Brussels, 05/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - Invited to the African Union summit held in Sirte (Libya), José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and Louis Michel, European Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, delivered to African leaders on Monday a message of strengthened solidarity and hope, proposing the creation of a new Euro-Africa Pact (EUROPE 8982). The day before the opening of the G8 Summit (Gleneagles, 6-8 July), which places Africa at the top of the agenda, the European Commission revealed the broad lines of the initiative for Africa that it is preparing to give substance to the EU's ambition, endorsed at the highest level at the European Council of 16 and 17 June in the aim of making Africa a priority and allocating at least half of the additional Official Development Aid (ODA) resources to the African continent. ODA results from the commitment taken by the EU to increase this funding to 0.56% of Community GDP in 2010 (i.e. 20 billion more annually) to reach 0.7% in 2015 (45 billion more annually). The hope placed in the success of the future pact is all the greater as the African Union and NEPAD, the African initiative for the development of Africa, offer the continent “a new vision, a mission and a strategy”, José Manuel Barroso stressed, adding that “regional integration has transformed - is transforming - the face of both Africa and Europe”. The time has come, he said, to change dialogue into action, and to finally allow the Europe-Africa Lisbon Summit to be held.
“Today, Africa looks into the future with more confidence and optimism than ever before. (…) Today, we can, we must, do more to put in place a new and solid political partnership between an enlarged Europe and a re-emerging Africa”. In the autumn of this year, the Commission will therefore put forward a comprehensive and long-term strategy for Africa. This strategy will be discussed with the African Union and the sub-regional organisations and will provide a solid basis for a new Euro-Africa Pact. Barroso went on to say the Pact “should reassess the principles and values that govern our relationship. Equality, true ownership and dialogue should replace guilt or charity as the determining features of our partnership” (…) Europe has much more to offer than development assistance”.
José Manuel Barroso went on to cite governance, interconnection and trade as the three areas in which Europe and Africa should work together more. When it comes to governance, the president assured Africa which is “resolutely committed to the road of democracy” of the European Commission's unconditional support and the availability of the necessary financial means to help implement the recommendations of the assessment mechanism by AU peers. On the subject of trade, the president recalled that, for each dollar in aid received by sub-Saharan Africa between 1980 and 2002, half was lost due to the deterioration in the terms of trade. He assured the African leaders of the Commission's support in helping their countries to take advantage of access to the European market without tariffs or quotas, aid to trade and economic partnership agreements being negotiated between the EU and integrated regional entities of Africa. He said one can count on the European Commission being available and committed to implementing an ambitious programme with the countries concerned allowing conditions to be created so that the process is a success. The Commissioners responsible for development and trade are already working together to optimise these effects, he said. On the subject of interconnection, Mr Barroso announced the creation of a complete multi-annual plan for the infrastructures in Africa.
Commissioners Louis Michel stressed that the interconnection of networks in Africa will be a key element of the strategy as “there can be no economic integration without physical interconnection”. He stressed the obvious need to establish a specific partnership for infrastructure in Africa, based on ambitious trans-African networks covering the roads, railway, airports, energy and water as well as information and telecommunications technologies (ICT), to give decisive impetus to Africa and to its integration in the world economy.