Brussels, 16/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - Preparations for the next Europe-Africa summit, which both parties hope will take place in Lisbon next December, were at the heart of the eighth EU/Africa Union troika on 15 May in Brussels, just as they were the day before during the EU/South Africa troika (EUROPE 9427). The ministers' agreement on sketching a common EU/Africa strategy will be submitted for the summit's approval. It is one of the major advances of this troika, co-chaired by Javier Solana, the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, and Ms Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Ghana's minister of foreign affairs, the country in charge of the acting presidency of the African Union (AU).
The project identifies four objectives: strengthening the EU/Africa political partnership tackling issues of joint interest; continuing with the promotion of peace, security, sustainable development, human rights and regional and continental integration in Africa; jointly tackling the main global challenges such as energy, climate change, organised crime, terrorism and organising multilateral cooperation; facilitating and promoting on a broad basis open to the largest possible number of actors, particularly civil society.
The troika has asked its experts to continue with preparations for drafting, in consultation with all actors, a joint EU/Africa strategy, which together with its initial action plan, will be submitted to Heads of State and governments. The two parties have agreed that the document outlining this strategy should be concise and embody a Euro-African consensus on values, common interests and strategic targets and include political, economic, social elements, as well as operational elements, such as an implementation monitoring mechanism.
Javier Solana informed the press that, “We agreed on a joint AU/EU strategy which will be presented in Lisbon. We have also analysed the situation in the EU and Africa for better cooperating on crisis management in the Sudan, Somalia and Kosovo. We believe in multilateralism”. The Ghana co-chair added that, “our relations are good because of historical reasons. We've had several opportunities for strengthening these links. Today, we have drawn up a balance sheet of the situation in view of the Lisbon summit. This should have taken place four or five years ago. Summit preparations are very satisfactory”. She also announced that their country would be delighted to host the next ministerial troika in Accra. In reply to a journalist, who asked whether Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe, would be invited to Lisbon, Ms Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo affirmed, “the case of Zimbabwe has to be settled…Thabo Mbeki will be the main interlocutor for getting the situation moving. I am confident. Zimbabwe does not constitute an obstacle to good EU/AU relations”. The co-chair ruled out the hypothesis of this country being represented at a level other than that of Heads of State and governments. She pointed out that this involved a summit. Solana said that the EU would support efforts made by the mediator Thabo Mbeki to find a solution. He said that he was also confident and that they thought that they would succeed, “We should not be a hostage of one or other situation. December is not tomorrow!”
Ernot Gahler, the German foreign affairs minister welcomed the qualitative leap represented by the elaboration of a joint Europe/Africa strategy, “only two years after having endorsed the EU strategy for Africa”.
Preparations for this joint strategy were presented to European development cooperation ministers on the same day by the president of the Council. Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul declared that, “a joint strategy for Africa ought to lay the basis for a strengthened partnership between Africa and Europe. Ongoing negotiations show that desire of all participants to orientate towards close long term cooperation between our two continents. An essential element of this strategy will be the energy partnership to develop renewable energies, energy efficiency and climate protection.
The exchange of views on peace and security, also allowed ministers to underline the importance of coherent and sustainable EU support for establishing the African architecture of peace and security that the African union is committed to building, a support that is clear and flexible, including that for peace keeping operations led by the Africans. In this respect, the troika said that the Peace Facility in Africa remains by far the greatest source of funding. It also welcomed the EU's commitment to bolster the EDF with €300 million for 2008-10. In an effort to enhance EU support coherency for the African architecture of peace and security, the two parties insisted on the need for the EU to support long term development capacity - including military and civilian crisis management. They were pleased with the ongoing discussions on the “EU's concept for strengthening African conflict prevention, management and resolution capacities”. (An)