Brussels, 09/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - Cooperation between the European Union and Africa will be high on the Community agenda on Wednesday and Thursday in Brussels. On 10 October, there will be a meeting at the highest level with the African Heads of State at the origin of the New African Initiative, followed by an informal work meeting of the Development Council (see EUROPE of 8 and 9 October, p.10). A ministerial Europe/Africa conference will be held on 11 October. The programme of work is as follows:
Wednesday 10 October
During the morning: The President-in-Office of the European Council, Guy Verhofstadt, Council President Louis Michel, CFSP High Representative Javier Solana and European Commission President Romano Prodi will receive at the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels the Heads of State at the origin of the New African Initiative. The African leaders are the President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade, President of Algeria Abdeláziz Bouteflika, Egypt's President Osni Moubarak, as well as the President-in-Office of the OAU/OAE, President Jacob Titus Chiluba from Zambia.
The aim of the meeting is to hold an exchange of views on the initiative resulting from the summary of discussion papers from several African heads of State on the future of development on their continent (mainly the African programme for reconstruction and the Omega Plan) which had been the subject of a declaration during the first Europe/Africa Summit (Cairo, April 2000). The New African Initiative is a political commitment on the part of African leaders, based on a common vision and on the conviction that they should eradicate poverty and engage their countries along the road to growth and sustainable development while actively taking part in the world economy and politics. The action programme linked to this political, economic and social initiative aims to bring Africa out of its under-development through its natural and human resources by creating the conditions for peace and stability to promote foreign investment, while ruling out charity. The exchange of views should allow Europeans to report to the next G8, to be held in Canada in 2002.
A press conference will be held at 14h00 (conference room at the Palais d'Egmont).
During the afternoon: Eddy Boutmans, President-in-Office of the EU Development Council, convened his European counterparts to discuss the impact that the attacks of 11 September will have on the international agenda, in the knowledge that, if no-one challenges the need to prevent and combat terrorism, there is the fear that the fight against poverty, the quest for sustainable development, and intentions for the prevention and management of conflicts in developing countries will be relegated to a secondary level. The informal working meeting, organised at the Château Val Duchesse (12h30 to 17h00) will deal with the two following questions: 1) The consequences for development cooperation of the new political situation in the context, above all, of the conclusions of the extraordinary European Council of 21 September, the main objectives of the Millennium Declaration (United Nations, 18 September 2001) and the United Nations conference for development financing (Mexico, March 2002). 2) Possible consequences of the events of 11 September on humanitarian aid.
Thursday 11 October
The Europe/Africa ministerial conference will take place in Brussels at the Palais d'Egmont (9-12: 30 and 14: 30 to 17: 30 hrs), jointly chaired by Louis Michel and the Zambian Foreign Minister. Commissioners Nielson (Development/Humanitarian Aid) and Patten (External Relations) will represent the European Commission. This is the first high level political meeting between Europeans and Africans since the Summit of Heads of State in Cairo, and marks an important stage in the preparation of the next Europe/Africa Summit in Lisbon in 2003. The main objective is to review progress since Cairo in implementing the Cairo Declaration and Action Plan in eight priority areas, namely preventing and settling conflicts, including anti-personnel mines; co-operation and regional integration, Africa's integration into the world economy and international trade; the environment, combating drought and desertification; HIV/AIDS and other pandemics; food security; human rights, democracy and good governance; restitution of stolen or illicitly exported cultural artefacts; and African countries' foreign debts.