Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-07-06-Speech-3-041"
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"Mr President, Mr President-in-Office, ladies and gentlemen, when I requested the development and humanitarian aid portfolio, I knew that Africa would be at the heart of my actions and my commitment.
At the same time, I think it is useful to stress that this construction will not stand up by itself. The house of the African Union must be built on solid regional building blocks. There will be no continental integration without regional organisation that is strong, ambitious and recognised. An ambitious political partnership between the European Union and the African Union is, therefore, more necessary than ever before. On what should this marriage be based? I do not have an exhaustive answer, but, nonetheless, I shall confine myself to suggesting four avenues that we might explore together. As you are aware, at the end of the year I will be tabling not only a statement on development, an updating of development policy that we will, of course, have debated and that we will debate together, but also a proper master plan for Africa.
The first axis is governance. No one disagrees, of course, that governance is of prime importance. It has been said that Africa is not poor; it is, unfortunately, badly governed. Africa, however, is starting to move. Efforts to improve governance are being made at various different levels. Over the last five years more than two thirds of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa have held multiparty elections, some freer and fairer than others, and several changes of government have taken place democratically and peacefully: only very recently there were elections in Burundi. I hope that we will also see significant progress in March in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I also wish to remind you that 23 African countries have ratified the Statute creating the International Criminal Court. It is worth noting this when certain Western democratic powers still have not done so. The most striking fact of recent years is that Africa itself has given itself a vision, a mission and principles. As regards governance, this fact integrated by the institution of the African Union and reflected by the vision of NEPAD constitutes a break with the past and the practices of the past. This vision and these principles have not remained purely declarations of intent, because the African peer review mechanism henceforth gives Africa a unique tool for the support of Africans by Africans. This mechanism deserves our full support.
The second axis is infrastructure and networks. We all agree that without trans-African networks, without infrastructure, no development will be possible. The European Union itself is proof of that. The European Union has demonstrated the relevance of this fact. It is vital to intensify current efforts to improve and to ensure the durability of the infrastructure networks, both to accelerate growth and to promote trade. That is why the Commission proposes to develop a plan for a Europe-Africa partnership on infrastructure and networks. Through this partnership we shall support the development of trans-African networks which are essential for interconnectivity and the dissemination of knowledge across the continent, trans-European telecommunications networks, railways, airlines and infrastructure for improving access, which is also very important: ports, airports, navigable waterways, everything relating to energy and water.
In parallel with this partnership on infrastructure, we shall have to break new ground in terms of financing mechanisms, based on the participation of the private sector and other sponsors. I shall return to that when I make my statement on the EDF in a few months’ time.
The third axis is, obviously, trade. All those involved recognise the central role of trade in economic growth. Africa’s share in global exports has fallen by almost 60%, which corresponds to a loss of USD 70 billion a year, that is the equivalent of 21% of the region’s GDP, more than five times the USD 13 billion that come into Africa every year in development aid. Clearly we have to reverse this trend. As you know, we are currently negotiating economic partnership agreements with six regions, four of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. Peter Mandelson, the Commissioner for Trade, is negotiating these agreements. There is no doubt that this is the most ambitious trade process ever negotiated between the North and the South. For the first time the European Union is providing financial support to its partners’ negotiation teams. For the first time trade agreements are being negotiated with the development of our partners as the sole objective. For the first time these agreements are based on, and for, the regional integration of our partners and, for the first time, our financial and technical cooperation can be used for reform, budgetary support, action to improve the capacity for supply growth, and the building of an attractive environment for investment and trade.
Finally, the last axis is culture. Culture is a key dimension of development which, in my opinion, has hitherto been forgotten all too often. It is, however, vital. Culture is the soul and the expression of a people. It determines the way a society functions and therefore also its economic structure. That is why it seems to me that taking into account the particular societal and cultural identity of Africa is the only way in which we can ensure that our development aid is rooted in the reality on the ground and boost its effectiveness.
I shall conclude, Mr President, by raising a number of questions, which it would be desirable to debate. I have heard talk of sanctions. I feel that sanctions are only right when they affect the people responsible. By contrast, I do not believe in sanctions when they affect the general population directly or indirectly. It would be useful to open this debate.
I think we also need to discuss the famous question of ownership or appropriation. How best can we ensure that the people themselves take charge of their destiny and their development? Appropriation goes hand in hand with the principle of sustainability. How can we ensure that the programmes and projects underway continue to have an impact once the outside operators leave the area? There is also the question of choice or whether the priority should be given to budgetary aid, and under what conditions, rather than to aid through projects. This question will, no doubt, form the subject of a debate at the end of the year, along with consistency and coordination.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I have rapidly sketched out the framework within which we can bring answers to a subject as vast and as important as the one that you have put on the agenda. We shall, of course, have the opportunity to return to these questions before the end of the year in the context of the new policy and in the context of this focus on Africa. For my part I should like to express to you my optimism. I am optimistic firstly because a certain number of propitious circumstances have coincided. There is the fact that the British Presidency has put Africa right at the very top of the European Union’s agenda, and right at the top of the G8’s agenda, and the fact that a strong consensus is now emerging that we shall not achieve the Millennium Goals globally or individually unless we make a huge effort on Africa and quickly. I would say that we must do more, we must do it better and we must do it more quickly. As far as we are concerned, we shall do our best. I have no doubt that the European Parliament will be the watchful guardian of these promises.
My commitment is stimulated by feelings of indignation and of urgency: to this day, Africa remains cut off from the world, on the fringes of our consciences and isolated from the benefits of globalisation.
My commitment also springs from a recognition that the context has changed and that we now have the opportunity, undoubtedly a unique opportunity, to make Africa a more prosperous, more stable and better governed continent. In this context Europe can and must make a difference, given that it is now possible to create conditions favourable to the eradication of poverty and that there is no longer any excuse for not doing so.
Africa has changed. The Africans themselves have decided to turn their backs on fate and to take their destiny into their own hands. The energetic and impressive action of the African Union in Darfur, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire, for example, has given a new dimension to the principle that African solutions must be found to African crises. This action, based on robust regional organisations, opens up hitherto unhoped-for prospects for peace, stability and security. Furthermore, the African Union is supported by a strong leadership which is now sketching out a promising vision.
If Africa has changed, Europe too has changed. Increasingly Europe is establishing itself as the spokesman for a world that has a greater sense of solidarity and fairness and for a system that is more multilateral. This year, 2005, the year of development, Europe must make its voice heard as the world’s biggest donor of development aid and as such it can push the international community to take tangible, voluntary action, thereby preventing the Millennium Development Goals from soon becoming synonymous with broken promises. I am also very pleased to note that the European Council – as has just been stated – has followed the Commission’s proposal, which will indeed make it possible to double public development aid by 2015 and to double aid to Africa by 2010.
Finally, the world has changed. The events of recent years have shown us the extent to which the existence of failing states can be a source of instability and can create safe havens for terrorists and criminals. The intensification of globalisation at all levels also makes an intensification of solidarity indispensable. I now see development policy as the key tool for putting a human face on globalisation. In any case, I see no better one. Globalisation has the specific characteristic that it is not born, as some would have us believe, out of a political decision made hidden away in some dark corner. Globalisation has not really been orchestrated; it is a spontaneous process, welcomed by some, feared by others, but over which, and this is the trouble, no authority, be it national or international, has direct control. I am, of course, one of those who believe that it has much to contribute and that, in any case, it offers more advantages than drawbacks.
We must respond, of course, to the intensification of globalisation at all levels with an intensification of solidarity at all levels. After all, what can globalisation mean for people who have no access to water, for young people who have no access to education, for children who are dying from diseases that we could treat. Even if there are some who dream of a return to models which, sadly, smack of déjà vu, I believe that it would be wrong to think that people do not want globalisation or that they want to turn back the clock. What we want, as Europeans, is globalisation that benefits everybody, that is a positive lever for the whole of humanity, without exception. In this context, nothing is more urgent than ensuring that globalisation can function in Africa and for Africa.
Admittedly, in this context market liberalisation is only beneficial when the State has the ability to enact rules to curb abuses and to promote the common interest. As you know, to benefit from the opportunities offered by globalisation, governments must guarantee a macroeconomic framework. They must also create effective and predictable conditions for this macroeconomic framework and must obviously also ensure governance within a framework that fosters economic activity. They must also encourage and support a watchful civil society that guarantees fair and balanced redistribution of wealth and other services, such as, for example, access to justice, administration, health and education. From this point of view, and particularly for Africa, I believe that special efforts need to be focused on promoting equality between men and women.
For all these reasons, I believe that it would be useful to set out a common European strategy, not only for development but also for Africa, a strategy that is capable of responding to the new geopolitical order in Africa, a strategy that we want to draw up with our African partners in order to build on this new impetus at global level. It has been said that the African Union has very quickly become a key political negotiator and a veritable driving force for change for the continent."@en1
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