Cairo, 04/04/2000 (Agence Europe) - The first "summit" of the heads of state and government of the EU and the whole of Africa was to end during the evening with the adoption of a joint document called the "Cairo Declaration". During the evening, however, it was not to be ruled out that discussion might be resumed before the end of the meeting on some aspects. The "Cairo Declaration" must show the determination to make this summit the point of departure for a common effort in order to avoid dramatic marginalisation of the continent which includes the large majority of the poor countries of this planet. Its share in world trade tends to be falling considerably and all effort is annihilated under the weight of a debt estimated at $350 billion.
All African speeches focused on the matter of the debt. But, on the European side, it was felt that the meeting in Cairo must not be presented as a "debt summit". According to the spokesperson for Mr Nielson, it is a crucial theme that the EU deals with in various meetings and mainly with the ACP and it was "indeed important to speak of it for the first time between heads of state". But there was also discussion on political aspects: human rights, democracy and good governance. According to Mr Nielson, the summit generally speaking went well and "better than expected" and allowed a "detailed exchange of views" on all issues. Far from the general scepticism which affects this kind of meeting, the "summit" may be seen as a trigger for global understanding that is not only diplomatic but also valid in the economic fields, with the WTO in the fore. This is beginning, modestly, with the finalisation of a common "code of conduct", in this case the "Cairo Declaration", of the same kind as the Barcelona declaration for Euro-Mediterranean partnership.
The Fifteen at any rate went there in their numbers: a head of state (Mr Chirac) and twelve heads of government as well as two foreign ministers (Great Britain and Greece). On the African side, nearly all the leaders of the African continent were present except those for Somalia and Rwanda. In the Senegalese delegation, the new head of state, who has only just been invested, made, according to one European diplomat, an "elegant and democratic gesture" by delegating his predecessor, Abdou Diouf, to the "summit". The UN secretary general, the only observer invited, sent a representative in his place.
In an "original solution" on the debt, there will be no development
President Moubarak had set the tone from the beginning: like nearly all the African speakers after him, he insisted on the question of the debt. Various countries of the African continent "have crossed major stages towards setting up a propitious environment" after committing themselves to reform and modernisation programmes for their infrastructures and in their sub-regional integration policies. This, he believes, opens the road to a sort of "infernal spiral". He considers that development is a "leading African responsibility" but the best of efforts have not allowed economic and commercial marginalisation and financial contributions (private and public investment) to be avoided, while prices of imported goods have increased: "under these unfavourable external conditions, the African debt crisis has aggravated into unprecedented dimensions while existing mechanisms proved to be either extremely slack or short of easing its burdens".
He called on Africans and Europeans to seek "unconventional solutions" together and recalled that the Algerian and South African presidents received from the OAU summit in 1999 the mandate to consider, with creditor countries, the way to extract themselves from such a situation. Mr Moubarak stressed that the African countries have adopted the prospect of accelerating the "African Economic Community" project, a "parliament for the whole of Africa", and that of making the year 2000 the "year of peace" and promotion of democracy. In his view, the future of the continent must rest on a virtuous triangle of "democracy, development and stability". This confirms the decisions already taken at the recent OAU "summit" in Algiers against terrorism and in 1995 in Cairo, of a African conflict prevention mechanism, and in 1996 a consensus to make of Africa a "nuclear-weapons-free-zone. We want to broaden that to the Middle East," he added, taking up a subject close to his country, and observing that "this also concerns security in Europe".
After him, the President-in-Office of the OAU, the head of the Algerian delegation, stressed the quality and importance of the link between Africa and Europe. The EU is "a new pole which Africa is addressing today. It is doing so with all the more hope as it considers that it is in Europe that it is most likely to encounter most understanding".
Africa has become aware of its delays in development, as well as "the immense shortcomings that it has regarding the rule of law (..) In its immense majority, Africa regards this to be intolerable and is trying to limit it and does not fear speaking about it. But maybe it finds difficulty in being summarily judged, without consideration for the progress, unequally rapid but certain, it has achieved". To that is added the difficulty of combating corruption "when that has relays, facilities and incitements even in developed countries". Mr. Bouteflika, of Algerian stock, is said to intend to plead in favour of common action against the illegal transfer to Europe of African assets and the return of such funds.
Prodi: placing "Africa at the centre of Union policies"
The President of the Commission spoke of his European intention of "placing cooperation with Africa at the centre of Union policies" causing surprise among the delegations of some Member States. "By organising this summit, we have wanted to show that relations between Europe and Africa, already so rich, must today come within a new strategic framework". The Partnership Agreements (Mediterranean and ACP) "are a partial but ambitious response". He urges African countries to "say what their needs and priorities are (…) the Commission is ready to listen to you" and prepared "to offer its experience of integration".
Straight after the opening session, Monday evening, the Heads of Government began their discussions focused around three pre-agreed subjects: economic and social aspects (with the participation of Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden), political aspects (Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece and the United Kingdom), and Tuesday morning issues of development (Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain). After the succession of speeches, we can mention two announcements, one by Chancellor Schroeder of a slight easing of the debt of 30 of the least developed countries for a total of DM 700 million, the other by President Chirac who proposed canceling to the tune of 100% (instead of the 90% announced at the G-7 in Cologne in July 1999) of the debt of the LACs. The King of Morocco, Mohamed IV, also referred to "the cancellation of all the debts of the least advanced African countries vis-a-vis the Kingdom and lifted all custom barriers imposed on products imported from these countries". Several other European speakers spoke of their will to speed up implementation of the international initiative of easing the debts of the LACs.