Brussels, 28/09/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 2 October the European Commission and the Commission of the African Union (AU), chaired by Alpha Oumar Konaré, are meeting up for a joint working session in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) at the AU's HQ. This is the third meeting between the twin institutions and the first time that ten members of the European Commission are making a collegial visit to the African continent to reinforce links with their African counterparts.
During the plenary session on partnership and institutional development, the European Commission and the African Union Commission will devise an initial major support programme for operational and institutional development of the African Union, which will have an envelope of €55 million, with implementation beginning on 1 January 2007, as well as a protocol for an agreement for organising the exchange of civil servants and students between the two institutions. The two parties will also have the opportunity of examining progress in implementation of the European Strategy for Africa adopted in December 2005 and to debate the EU/Africa partnership in the field of infrastructure, as well as the means for better managing immigration flows in the interest of the two continents. Many other themes, such as trade and development, security and development, EU support for the African Union mission in Darfur, the environment and development, avian flu, will be tackled during bilateral Commissioner to Commissioner meetings when they share the same portfolio.
The European Commission will be represented by its President José Manuel Barroso, its three vice- Presidents Margot Wallström (Institutional Relations and communications) , Franco Frattini (Justice, freedom and security) and Siim Kallas (Administration), Commissioners Louis Michel (Development and Humanitarian Aid), Peter Mandelson (Trade), Dalia Grybauskaité (Budget), Janez Potocnik (Research), Markos Kyprianou (Health and Consumer Protection), Laszlo Kovacs (Taxation), Vladimir Spidla (Employment and Social Affairs) and Andris Piebalgs (Energy).