangements that affect much of the rest of the world. An article posted by Focus on the Global South suggests that the UN should be leading in creating a post-crisis financial architecture, rather than the G20. Professor Walden Bello, of the Freedom from Debt Coalition, points out that it is institutions such as the G20 and its members that were part of the problems we are experiencing and should not be relied upon now. He says that “a UN based forum is the only legitimate forum”.
Free Trade Agreements between countries with vastly different levels of development
The fact that international trade is welfare-enhancing is one of the most fundamental doctrines in economics. On the one hand, there is the EU commitment that development is a principal function of EU Trade Policy and that it will take the development needs of its partners into consideration. On the other, to put trade at the service of European companies so that they can compete worldwide, the EU needs far-reaching Free Trade Agreements that, alongside the tariff liberalisation required by article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), must include controversial issues that remain for the moment outside the WTO, such as the Singapore issues, expressly rejected at the multilateral level by developing countries. Are these FTAs compatible with the EU commitments on development?
The "Delivery Challenge" in EC Development Cooperation
Over the past decade, the EC has been actively developing new policies to catch up with rapidly changing world. A case in point was the thorough revision of ACP-EU relations, which led to the signing of the Cotonou Agreement in 2000. The transition from the Lomé Conventions to the Cotonou Agreement involved more than a change in name. The new Treaty marked an important break with the past. Major innovations have been introduced to improve the overall impact of aid, trade and political cooperation between the ACP and the EC. On the whole, the EC tends to be lauded for the quality of its policy frameworks. However, what about the implementation of new policy objectives? Is the EC –as an institution- able to deliver on this host of new policy commitments? Or is it systematically confronted with major gaps between stated policy objectives and actual implementation practices?
The Question of Aid Effectiveness
Rwandan President calls for the new school of development thinkers and entrepreneurs to discuss when to end aid and how best to end it. The Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, states in this FT interview: “Aid ha srarely dealt with the underlying issues of poverty and weak societies. Often, aid can even sever the relationship between democratically elected leadership and the populace. Support from the outside should be support for what we intend to achieve ourselves. We know the road to prosperity is a long one. We will travel it with the help of a new school of development thinkers and entrepreneurs, with those who demonstrate they have not just a heart, but also a mind for the poor.”
further readings:
Not Aiding Africa