Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-24-Speech-3-342"
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".
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I would first like to congratulate and thank Mrs Martens for her most excellent report, which raises various issues and offers a number of useful leads, and which certainly provides us with a source of inspiration as Parliament’s contribution to what is in fact an extremely important subject, and one that calls for a new approach in the area of EU-Africa relations.
My last reference is to something that the President-in-Office of the Council also highlighted: there is no denying the importance of the EU-Africa Summit. It is now time to hold such an event because the momentum is there, and it is for a change in objectives. In some respects it is for a change in the nature of the relations between our two continents. We need to leave behind the traditional – we might even say banal – relationship, this fairly archaic partnership of beneficiary and donor, or donor and beneficiary, and move on to a much more political association involving two partners with equal rights and responsibilities. In my view this is clearly much more important. So that is it for now, and I am sure that I will be returning to some of these points when you have had the opportunity to put questions of a more specific nature to me.
As you all know, 2007 will be a special year for the future of relations between Europe and Africa. Five years after the report on the Lisbon Summit of 2003, and no less than seven years after the first Africa-Europe Summit that was held in Cairo in 2000, it seems to me that we urgently need to redefine this relationship on a new basis. Africa has changed profoundly in recent years and has acquired a continental institutional architecture that resembles our own in many respects. The new institution that is the African Union now needs to be strengthened and consolidated. This institution has developed ambitious continental policies in key areas such as socio-economic development, peace and security, and indeed good governance too, and all these elements clearly deserve our support and recognition.
Africa has now undeniably taken on an international dimension. Here I am thinking of the diverse nature of its relations with the international community, as mentioned by Mrs Martens, and I am thinking about the new role that China is playing, for example, and its influence on investment projects in that continent. I am also thinking, of course, of the global challenges that Africa, like all the other world players, has to face, namely climate change, energy supply, reform of multilateral institutions, the risk of pandemics, emigration and so on, and it is evident that Africa must make itself heard, must bring its influence to bear and, above all, must assert its rights. For after all, these global challenges that I have just listed are ours too. All these challenges and issues are common to us both and, what is more, they serve to highlight the interdependence that exists between Europe and Africa. For we share the same destiny.
A joint strategy of a more political nature may make a difference to Africa and indeed to Europe too, and it has to be said to the rest of the world. The two continents therefore urgently need to establish a new framework and acquire a new set of instruments in order to place the EU-AU dialogue on a much higher level. The Joint EU-Africa Strategy that we have developed in recent months with our African partners should provide this framework. However, this does not mean that we turn our backs on the traditional relationship of solidarity. Instead we need to take a qualitative leap that will usher EU-Africa relations into a new era, one that brings together two partners with equal rights and equal responsibilities.
These are the concerns that have been very well documented in the report and I can only support the significant new ideas that Parliament has put forward for monitoring and supporting the implementation of this strategy and the action plans that will follow from it. In this regard I view the setting up of a joint EP/PAP (Pan-African Parliament) delegation as crucial for completing the institutional architecture that will have to be put in place. To this I would add the regular meetings that will have to be held between the Presidents of these two institutions, together with the joint organisation of hearings and the preparation, also on a joint basis, of political reports detailing the progress that has been achieved. All this will be essential to maintain the momentum of the process and to give it the political vigour that it will need to succeed.
We are aware that this approach also calls for solid and stable institutions to be set up by the African Union, bodies that will be capable of acting and interacting with our own. It is clearly with this in mind that we shall continue to support the African Union as it transforms and strengthens its institutions. As an early confirmation of this commitment I am pleased to be able to announce that the first action plan put forward by the Pan-African Parliament will be funded to the tune of EUR 275 000 from the institutional support programme, which is currently financed by the ninth European Development Fund. This was one of the particular concerns that was expressed to me by Chairman Borrell.
I hope that this initial funding will allow the Pan-African Parliament to participate fully in the initiative you have taken towards organising a joint parliamentary event in advance of the Lisbon Summit in December, as the results of your work can then be presented to the heads of state at the summit.
Finally, as I have said on a number of occasions, the involvement and commitment of the civilian populations of our two continents and of the elected assemblies that represent them constitute an essential factor in the success of an effective process of dialogue and cooperation between Europe and Africa. Perhaps we sometimes tend to forget, but we are speaking here about the common destiny of 1.5 billion human beings and it is they who are the most important actors in the partnership that we are now setting up.
Mrs Martens, I am completely in agreement with the need for coordination; this is why we proposed the code of conduct, which should provide for a better division of labour between the different donors, which means greater harmony. I believe that we have been consistent in this regard because, as you know, in the tenth European Development Fund we have provided a special financial envelope for governance, which is one of the aspects, and clearly a very important one at that, of the political dialogue that we intend to establish with our African partners. As far as the EPAs (Economic Partnership Agreements) are concerned, I have no doubt that I will have to respond to questions on this subject after your interventions. I shall therefore save my reply for the interventions, so as not to say too much at the moment and therefore take up too much time."@en1
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