On Tuesday 22 May, European Development Ministers will fine-tune the mandate upon which the European Union will negotiate a new partnership after the summer with 79 countries from the ACP Group (Africa/Caribbean/Pacific) that will follow on from the Cotonou agreement after 2020 and which Europeans are hoping will at least be for an equivalent period.
On this point, the ministerial meeting will be providing more of an update (see EUROPE 12020). A real decision on this negotiating mandate will not, in effect, be formally taken until the Foreign Affairs Council on 28 May on the basis of the subsequent preparatory work of the Development Council, during the Committee of Permanent Representatives to the EU (Coreper) meeting on Wednesday 23 May.
On Friday 18 May, a senior European official said that we are “close” to an agreement on the duration of the future partnership and the language to be applied to the migration question.
According to the information we have received, Germany and France reached a compromise on Thursday on the duration of the future EU/ACP partnership. Paris would like the partnership to cover an unlimited period, while Berlin is more inclined to a limited period. The compromise would propose that the partnership last 20 years with an inferred extension of five years. A midterm review of the partnership would take place in 2030 when the 2030 agenda expires.
On the migration question, Hungary is pursuing its offensive against any initiatives that are even indirectly related to the migration challenge. In the context of the post-Cotonou partnership, the Europeans are seeking a language with which the EU/ACP partnership will not have an impact on migration policies developed at a national level.
This same source indicated, “We do have a certain accomplishment, referenced documents such as the ‘European consensus for development’ and the Council conclusions. We can be confident".
ACP countries are also expected to adopt their negotiating position for the post-2020 EU/ACP partnership on 28 May.
Emergency trust fund for Africa. Ministers will examine the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa through the examination of ongoing projects and their financial requirements up until 2020.
According to a second European official, the fund has produced “positive” results in the fight against the underlying causes of migration. The source added that what now counted was to ensure “continuity”, particularly by way of guaranteeing its funding.
On Wednesday, the Commission revealed a funding deficit of €1.2 billion for the three sections (Sahel region and Lake Chad, the Horn of Africa and North Africa) in the trust fund.
Post-2020 external aid budget. The Development Council also held an exchange of views on the external action budget for the 2021-2027 period, despite the Commission having proposed at the beginning of May an envelope of €123 billion (constant prices) for funding external policy over this period, of which €89.5 billion would be for neighbourhood policies and development cooperation (see EUROPE 12015).
In addition to the streamlining of the current external funding instruments, there has also been a suggestion to include the European Development Fund in the EU budget.
The Commission will unveil its specific proposals on Thursday 14 June. Our second source also indicated that the idea is to have financial instruments that allow for “greater efficiency and coherence” and which are more geared to “the political priorities” that have been set out. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)