Aid for trade, a key priority of the EU in Africa

Source: EU News, Issue 3, April 2009

At several occasions, EC high officials and Commissioner Michel have emphasised the necessity to support ‘connectivity’ at regional and pan-African level and the added value of EC cooperation in that area. Recent EU-Africa debates and agreements confirm that approach that is also well illustrated in the recently published Aid for Trade monitoring report 2009.

The report provides many data showing that the EU (EC + Member States) is the largest global provider of grants in the Aid for Trade area and that Africa is the main recipient with 43,9% of total EU aid for trade in 2005-2007.
It is important to note that the definition of Aid for Trade used in the report is quite broad and includes both Trade Related Assistance (€ 1.98 million in 2007 from EU) as well as productive capacity building, trade related infrastructures and trade related adjustment as well as ‘other trade related needs’ not classified by the OECD. General budget support and non-earmarked support to multilateral organisations are not included in the calculations. With such a definition it is not surprising that total EU commitments for Aid for Trade reached € 7.17 billion in 2007 (4.74 from Member States and 2.43 from the EC) representing 10.45% of total EU ODA.

Support to regional integration captures an increasing share of the Aid for Trade (AfT) funding and the preparation of regional aid for trade packages for the ACP countries, to be supported jointly by the EC (EDF) and the Member States, is top of the EC agenda for 2009. The signing of the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) Regional Indicative Programmes in November 2008 is seen as a milestone in that process.

The North-South Corridor pilot AfT project to improve infrastructure and remove regulatory barriers between three Regional Economic Communities of Africa (the Common Market for Eastern and Southern African (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC)) perfectly illustrates this approach. The goal is to improve regional trade and give countries faster access to international markets, thereby boosting growth and jobs. The €115 million contribution from the EC consists mainly of funding from the 10th EDF.

The package of measures proposed by the EC in its 8 April communication on supporting developing countries in coping with the crisis also includes the recommendation to increase by 2010 to €500 million the grant inlay in the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund. The Commission, for its part, will allocate €200 million for 2009-2010 (from 10th EDF), doubling its current inlay, and calls on Member States to join this effort in order to raise €500 million. Achieving this target would leverage €2.5 billion in soft loans to support infrastructure. In the area of agriculture, the Commission insists in particular on the necessity to invest in agricultural corridors and to align investments in support of linking markets and production areas.
Whether Member States will inject such a level of fresh money into the Trust Fund is questionable considering their low contribution so far (around 28 million from 11 Member States by October 2008).

Another example of the EC support for a trade and export oriented economy in Africa is the "Better Training for Safer Food in Africa – BTSF-Africa” initiative launched by EU Health Commissioner, Androulla Vassiliou at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa. This is a 10 million specific programme targeted at Africa, with the view to promoting compliance with international Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) measures as key to bilateral trade, both within Africa and with the rest of the world, and to increasing food safety for citizens.

Finally, it is also interesting to note a new agreement between the European Commission and the African Union Commission on the principle of a common strategic framework to develop safer and more sustainable air transport in Africa. It includes supporting the Yamoussoukro Decision aiming at creating a single airspace in Africa with one provisions being the principle of free market access of (eligible) air carriers for intra-African connections. The EC will support the development and evolution of the Executing Agency for implementing the Decision and assist in the definition of the appropriate regulatory environment and market access. In other words this agreement is the best way to open the internal African aviation market to European carriers.

Supporting trade and an export oriented economy in the ACP states with EU development policy and budget is clearly a top priority of the EU but to what extend are trade policies and agreements under negotiation actually supporting development objectives? Take the recent proposal made by the EC to reduce the current banana tariff of 176 Euros/ton to most favoured nations (of Latin America) to 136 Euros/ton by 2011. Effectively, this means favouring large plantations in Latin America with low environment standards and exploitative and dangerous labour conditions at the expenses of small banana producers in ACP countries. Such a policy is clearly at odds with the EU principle of policy coherence for development. Not surprisingly, the ACP group, in a recent press release strongly criticises the EC proposal. The substantial tariff cuts would have dire consequences for ACP export trade, for which the current preferences are of vital importance. The sharp reductions proposed between 2009 and 2011 cannot be reconciled with any of the EU commitments towards ACP Countries, specifically the recently signed Cariforum-EC Economic Partnership Agreement which provides that tariff reductions should not only be "unavoidable" but "should be phased in over as long a period as possible". … Bananas for ACP countries are not only about trade, but about development. Bananas have a direct impact on environment, migration and integration in ACP countries. Now that the world is suffering from a global financial crisis, ACP countries cannot afford to sacrifice their few sources of hard currency on the altar of free trade.
Note that this concern is also highlighted in the resolution adopted at the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly session in Prague on Economic partnership Agreements and their impact on ACP states.

The impact of Economic Partnership Agreements on development in the ACP countries is indeed a major concern for many ACP officials and civil society actors following the unfinished EPA negotiations. This critical policy coherence issue was at the core of the workshop organised on 24 March by One World Action, APRODEV and the Commonwealth Secretariat on EPAs: Trade efficiency or development for all? Gender analysis of trade liberalisation and its impact.

The Roundtable provided a forum to appreciate the relevance of systematic gender analysis to inform negotiation positions and to provide nuanced understanding of the gender impact on distributional effect. Integrating principles of responsive governance into trade policy-making and trade negotiations is needed, as well as effective EPA monitoring to enhance positive EPA impact and minimise potential harm. Suitable indicators, including gender indicators, to chart progress on implementation and impacts of EPAs are key tools in putting into practice the development and poverty reduction ambitions of EPAs.

From that point of view, organisers particularly appreciated the fact that certain recommendations from the APRODEV background paper on EPA indicators were reflected in the resolution of the European Parliament on the Cariforum EPA, as following:

Suitable development indicators should serve three key purposes:
1. to trigger implementation of EPA commitments by Cariforum States or to qualify them for exemptions;
2. to monitor the impact of EPA implementation on sustainable development and poverty reduction;
3. to monitor the implementation of EC commitments, in particular disbursement and effective delivery of pledged financial and technical assistance

The report of the workshop will be available shortly; in the meantime, you can view the available presentations, the background paper on indicators and the concept note here.

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on Aid for Trade and ACP trade, and the Brussels Development Briefing on Aid for Trade

President Barroso talks NGOs top representatives of Europe

On 26 March, CONCORD is bringing together about 100 senior leaders of European Development NGOs to debate on Europe and Development during a one day High Level Leadership Forum. The President of the European Commission, Mr. José Manuel Barroso has accepted to open the morning session on “How can Europe mitigate the impact of the economic crisis and climate change on developing countries?."

2009 is a key year for Europe with the elections of the European Parliament and the new Commission appointed. At a moment Development aid is under threat as a result of the global economic crisis, CONCORD believes it is utmost important to keep it at the top of the European agenda.

See Euforic's newsfeeds on Concord

”Great projects might get funded!”

Concord press release, 13 March 2009

CONCORD, the Confederation of more than 1600 European Development NGOs, welcomes the innovative initiative of the European Commission (EC) which organised today an “Auction floor” to help environmental projects for developing countries get financed by public or private donors.

This initiative is supporting new kinds of partnerships and leveraging additional funding which are urgently needed to address issues such as climate change, desertification, biodiversity, forests and sustainable energy. This Auction Floor demonstrates the positive recognition by the European Commission of the high quality of proposals submitted by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

This event also highlights the fundamental problem of insufficiency of funds from the EC thematic programmes in general. Only a small fraction of proposals can be funded by the EC, ranging from 5 to 15% of all proposals received. Elaborating a project proposal represents a significant investment on the side of CSOs and NGOs (both in terms of human and financial resources) and raises expectations with Southern partners and beneficiary groups. Therefore, there is an urgent need to increase funding available to civil society actors in thematic programmes and in the overall EU development cooperation instrument.

CONCORD members are keen to engage in working together with the EC to expand the innovative practices of mobilising alternative funding to rejected proposals in the context of the current financial framework. In addition to that, CONCORD will engage with the EU Institutions in the preparation of the next financial framework beyond 2013, to secure that adequate funding will match the needs.

The auction floor has launched a strong signal towards the recognition of the relevance and quality of the CSO development activities. “This is a positive evolution and shows the European Commission’s willingness to move from a ‘competitive lottery funding’ system towards a strategic partnership with CSOs,” says Olivier Consolo, Director of CONCORD.

The Confederation also calls for due attention to be paid to the equal access of Southern civil society to mechanisms such as the Auction Floor, as well as to EC funding in general.

Contact: An Van Goey, 02/743.87.93 or 0476/39.25.58 (an.vangoey@concordeurope.org)

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The financial crisis: consequences for developing countries and options for development policy

A written statement (pdf in German) of WEED for a public hearing on the financial crisis of the German Parliamentary Committee for Development Cooperation and Policy sheds light on the consequences of the global crisis and the options for development policy. According to the author, the hypothesis that the financial crisis will not affect development countries resulted to be wrong.

Already in 2008 stock markets in emerging economies faced average losses of 40% (i.e. South Africa 30,3%, Brazil 43%, China 65,6%, Russia 70,9%). Countries like the Ukraine or Pakistan had to ask for IMF support to avoid bankruptcy. Growth expectations also dropped dramatically. While development countries' economies grew 7.2 points in 2007 and 6,9 points in 2008, the average prognosis for 2009 is 4,6 points. Pessimistic scenarios even speak of growth rates of 0,1 for Africa and -0,2 for the Caribbean. Nonetheless this might only be some of the first consequences of the global crisis with other effects to follow at a later stage.

Different countries face different challenges. Countries like Brazil, which have a relatively strong economy and a big domestic market, have a stronger standing than countries with smaller markets and less diversified economies. Also economic effects of the financial crisis can have different influences on economies. The decreasing demand on raw materials for example caused by the economic breakdown will give countries which need to import these materials the chance to buy at cheaper rates. On the other hand raw material exporters will suffer under the low prices. Nonetheless many development countries belong to the second group of countries.

The paper speaks of two ways of infections, one through effects of the financial crisis on the real economy of a country and the second through the involvement in the same financial speculations that caused the crisis at the beginning. However, only some of the emerging economies were actually involved in direct financial speculations. Most effects are caused by the effects of the financial breakdown on the real economy.

Since the biggest world economies face recession this will lead to a demand reduction and negative trade growth for the first time since 1982. Additionally the UN estimates a decrease of foreign investment in the South of 10%. Both will lead to unfavorable financial situations and an increase of debts in the mid-term. Besides these rather direct effects, developing countries face specific indirect effects like the decrease of remittances and a possible decrease of ODA. Although ODA reduction did not happen so far there is the fear that necessary increases of financial funds to reach the MDGs will not take place.

Also the rapid growth in food prices was largely caused by financial speculations. This was denied when the prices spiked in 2007/2008. By then other causes were made responsible, like a global raise in demand, underinvestment in agriculture or the production of bio-fuels. However, when the prices recovered to a normal level in summer 2008 these reasons became less valuable since they only affect the markets in a long term thus could not be the cause of such rapid changes.

According to the report the price curve shows the typical pattern of a speculative bubble. When the real estate crisis started, financial investors simply started to look for investment alternatives and moved to the commodity markets, and speculated with oil and agriculture products. This bubble blasted when even trading in the commodity market became too risky in summer 2008.

The report says that also the German Federal Bank was involved in agricultural speculations. According to the UN this kind of speculation resulted in a 8% raise of extreme poverty in Sub-Sahara Africa and erased the success in the reduction of poverty between 1990-2004.

The WEED statement stresses the opportunities for a global financial system reform which need severe acting by the current global governance system. According to the paper the G20 is a appropriate institutional framework to lead such process. Additionally the participation of civil society and labor organizations needs to be institutionalized. The plans for stronger regulation and monitoring need strong financial and legal backup.

by Martin Behrens

For more on the financial crisis see the Euforic newsfeed on finance and development.

European election 2009 – get started!

Source: Concord Flash, nr. 57, January 2009

30 years after the first direct election of the European Parliament by citizens, 2009 will see the European Parliament's seventh elections. They will take place from 4 to 7 June 2009. It will be the first time since the accession of Romania and Bulgaria that all 27 European Member States vote on the same week. In order to support NGOs and citizen groups at local level in raising awareness about the European elections and to engage in discussion with candidates, the EU Civil Society Contact Group, which CONCORD is part of, has issued a toolkit 2009.

The toolkit is made up of four sheets that can be downloaded separately according to your needs:
• Action sheet 1 - Why vote?
• Action sheet 2 - How to engage?
• Action sheet 3 – What do we expect from future European parliamentarians?
• Fact sheet 4 - What is the European Parliament?

The sheets are currently only published in English but they will be translated in a wide range of languages soon. Feel free to disseminate the toolkit to your constituencies, colleagues or friend and start engaging in the debate: What Europe do we want? Who should therefore represent us in the European Parliament?

The toolkit in English is also online

For further information: Ester Asín Martínez (ester.asin@concordeurope.org)

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on EU cooperation, and on Concord

What's next for the Policy Coherence for Development?

Source: Concord Flash, nr. 57, January 2009

The European Commission (DG Development) organised a meeting on 19 January with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to present the methodology and content of the next European report on Policy Coherence for Development (PCD). The report will be covering not just European Commission (EC) but also the Member States policies. The report will be launched in September in Brussels, followed by a presentation and the European Development Days in Sweden in October.

CONCORD welcomes the launch of this process, but believes that not only DG Development should be involved in this report, but also the other key EC services and the Member States to implement the commitments and move forward the debate on PCD. CONCORD has also asked the European Commission to keep a high degree of openness and willingness to engage with CSOs and take CONCORD’s suggestions on board throughout the process. The EC agreed to invite CSOs to an intermediary meeting in the drafting of the report in April 2009 and to let them participating in the launch events of the report.

CONCORD intends to contribute to the "PCD report" process by bringing our own perspectives, critical analysis and views and facilitating the engagement with other CSOs. Furthermore, EU's Global Responsibility/ Policy Coherence will be the key priority for the Swedish Presidency in the second half 2009, and CONCORD will mobilise its constituency on this issue.

For further information: Ester Asín Martínez (ester.asin@concordeurope.org)

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on EU cooperation, and on Concord

A Word from Concord on the Governmental cuts in development aid

Source: Concord Flash, nr. 57, January 2009

On 3rd February, the Irish government slashed Official Development Assistance to developing countries by 95 million Euros or more than or 10% of its overall budget for 2009, barely 2 months after the UN Doha Summit on the financing of Development aid.

This was a shock since Ireland is usually considered as a progressive European development donor. The Irish aid cuts will mean that poor countries such as Malawi, which has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world, could well see the suspension of funding to vital basic services such as education and health.

At a time when the financial crisis and global recession is hitting the poorest and most vulnerable hardest, this cut will have huge implications for the many developing countries receiving vital aid from the Irish government.

This represents the latest in a round of aid cuts from European donors. It signals a dangerous trend which threatens the Millennium Development Goals' commitments so vital to alleviating poverty in poor countries. Last December Italy announced aid cuts of 56%, and Latvia, which recently became a donor of development aid, released a statement last month announcing a 100% cut to its aid budget.

Jasmine Burnley, coordinator of CONCORD’s AidWatch initiative said “Europe is the world's biggest and most progressive aid donor with an aim to provide 80% of the world’s aid, some 67 billion euros, by 2010.”

“However we are seeing massive reduction of these targets. Cuts by Italy, Latvia and now Ireland have come as a triple whammy to developing countries. The decline in support from EU donors threatens efforts to tackle global poverty and inequality in the world.” she added.

CONCORD acknowledges that in this time of crisis, European governments face difficult choices, but cutting to aid to poor countries is not the answer. “If we want economic growth with global stability, we need to work towards a fair and just world" says Hans Zomer of Dóchas, the Irish national platform of development NGOs, "Ireland needs to invest in developing countries, not turn its back on the poor when times get tough”

CONCORD calls for European governments to join it in urging the Irish government to reverse this cut, and honour their own aid promises.

Contacts at CONCORD: Jasmine Burnley, CONCORD, +32 2 743 87 64

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on EU cooperation, and on Concord

Irish Government announces devastating development aid cuts

Concord press release, 04 February 2009

The Irish government yesterday slashed Official Development Assistance to developing countries by 95 million Euros or more than or 10% of its overall budget for 2009, barely 2 months after the UN Doha Summit on the financing of Development aid. NGOs across Europe have expressed shock and deep concern at this act by Ireland usually considered as a progressive European development donor.

At a time when the financial crisis and global recession is hitting the poorest and most vulnerable hardest, this cut will have huge implications for the many developing countries receiving vital aid from the Irish government.

This represents the latest in a round of aid cuts from European donors. It signals a dangerous trend which threatens the Millennium Development Goals' commitments so vital to alleviating poverty in poor countries. Last December Italy announced aid cuts of 56%, and Latvia, which recently became a donor of development aid, released a statement last month announcing a 100% cut to its aid budget.

Jasmine Burnley, coordinator of CONCORD’s AidWatch initiative said “Europe is the world's biggest and most progressive aid donor with an aim to provide 80% of the world’s aid, some 67 billion euros, by 2010.”

“However we are seeing massive reduction of these targets. Cuts by Italy, Latvia and now Ireland have come as a triple whammy to developing countries. The decline in support from EU donors threatens efforts to tackle global poverty and inequality in the world.” she added.

The Irish aid cuts will mean that poor countries such as Malawi, which has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world, could well see the suspension of funding to vital basic services such as education and health.

European NGOs acknowledge that in this time of crisis, EU governments face difficult choices, but cutting to aid to poor countries is not the answer. “If we want economic growth with global stability, we need to work towards a fair and just world" says Hans Zomer of Dóchas, the Irish national platform of development NGOs, "Ireland needs to invest in developing countries, not turn its back on the poor when times get tough”

CONCORD, the European Confederation for Development and Relief NGOs calls for European governments to join it in urging the Irish government to reverse this cut, and honour their own aid promises.

Contacts:

• Hans Zomer, Director of Dóchas, Tel. +35 85-728 3258
• Éamonn Casey, Dóchas Policy Officer, Tel. +35 87-950 6222
• Jasmine Burnley, CONCORD, +32 2 743 87 64

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German NGOs criticize military engagement in reconstructing Afghanistan

Venro, the German Association of NGDOs, criticize (pdf in German) the so called 'Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Afghanistan under German command.

The teams, which usually consist of 250-300 soldiers plus some civil experts, aim to promote security and stability in the Afghan provinces and actively engage in reconstruction and humanitarian assistance, security sector reform and political dialogue with the Afghan population. According to Venro, these measures are meant to enhance the acceptance of the military thus increase force protection.

The German NGOs claim that the overlap of military and civil activities spoils the neutrality of NGOs thus worsening their security situation. While development actors are strictly guided by a humanitarian imperative, the German military which is increasingly engaging in combat missions follows clear political interests thus is part of the conflict environment.

The authors quote a statement by the International Red Cross: “The distinction between humanitarian, political and military action becomes blurred when armed forces are perceived as being humanitarian actors, when civilians are embedded into military structures, and when the impression is created that humanitarian organizations and their personnel are merely tools within integrated approaches to conflict management. "

The report demands that the German military concentrates on stabilizing and security activities which should primarily serve the Afghan population and leave humanitarian aid, reconstruction and development assistance to civil actors.

The report further argues that the advantages for force protection due to reconstruction activities of the military are hardly evident and are clearly outweighed by the risks for civil personnel. Additionally Venro demands a military exit strategy which would increase the credibility by showing that the international community is striving to bring peace and security to Afghanistan and does not only look for its own strategic interests.

by Martin Behrens

See the Euforic news alert and dossier for more on peace and security.

See also Euforic's dossier and news alert on German's international cooperation activities.

Civil Society: One year of Africa-EU Partnership

A year after the Africa- Europe Strategic Partnership Agreement was signed with great expectations, actors in development take stock.

The Joint Strategy was launched in December 2007 during the Lisbon Summit of the Portuguese EU-Presidency. Its aim was multifaceted cooperation between equal partners. A 3-year Action Plan was adopted as well including objectives to carry out until the next summit which is planned for 2010.

A report (pdf-file) by Coordination Sud, Terre des Hommes and Secours Catholique looks at the role of Civil Society within the implementation of the partnership Action Plan. It shows that participation of Civil Society actors in Europe made some progress, although the level of involvement differs significantly within different activity areas.

Additionally the authors look at the implementation within the different policy areas which range from Peace and Security, Governance or Migration to Science or Energy. Hereby the report criticizes among other aspects the use of EDF funds for non-development related issues like security and migration. Furthermore the authors lament that the whole working programme is strongly driven by European interests.

Regarding this, there is the expectation that the EU-ACP Cotonou Partnership Agreement which is due for a revision this year might also be influenced by the new 'spirit' of the EU-Africa Partnership.

See also a recent summary of the European Parliament's Draft Report: 'One year after Lisbon: The Africa-EU partnership at work' (pdf-file), on ECDPM's Europafrica.org.

Here, you also find additional information and documents on the EU-Africa Strategic Partnership.

by Martin Behrens

See also the Euforic newsfeed and dossier on EU-Africa cooperation.

Seminar on the future of the Cotonou Agreement

The seminar "The future of the Cotonou Agreement" gathered on December 4th in Paris around 50 participants from civil society organisations and national platforms of Development NGOs from a wide range of ACP and European countries. Participants discussed the perspectives and the challenges ahead of the ACP-EU partnership in the context of the rapid changing nature and context of the ACP-EU relationship. A final declaration was agreed upon and was presented to the French Presidency and the EU and ACP institutions.

Final Declaration

A. Having discussed the perspectives and the challenges ahead of the ACP-EU partnership in the context of the rapid changing nature and context of the ACP-EU relationship;

B. Recalling that the review of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement will take place in 2010; that the mid-term review of the Country Strategy Papers of the 10th EDF will start in 2009; that the Cotonou Partnership Agreement has a 20 year duration and will therefore come to an end in 2020;

C. Recalling the spirit and the fundamental principles of partnership, participation, and ownership entrenched in the Cotonou Partnership Agreement;

D. Considering the transformations affecting European official development aid following the adoption of the Paris Declaration, with commitments to pursue new practices and policies, particularly the increased use of budget support and the implementation of the Governance Initiative;

E. Considering that regional integration is a long-term process, which requires adequate means respecting partner countries ways of living, values and specificities, and avoiding the undifferentiated replication of existing Northern models;

F. Recalling the Kigali Declaration for development-friendly Economic Partnership Agreements, adopted by the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on the 22nd of November 2007; recalling concerns voiced by the African, Caribbean, Pacific and European Civil Society Organisations on the continuation and outcome of the EPA negotiations;

G. Recognizing the evolving nature of the relationship between the European Union, Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean with the adoption of regional strategies: the Joint EU-Africa strategy, the Pacific strategy and the Caribbean strategy;

H. Affirming that the issue of the future shape of the relationships between the two groups of signatories of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement should be analyzed and approached in a proactive way; that the second review of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement will be the occasion to measure the importance attached by each partner to the agreement as such but also to its spirit and fundamental principles;

We, representatives of platforms and networks of ACP and European civil society, having met in Paris on 4th December 2008 in the context of a seminar organised by the CONCORD Cotonou Working Group, urge:

Regarding regional integration

1. ACP countries to define their own integration mechanisms primarily based on the interest of their people, and valorising local resources and indigenous processes;

2. European institutions to guarantee access to funding, resources and means that are necessary to carry out a regional integration process based on a clear agenda, while avoiding encouraging competition between the various stakeholders involved in particular on governance issues;

3. European institutions to abstain from creating situations of competition between States, to make sure that their integration process promote peace, unity and cohesion;

4. Governments and civil society to facilitate and encourage an integration process coming from and for the people at national, sub regional, continental and international level, while condemning discriminatory or xenophobic policies, including the concept of « chosen migration »;

Regarding governance in ACP-EU relations

5. The European institutions to launch a transparent, inclusive and participatory review of the Governance Initiative with a view to ensure that governance profiles are elaborated through democratic processes and excluding criteria based on European short-term interests;

6. The European and ACP institutions to carry out an ambitious midterm review of the Country Strategy Papers including the evaluation of the Governance Initiative; the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, ACP national parliaments and the European Parliament to play an central role in the follow up and monitoring process of the Governance Initiative;

7. The European institutions to refrain from promoting their short-term interests in the framework of the political dialogue with ACP countries;

8. The European institutions and ACP decision-makers to create an independent mediation mechanism in charge of overseeing the implementation of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement;

9. Members of ACP National Parliaments to get involved in the ACP-EU dialogue around governance and ACP governments to create the conditions for parliamentary participation;

10. ACP and EU Civil Society Organisations to work together in a coordinated way to develop their own democratic governance approach as a counterproposal to the governance criteria developed by the EU;

Regarding the use of budget support in the 10th EDF

11. The European institutions to consider other alternatives to budget support in order to maintain a variety of aid modalities that take into account the diversity of contexts among the ACP countries;

12. The ACP group to ensure that budget support is genuinely used with a view to achieve the Millennium Development Goals; that the priorities identified are clearly owned and oriented on people’s needs;

13. The European institutions and the ACP countries to enforce the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid effectiveness, by creating the necessary conditions to democratic ownership and mutual accountability;

14. The European institutions and the ACP countries to facilitate full transparency at every step of the process, from the political dialogue between the EU and recipient States to the evaluation of the impact at the level of beneficiary populations;

15. The ACP group and Civil Society Organisations to reinforce democratic control mechanisms, by parliamentarians and elected local representatives, in particular on the implementation of budget support;

16. The ACP group and Civil Society Organisations to recognize that capacity-building and awareness raising of Civil Society Organisations is critical in order to ensure that they can play their watchdog role vis-à-vis both donors and recipient governments;

Regarding the future of the ACP group

17. The European institutions to be more transparent and coherent with regard to the multiple dialogue processes and relationships that they establish with regional bodies within the ACP group;

18. The ACP group to reaffirm itself as a political group of countries sharing a common vision on key international issues beyond the restrictive framework of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement and their relationship with the EU;

19. The ACP States to promote dialogue and cooperation between their regional institutions with a view to join forces within international foras and negotiations;

20. Representatives of Civil Society Organisations from the three regions to establish a regular dialogue supported by inclusive communication and exchange of information mechanisms in order to develop ACP Civil Society common positions and to engage in an in-depth dialogue with their governments. This dialogue process could be launched with the organisation of an independent Forum of ACP Civil Society Organisations, with the support of the CONCORD Cotonou Working Group, in the perspective of the midterm review of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement.

Regional and national platforms of ACP Civil Society Organisations and CONCORD and its members commit themselves to communicate this declaration to their representatives in the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, to the ACP-EU Joint Council, and to the ACP and EU Member States and institutions.

download declaration

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Financial crisis: NGOs around the world call for the European Union to fight for a Global Governance that would finally be democratic

Concord press release, 4 November 2008

In a context of unprecedented crises regarding finances, climate and food and on the eve of the G20 summit on November 15 in Washington, representatives of 10 000 NGOs from 82 countries have for the first time organized an International Forum of national coalitions of NGOs, where participants called for the EU to defend a reform of global governance that is serving the most vulnerable populations.

Civil Society Organisations meeting in Paris last week on Thursday 30 October with Coordination SUD, the national coordination of French NGOs of international solidarity representing 10.000 NGOs, * presented a roadmap for European solidarity and responsibility in international negotiations to Mr. Joyandet, Secretary of State for Cooperation and the Francophone community..

At a time when States are questioning the need to regulate globalisation through a reform of international financial institutions (World Bank, International Monetary Fund, etc.), NGOs from across the world have called upon the European Union (EU) to ensure effective participation of the poorest countries in international forums.

Henri Rouillé d'Orfeuil, President of Coordination SUD, stressed that the need for fair and democratic regulations should lead the EU to propose "the establishment of social, environmental and cultural specifications able to frame the strategy of the economic actors in discussions on the reform of the international institutions."

In the meeting "Messages from the world to the European Union”, NGOs called on the EU to review its trade, agricultural, environmental and economic policies so that they contribute to a sustainable north and south development and to the fight against inequality.

According to Bakary Doumbia, President of the FECONG (Platform of NGOs of Mali), "The European development cooperation focuses on the fight against illegal immigration, the promotion of the interests of European companies and the fight against terrorism, instead of strengthening the policies about education, health and equality between men and women."

Mike Mathias, Chairman of the political forum CONCORD (European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development), explains "the European model of development must be reconsidered from scratch. The planet can not bear the consumption of the economically privileged populations of the world. The current model based on economic growth alone does not allow better distribution of wealth. "

* from the regional coalitions of Mesa Articulacion (Latin America), REPAOC (West Africa), REPONGAC (Central Africa), PIANGO (Oceania), National Coalition of Platforms Asia (South and South-East), SADC Council of NGOs (Southern Africa) and CONCORD (Europe).

Read the "Messages of the World to the European Union " - version française - english version

For more information contact Céline Vatier

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European NGOs challenge the EU on the financial crisis’ impact on the poor

Concord press release, 30 September 2008

Against the backdrop of rising food prices and a growing global economic crisis with detrimental impact on the world’s poor, European development Ministers convened at an informal meeting in Bordeaux. European civil society representatives addressed the ministers, urging them to fulfil their responsibilities to increase financial flows to developing countries, as well as actions to clamp down on capital flight.

CONCORD, the European Confederation of Development NGOs urged ministers to agree an ambitious and specific common EU position for the United Nations “Financing for Development” summit which starts on 29 November. Citizens in developing countries have little impact on the decisions of global traders who have abused and destabilised the financial system, but they will feel the effects of the financial crisis for years to come. The civil society organisations present in Bordeaux called for low-income countries to also be represented at the proposed Bretton Woods II conference to ensure their interests are represented when the financial system is reviewed.

Henri Rouillé d’Orfeuil, President of Coordination SUD, the platform of French development NGOs, commented “It is essential that at this time of crisis Europe looks for a way forward, and does not signal that it is walking away from its political commitments and abandoning developing countries.”

“Money leaked through capital flight from developing countries to rich countries is an estimated 300 billion euros per year,” says Alex Wilks, Director of the European Network on Debt and Development. “This is an unforgiveable situation, and European governments must immediately take action to regulate the many European tax havens.”

CONCORD called upon EU Member States to agree a strong and unified European position on the Doha Financing for Development process. They urged heads of State to attend the conference in November to ensure real progress can be made in reforming the financial system in the interests of all citizens in Europe and in developing countries.

Contacts :

Alex Wilks (Eurodad) +324 985 49482
Jasmine Burnley (CONCORD): +32 473 47 88 06
Jean Merckaert (CCFD) +33 6 81 84 30 64
Henri Rouillé d’Orfeuil: +33 6 135 02 116

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