Informal Council defines priorities for an integrated EU policy on Africa

Brussels, 31/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - The first informal meeting of the Development Council, chaired by Portugal's State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Luis Amado (see EUROPE of 28 January, page 9) last weekend in Lisbon, was an opportunity for an open discussion on Member States' experiences in their relations with Africa and possible arrangements for a new Europe/Africa partnership which the Portuguese Presidency hopes to set on track. The discussions took place in three panels: i) conflict prevention and management, the promotion of peace and security; ii) consolidation of the rule of law and support for democracy; iii) promotion of the political conditions for development in Africa. Ministers observed that the political and economic situation of numerous sub-Saharan African countries requires the development of an integrated approach to EU/Africa relations that takes into account the economic, political, security and development dimensions, attaching appropriate attention to the diversity of African countries. Updated by Commissioner Poul Nielson on the priorities of development cooperation in Africa beyond the year 2000, as set out in a Commission discussion paper, Ministers agreed to examine the text further. Meanwhile, they drew up a list of priorities to give effect to their ambitions:

• strengthening political dialogue between the EU and Africa;
• favouring African countries' taking responsibility for security and stability concerns as a factor of development and peace;
• promoting cooperation and integration at regional and sub-regional level;
• supporting development of the African countries' participation in conflict prevention, crisis management and peacekeeping;
• developing better comprehension of African societies and the structural causes of different conflict situations, in order to identify the appropriate approach for addressing them;
• recognising democratisation as a long-term and ongoing process, much broader than democratic elections alone, which are the expression of democracy;
• strengthening the proper functioning of state institutions and civil society as an element of democratisation;
• recognising that support for decentralisation is an essential element in improving the participation of local populations, in its different expressions;
• reiterating that the objectives of the reduction of poverty and exclusion and the promotion of development are essential for tackling the roots of instability and conflicts;
• basing efforts more on the fight against malaria and AIDS;
• strengthening the role played by the Development Council in improving the efficacy of European cooperation policy through coherence, coordination and greater complementarity, on the one hand, between Member States and the EU, and, on the other, between different European policies.

Ministers expressed the view that the EU/Africa Summit would provide an excellent opportunity for promotion of this model of partnership and expression of the common aspiration for peace, democracy and development. Organisation of the summit was not formally addressed, but the President alluded to it several times, voicing a rather pessimistic view about the possibility of it taking place on the scheduled dates of 3 and 4 April, given the differences that still exist (see above).

Also at this session, Aldo Ajello, EU Special Envoy to the Great Lakes region, presented a report on the positive discussion on 24 January in the UN Security Council on the Lusaka Peace Agreements. According to Mr Ajello, the conditions exist for giving new impetus to putting the peace process into practice. He announced in this connection a UN resolution, to be adopted in the coming days, which will authorise the deployment of 5,500 men and 500 observers to the region and he urged the EU to support the efforts of Sir Ketumile Masire, former President of Botswana, appointed by the OAU as facilitator of Congolese national dialogue.