SP(2006)0311

SP(2005)5015

2701

The Council held an exchange of views on preparation of an EU strategy for Africa to be endorsed by the European Council at its meeting in December. The President noted consensus on the following issues:

- The need to increase support for peace and security, including through the long-term replenishment of the EU’s African peace facility.

- The importance of good governance.

- The importance of trade and regional integration for growth.

- The establishment of an EU-Africa infrastructure facility.

- Strengthened assistance in the fight against AIDS.

- Increased aid funding to health, services and education through the European Development Fund.

- The importance of African ownership in the context of the strategy.

- The importance of implementation and delivery and the need for continuing oversight by the European Council.

The Council prepared a comprehensive strategy, based on shared values, covering all of the African countries, whilst taking account of the country specific needs as, inter alia , defined in national poverty reduction strategies, the promotion of peace and security, sustainable economic growth through the Millennium Development Goals and the Millennium Declaration. In its other Conclusions, the Council noted the reports of the UN Millennium Project and the Commission for Africa and other recent international commitments to Africa including those made at the G8 Gleneagles Summit. In addition, the Council called for a strategy, which enhances African ownership and mutual accountability, working through African institutions and civil society. To support the agreed strategy, the Council will:

- Broaden and invigorate the EU-AU political dialogue and co-operation in the field of peace and security.

- Exploit, develop and refine CFSP and ESDP instruments and activities and deploying EU-led civilian, military or joint civilian/military missions in support of UN or AU crisis management objectives

- Provide and review support for the AU, sub-regional organisations and national governments in strengthening their early warning, mediation, analytical and operational capacity. Support for this objective will include securing long-term funding for the Africa Peace Facility, offering technical and logistical support on a broad training agenda covering both civilian and military aspects, supporting regional dialogue and reconciliation and supporting measures designed to protect people against genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

- Address the illicit flow of weapons and their financing. The EU will seek to encourage third States to associated themselves with the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports, support border management controls, develop mechanisms to exploit information on illegal trafficking and support the early establishment of an international treaty to establish common standards for the global trade in conventional arms.

- Address conflict resources, to help ensure that Africa’s timber, water, diamonds, oil and other minerals foster peace and prosperity, not war and suffering and sustain the Kimberly process.

- Enhance conflict prevention in a bid to stop conflicts from starting.

- Improve and engage in post conflict reconstruction – so wars do not restart once they have ended through an effective UN Peace Building Commission.

- Support coherent regional and national strategies for Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR).

- Encourage the application of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security through guaranteeing that gender is taken into account on issues relating to conflict.

- Addressing the impact of armed conflict on children.

- Supporting African efforts to fight terrorism through the provision of technical assistance and enhanced information sharing.

- Address the matters relating to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

- Reinforce the EU’s support for the promotion and protection of human rights and the need for democracy, good governance and the rule of law.

- Support and strengthen the African Union, sub-regional organisations and countries.

- Promote governance through support of African efforts and co-ordination with other donor efforts.

- Support the building of effective and credible central institutions, including the police and judiciary and national parliaments.

- Support the rule of law and combat impunity, inter alia , through the International Criminal Court.

- Encourage the use of the Public Financial Management (PFM).

- Ensure early ratification of the UN Convention against Corruption and full implementation of relevant OECD agreements, especially concerning the combating of bribery and tackling corruption.

- Help enhance government in the exploitation of natural resources.

- Encourage the further development of transparent and participatory democracy.

- Support national and regional strategies for growth and poverty reduction that enhance macro-economic stability, encourage private investment and promote economic growth for all.

- Support African initiatives to improve the investment climate and business opportunities that help create wealth.

- Facilitate a better connected Africa through the development of an EU-Africa Infrastructure Partnership in co-ordination with other donors. The Partnership should encompass existing EU and African initiatives in the fields of water and sanitation, energy and ICT, including addressing the digital divide.

- Press for an ambitious and balanced outcome to the Doha Development Agenda, which combines progressive trade liberalisation with stronger multi-lateral rules, ensures special differential treatment for LDC and addresses the issue of preference erosion, in ways that maximise development gains and Africa’s integration in to the multilateral trading system and thus contribute to the MDGs.

- Support the negotiation of Economic Partnership Agreements as development instruments designed to improve access to European markets, help APC countries integrate into world markets and help support the progressive building-up of the EUROMED Free Trade Area.

- Commit to an ambitious negotiating outcome of the EPAs with a perspective of substantial improvements in access for ACP products to EU markets and support the objectives of asymmetry and flexibility particularly as regards transition periods and safeguard measures. The EU will assist African countries to comply with rules and standards and reduce non-tariff barriers to trade and aim to simplify rules of origin and render them more development friendly.

- Continue help African LDCs take advantage of the “Everything but Arms” initiative.

Results of vote in Parliament

Debate in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report drafted by Maria MARTENS (EPP-ED, NL) on a development strategy for Africa. (Please see the document of 24/100/2005.) Parliament stated that in order to promote sustainable development, African governments themselves bear the primary responsibility for good governance, the fight against corruption, and investment in poverty reduction in their countries. The principle of African ownership is essential in EU-Africa relations, but needs a different approach in well-performing and in fragile States. An Africa strategy should be geared towards economic progress for the whole continent, but the majority of African States is fragile and suffer from structural instability, and will therefore neither attract investment nor develop a private sector. The Africa strategy should have a special approach to the needs of fragile states in order to avoid their further lapsing into poverty and violence and consequently destabilising their neighbours,

Principles and institutions: Parliament stressed that the EU needs to develop a differentiated approach, distinguishing between cooperation partnerships in political, social and economic stability for well-performing States and partnerships towards such structural stability for fragile States. The EU should approach well-performing States as equal partners in a relationship based on full ownership, to enable them to maximise efforts in achieving the MDGs (e.g. through budget and sector support). In contrast, fragile States must be approached in a relationship based on a level of ownership and using policy instruments compatible with the prevailing circumstances. Budget aid, especially in fragile States, must carefully be assessed on a case-by-case basis so as not to favour military expenditure, thus prolonging conflicts.

Parliament emphasised that an integrated EU strategy for Africa must also address the lack of coherence between other policy areas and development policy, and indicate how other policy areas can contribute (both in terms of policy setting and in terms of financing) to the implementation of the strategic development plan, aimed at poverty eradication, for the continent. Addressing the lack of coherence should also include addressing issues such as export subsidies, tied aid, debt burden, export credits and commercial use of food aid.

There must be increased coordination of European aid between national and EU-level strategies and actions, but also between Member States themselves, to avoid aid fragmentation and duplication, and to enable the EU to assume the global leadership role it ought to play in the fight against poverty.

Parliament called on the Commission to support fully the drive for harmonization amongst donors, according to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness of 2 March 2005 by the OECD/DAC.

Good governance and capacity building: Parliament stressed the overall needs for capacity building, especially in the fields of administration, healthcare, education, economics and democratisation, in the public as well as in the private sector. It underlined the crucial role of women in agriculture, health care and education on the way towards achievement of sustainable development. Women must be involved at all stages of not only development policy but in all political decision-making processes, including planning and assessment. Parliament recalled that respect for human rights by countries in receipt of EU development funds is essential. It urged the EU players involved in development assistance, while drawing up and monitoring projects funded or co-funded by the EU, to consider the progress - or the lack of progress - made with regard to human rights by such countries.

Finally, the EU must work towards a democratisation of international institutions in order to achieve a stronger representation of developing countries' interests, with particular reference to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization.

Social infrastructure: T he availability and affordability of basic health care services is an absolute condition for the successful implementation of health policies in Africa. Parliament stressed therefore the need for national African health programmes to focus on basic healthcare (both curative and preventive), availability of safe water, sanitation and sexual and reproductive health. The Commission is urged to ensure that the EU is at the forefront of efforts to ensure that basic education is free and compulsory. This must be combined with substantial new resources and more targeted spending of existing resources. The Commission should spend at least 20 % of the development funds it allocates to Africa on basic health and basic education. Parliament considered that investing in girls' education is the most effective development strategy since educated girls generate smaller and healthier families, leading to increased productivity and poverty reduction.

Economic growth: Parliament u rged that full account be taken of the fact that most African countries are heavily dependent on primary commodities, which are particularly vulnerable to price fluctuation and tariff escalation. It emphasised the importance of diversification, the development of processing industries and small and medium-sized enterprises.

A stable and predictable investment climate – through respect for the law, for property rights and for rules concerning intellectual property – is important to achieve sustained foreign financial inflows and thus create jobs, reduce the "brain drain" and create an environment conducive to stable economic growth. Parliament underlined the importance of micro-finance to build a strong middle class to sustain economic growth.

Moving on to the WTO Doha Round, Parliament stated that this must contribute positively to developing countries, in particular in Africa. This includes applying Special and Differential Treatment to developing countries and abolishing all trade-distorting agricultural subsidies.

On the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), Parliament felt that this has the potential to promote economic growth in Africa. However, it called on the Commission to address concerns with regard to the lack of accompanying measures for compensation for tariff losses, support for capacity-building, technical assistance, and the continuation of non-reciprocity in market access. The Commission must also actually deliver figures on the financing of accompanying measures and strengthen technical assistance to allow a better outcome.

Parliament welcomed the renewed commitment on granting 100% debt relief to 18 of the poorest and most heavily indebted countries made at the meeting of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and African Development Bank. It called for the expansion of debt relief commitments to those governments which respect human rights and the principle of good governance, and prioritise poverty eradication on the basis of MDG-needs.

Peace and security: Parliament called on the Commission to develop a comprehensive approach to conflict prevention and reconstruction as an integral part of partnerships towards structural stability for fragile States. It underlined the importance of regional bodies in providing a ground for maintaining a peaceful environment. The Africa Peace Facility, created in 2003 by the AU Heads of State at the Maputo Summit, needed to be strengthened. Parliament encouraged other civilian mechanisms to contribute to conflict prevention, resolution and management in Africa, with increased EU funding. Development policy is one of several tools for addressing the root causes of insecurity but it should not be subordinated to security policy.

Environment/natural resources: Parliament welcomed recent Commission commitments - long overdue - to go from word to deed in regard to environment mainstreaming, and to put strategies for the promotion of sustainable development high on its agenda.

Implementation: Parliament r equested the Commission to combine its strategy for Africa with a detailed implementation action plan with a clear timeline, a detailed indication of the means and financial resources to be mobilised (including financial commitments by the Member States), an indication of the different levels of intervention (local, national, regional, pan-African) and their respective roles, and an indication of a genuine joint monitoring mechanism to assess progress (involving Parliament and the AU). This implementation plan must cover all of Africa, including north Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa , for which at present separate regulations and agreements exist.

Finally, Parliament expressed disappointment at the lack of ambition of the proposed financial framework: the Commission only envisaged the possibility of mobilizing increased financial resources for the "post-9th EDF period" and did not discuss the possibility of using debt relief as a means for mobilizing additional financial resources for the MDGs.

T6-0445/2005

A6-0318/2005

A6-0318/2005

PE364.665

The committee adopted the report by Maria MARTENS (EPP-ED, NL) on a development strategy for Africa . It began by pointing out that the EU was by far the largest donor in Africa , but was lacking the necessary leadership and vision to build a coherent approach. An integrated EU strategy for Africa must address the lack of coherence between other policy areas and development policy, including issues such as export subsidies, tied aid, debt burden, export credit and commercial use of food aid. The report called for increased coordination of European aid, between national and EU-level strategies and actions, but also between Member States themselves, to avoid aid fragmentation and duplication, and to enable the EU to assume the global leadership role it ought to play in the fight against poverty. And MEPs reiterated their longstanding demand for budgetisation of the European Development Fund.

On good governance and capacity building, MEPs highlighted the overall needs for capacity building, especially in the fields of administration, healthcare, education, economics and democratisation, in the public as well as in the private sector.

The committee also stressed that the EU must implement "concrete policies and programming" aimed at reducing the spread of HIV-AIDS and its impact on children, their families and the communities they live in, as the impact of HIV/AIDS was threatening to undercut the development gains in most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The report stressed that a successful conclusion of the WTO Doha Round must contribute positively to developing countries, in particular in Africa . It said that this included applying Special and Differential Treatment to developing countries and abolishing all trade-distorting agricultural subsidies.

The committee also welcomed the EU Member States' commitment to the target of increasing development aid to 0.7% of GDP by 2015 and called for "a continued investigation into innovative sources of finance which could provide much-needed funds beyond 0.7". It also welcomed the renewed commitment on granting 100% debt relief to 18 of the poorest and most heavily indebted countries made at the meeting of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and African Development Bank.

Lastly, the report stressed the importance of the education of girls and women for improving health, and said that "investing in girls' education is the most effective development strategy", since educated girls generate smaller and healthier families, leading to increased productivity and poverty reduction.

PE362.573

PE364.672