Brussels, 01/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - According to Jean Ping, President of the Commission of the African Union, and José Manuel Barroso, President of the European, the fifth annual meeting between the European Commission and the Commission of the AU (held in Brussels on 31 May and 1 June), which ended with the adoption of a joint declaration, took place against a backdrop of perfect agreement. Meeting to support the democratic wind which is blowing on North Africa, but also on Côte d'Ivoire, Niger and the Republic of Guinea - three countries which were invited to the G8 summit in Deauville for this very reason, as Barroso stressed - they are just as determined to put the strategic partnership which has linked the EU and Africa since 2007 at the service of growth and sustainable development on both continents, making it possible to achieve the millennium objectives by 2015. The support of the European Commission for the initiative for the transparency of the mining industries in Africa, which was confirmed at this meeting with the announcement of forthcoming EU legislation, and the hopes of both sides to reach a common position by means of a joint EU-Africa declaration ahead of the UN climate conference of Durban (South Africa) in December of this year bear witness to this. Slight differences of course persist, in the respective conceptions of the AU and the EU of the best way to get out of crisis in Libya, but there is apparently no question of diverging opinions: we need to work towards a political solution, said Jean Ping, referring to a “perfect concordance of views” and an “exemplary” partnership between the two Commissions.
“This annual meeting has become a key element of our inter-continental agenda based on the action plan 2011-2013, which was adopted at the EU-Africa summit last year (Tripoli, late November). Today, our partnership is more relevant than ever. In an increasingly integrated world, our futures are inextricably linked. Together, we can make real progress for our people”, “by attacking the 'challenges without borders', by creating more opportunities for trade, investment and development, by harnessing aspirations for more democracy, more liberty and social justice”, said Barroso, speaking after the plenary session. Welcoming “the high level of convergence”, he added: “it is clearer than ever that we need democracy and growth in order to have development which is sustainable”.
Growth forecasts of 5 and 6% in Africa are a good omen, he continued, and that is the impulse we must capitalise on to make this growth more inclusive and more sustainable. “Africa is on the move, and I am convinced that we can harvest Africa's potential for the benefit of its people if we manage to link the future of Africa and the global economy. It goes without saying that Europe - as its principal partner - has a vested interest in the successful development of this continent”, Barroso explained. The EU is also “the most generous donor” (a reference to the additional €1 billion earmarked for the achievement of the MDGs, and the €1 billion allocated to the food facility, to help 50 million people in 50 countries to feed the local communities, said Barroso). And as such, there is a major responsibility to “guarantee that growth has the maximum impact on the reduction of poverty”. In order to ensure that “Africa's resources are at the service of the stability and prosperity” of the continent, the Commission will put forward legislative proposals in October “to make businesses publish information on their activities in the developing countries, thereby guaranteeing a fair distribution of national resources”.
As regards the democratic uprisings in the Arab countries, Barroso welcomed the support pledged by the AU to democratisation in the region. “The African Union clearly has a lead role to play”, he said. Called upon to take position on the assistance requested by the G8 for Russia to negotiate Gaddafi's future, Jean Ping replied: “Everything that can help to resolve the situation is welcome. If Russia is prepared to help towards a solution, it is very welcome. Look at our roadmap of 10 March (Ed: AU roadmap), or 10 days before resolution 1973 of the Security Council, everything is in it and everything is still relevant today”. When asked about the frustration of sub-Saharan Africa that the G8 has focused so much on the countries of the Arab spring, and less on the other countries south of the Sahara, Ping pointed out that the AU has always deplored this division. “We have always pleaded for one Africa. The problems in Libya will have an impact on Mauritania, Niger, Mali, Sudan and Somalia, not Qatar! We want this to be taken into account.” The president of the Commission of the AU rejected the idea that the AU's voice was not being heard over Libya (calls for ceasefires, then democratic transition, when the EU is calling for Gaddafi to go before transition). “There is a convergence of views. We have explained our position in Washington, in London, in Brussels, in Rome. We are looking for a political solution to get out of crisis. And we feel that here, we have a fundamental contribution to make. We feel that there is great comprehension for what we are recommending”, he said. And at his meeting, on 31 May, with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, this was not “a vexing subject”. (A.N./transl.fl)