revitalizing the africa-eu partnership

Revitalizing the Africa-EU Partnership

Berlin, SPD, Bundestag, 1 February 2013

Geert Laporte, Deputy Director, European Centre for Development Policy Management

1.What is ECDPM?2.The changing landscape of EU-Africa relations3.What future for the JAES?4.The 2014 EU-Africa Summit: a turning point?5.How to revive EU-Africa relations?

Structure of presentation

Independent foundation working on EU-Africa and EU-ACP for more than 25 years:

1. Non-partisan facilitation of dialogue 2. Practical and policy relevant analysis3. Linking key players in the EU and Africa

through networks and partnerships4. Capacity building in Africa to bring more

balance in the partnership

ECDPM

• Boom in Africa but… rising inequalities and instability, aid dependency, weak institutions

• EU in crisis: difficult to reconcile its values and interests

• Emergence of new global players: new opportunities & risks

The changing landscape

• 2007: ambitious strategic and political partnership (beyond aid, continental, multi-actor, deliverables,…)

• New institutional mechanisms: Commission-to-Commission, Ministerial, experts, etc)

• But…impression of “paper strategy”• Pan-African Programme can possibly

resolve part of the problem

What future for the JAES?

• Major changes on both EU and African side

• Towards a stronger political partnership?

• Who sets the EU agenda? (Van Rompuy, Barroso, Ashton/EEAS?)

• What role AUC/Zuma?

Can the 2014 EU-Africa Summit be a turning point (1)- Who takes the lead?

• Joint EU-Africa Task Force (13-14 February 2013 in Addis)

• AUC: Comprehensive Review of African strategic partnerships (to be finalised by April) followed by discussions with African Member states

• Informal visit Zuma to Barroso March 2013?• Joint Ministerial: no dates set?• EU orientation debate some months before the

Summit (COREPER/COAFRE)?• JAES Support Mechanism PMU: Addis and Brussels

offices to generate “results”

Can the 2014 EU-Africa Summit be a turning point (2)? Milestones

1. Stimulate high level political support in both continents

2. Strengthen complementarity between JAES and other EU policy frameworks

3. Invest in strengthening African institutions

4. Search for domestic and innovative sources of funding

What can be done to revive the EU-Africa relations?

5.Build alliances with emerging economies and with longstanding allies6.Generate tangible results beyond official declarations7.Change the partnership culture

What can be done to revive the EU-Africa relations?

Thank [email protected]

revitalizing the africa-eu partnership

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