Brussels, 27/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - As part of the contribution to the second EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon next December, the European Commission will on Wednesday present initiatives as part of the long term shared vision of the EU and Africa.
The communication is entitled “From Cairo to Lisbon - the new EU-Africa partnership in a globalised world” and was adopted to this end by the College. It provides a low-down on EU-Africa relations since the 200 Cairo summit. It also formulates key proposals for elaborating the agenda at Lisbon and proposes concrete action in this new strategic partnership, which will be implemented in 2008.
Louis Michel, European Commissioner for development emphasised that, “the emergence of a genuine strategic partnership between our two continents is a priority for the EU. It will help us to define joint answers to our common challenges and to Africa's development needs." He also said “the Lisbon Summit will offer the best opportunity to demonstrate that Europeans stand ready to launch audacious initiatives and to reaffirm our commitments towards Africa"..
In practice the Commission will in Lisbon be proposing five initiatives: EU-Africa Partnership on Energy; EU-Africa Partnership on Climate Change; EU-Africa Partnership on Migration, Mobility and Employment; EU-Africa Partnership on Democratic Governance and EU-Africa political and institutional architecture.
This proposal translates the Commission's conviction that the common EU/Africa strategy should plan the longer term future of relations between the two continents beyond the traditional donor/beneficiary aid relationship and prepare the groundwork for a partnership that is fully adapted to new economic, social and political realities on the two continents and the international environment in which they are operating.
The Joint Strategy aims to be much more than the EU-Africa partnership, launched last year and for which the European trust fund for infrastructure in Africa was set up. It aims to: go beyond development cooperation by opening up the EU-Africa dialogue to issues of joint concern and interest; move away from a focus on Africa matters only and openly address European and issues of global concern and to act accordingly in the relevant fora to make globalisation work for all; supersede fragmentation in supporting Africa's aspirations to find regional and continental responses to some of the most important challenges; go further than institutions in ensuring a better participation of African and European citizens, as part of an overall strengthening of civil society in the two continents.
The main orientations in the joint EU/Africa strategy were approved by the eighth EU/Africa troika on 15 May (EUROPE 9428). The most recent European Council confirmed on 23 June that the strategy will be adopted by the Lisbon summit in December (EUROPE 9452). (an)