Brussels, 03/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - The EU plans to allocate €7.5 billion to development cooperation over the period 2014-2020 with the countries of eastern and southern Africa and the Indian Ocean. European Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs made this announcement on Tuesday 3 December during a seminar on the planning of aid for the sub-region of the group of ACP States, with which the EU is laboriously negotiating an economic partnership agreement (EPA).
The €7.5 billion in aid will be financed by the European Development Fund (11th EDF). For now this constitutes an indicative amount requiring the formal agreement of the budgetary authority. The seminar in question has allowed a first discussion to be held on the priorities of regional and bilateral financing with the partner countries, which are all Cotonou agreement signatories. “There are many challenges to be tackled in this region, in areas like energy, infrastructure development and related to food crises that are caused by drought. Together, we can successfully work towards eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development”, the commissioner said.
Discussion has taken place with the ministers of each of the countries concerned (South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Swaziland, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and the representatives of the five African regional organisations concerned (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa - COMESA, East African Community - EAC, Intergovernmental Authority on Development - IGAD, Indian Ocean Commission - IOC, and the Southern African Development Community - SADC).
For 2013, the commissioner has announced a regional allocation of €130 million within the current financial framework (2007-2013). The funds will finance support for trade, regional integration, infrastructure, sustainable fisheries and resilience of islands. The construction of two one-stop inspection stations on the East African Community's Central Corridor will simplify border controls and shorten waiting times for trucks, and improving the sustainability of the fisheries sector in the western Indian Ocean is another area the EU will support.
The fragmentation of the economic area, the lack of infrastructure for development and a weak industrial base, combined with low levels of competitiveness, are hindering the regional integration process and the possible “take-off” of the region. During the past 20 years, the countries of the region have for the most part undertaken a process of democratisation and macro-economic stability but the questions of governance, peace and security are challenges still to be addressed. (AN/transl.jl)