Priorities of the Swedish Presidency

Source: EU News, issue 5, July 2009.

On the 1st of July, the Czech Republic handed over the Presidency of the European Union to Sweden. In this time of crisis, the Swedish Presidency has nominated economy and climate change as its key priorities for the next six months.

With regards to development issues, the Swedish Presidency will focus on climate and democracy. It wants to bring on the one hand development and democracy-building and on the other hand development and climate change agendas closer together. For the latter, the Swedish Government will use the report of the International Commission on Climate Change and Development that was launched in May and will encourage actions towards climate proofing investments, increasing attention to adaptation and finding ways to better integrate climate change into development assistance. Furthermore, the Swedish Presidency emphasizes the importance of aid effectiveness and policy coherence for development. Sweden aims to prioritize the Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) agenda with the European Commission’s submission of its second EU biennial PCD report in October.

The Presidency will also call for an action-oriented response to the commitments made in the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action.

Increased free trade continues to be a major priority under the Swedish Presidency. Trade negotiations are being prioritized, primarily a rapid conclusion of the Doha Round, but also progress in negotiations with regional groupings. The Presidency aims to work towards making substantial progress in the negotiation and conclusion of regional Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) between the EU and the Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific countries and in the negotiations on a revised Cotonou-agreement.

It is the Swedish Presidency’s ambition to strengthen EU preparedness to deal with the unexpected and coordinate its actions in crisis situations, in particular in Africa. Therefore, it wants to use all of the EU’s instruments; from civilian and military crisis management operations to dialogue and diplomacy within the common foreign and security policy, and trade and development policy initiatives.

The Swedish Presidency aims to enhance the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) both with regard to the Eastern dimension through the Eastern Partnership, concerning Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Belarus, and to the Mediterranean dimension, within the Union for the Mediterranean. Sweden will oversee the development of the new ENP Action Plans, with particular emphasis on policy reform, good governance and human rights. The work on enlargement will also continue under the Swedish Presidency, with the continuing of the accession process of the Western Balkan states and Turkey. Croatia’s negotiations with the EU could enter a final stage during the autumn. Moreover, the Presidency will work to make further progress in the EU integration process of the countries of the Western Balkans.

Regarding asylum and migration, the Presidency strives for common policies and systems, focusing on the common asylum system, and resettlement (see article on Stockholm Programme). The Swedish Presidency supports the Stockholm Programme, which should allow increased labour immigration to the EU, and the EU Global Approach to Migration, which Sweden considers as an important tool to strengthen the positive link between migration and development, and to counteract irregular immigration.

More at www.se2009.eu/en
CIDSE Presidency Outlook for Development available soon at www.wdev.eu and www.cidse.org

See also Euforic's newsfeed on the EU presidency

CSO Development effectiveness: the key event of the Czech Presidency

Source: Concord Flash 62, June 2009

What are the key principles of development effectiveness? What is the specific role of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in development that could best contribute to their full potential? How is effectiveness influenced by external conditions and how to turn these conditions into advantages? These are the questions that were debated on 23-24 June by 170 representatives from civil society organisations (CSOs), donors and governments from nearly 50 countries from around the world that gathered in Prague.

Organised by the Czech NGDO platform “FoRS” (in collaboration with CONCORD) this conference was the closing event of the FoRS programme under the Czech Presidency of the European Union. Participants discussed the principles guiding their development effectiveness, the roles of CSOs in development and the framework provided by donors and governments for CSO work.

The opening sessions presented different perspectives on CSO development effectiveness, including from Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness. Additional workshops explored more details topics such as: sustainable technologies; migration and development; inclusive development; gender; democratic governance, agriculture and food security. The conference concluded with a lively discussion on the conference statement which sets out principles of CSO development effectiveness. Participants committed to deepen discussions of these principles within the Open Forum for CSO effectiveness.

Just 2 days before this conference, this Open Forum held a meeting to discuss how to organise their political dialogue with donors and government, funding issues, and how international CSO processes linked to the development effectiveness agenda (Open Forum and Better Aid) could be sufficiently funded.

Political dialogue: One of the key objectives of the Open Forum is to advocate for an enabling environment for CSOs as development actors. This should be achieved through a multi-level political dialogue that also includes those governments and donors that have so far remained reluctant to engage with civil society. To facilitate this dialogue, a group of supportive governments including Austria, Sweden, Canada and the UK, have mobilised their peers to create a multi-stakeholder working group linked to the OECD DAC Working Party on Aid Effectiveness. This working group will reach out to donors and governments and work on some CSO-specific provisions in the Accra Agenda for Action in the run-up to the next High-Level Forum in 2011.

Funding: A management group has been established. It will work closely with donors and with CONCORD for the Open Forum and IBON for Better Aid. Tentative commitments have been made by some donors, and it is expected that these will translate into concrete pledges in the weeks to come.

For further information contact Franz Josef Berger or visit www.cso-effectiveness.org and www.fors.cz/en/eu_presidency/seminars_conferences

Also check out Euforic's newsfeeds on Concord, aid effectiveness, and on the EU Presidency

Swedish development events and priorities

Source: Concord Flash, nr. 57, January 2009

During the 2009 Swedish EU Presidency, the goals of CONCORD Sweden are to highlight necessary improvements and suggestions for the Swedish presidency to focus on. The overall priority is to raise awareness and understanding of EU as a global actor, and that the view of CSOs on EU development policy and coherence policy coherence is influencing Swedish policy in the EU to a larger extent. Seminars, dialogue with Swedish policy makers, and dissemination of information to the media and the general public are the tools for achieving this.
The priority issues are policy coherence for development, aid effectiveness, democracy & human rights, and climate and development. The priorities will be the content of several activities, including seminars and production of information material, for example around climate and development ahead of the December meeting in Copenhagen, and the follow up of the EU post Accra commitments on aid effectiveness. A CSO progress report on policy coherence for development with European decision makers and the general public as targets groups will be produced by CONCORD Sweden in collaboration with CONCORD Europe and other platforms. The report will consist of an evaluation of the progress of EU coherence policy, and will focus on a limited amount of thematic areas.

The 2009 European Development Days will take place in October in Stockholm, with the theme Citizenship and Development, and the EDD will be a key event for CONCORD Sweden to share the experience and viewpoints of Swedish civil society with key official development actors, and European civil society, on democratic governance and human rights.

For further information: Peter Sorbom (peter.sorbom@concord.se)

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

Czech Presidency will face a challenging environment for development

Source: EU News, Issue 8, November/December 2008

A number of initiatives and discussions to assess and address the impact of the financial and economic crisis on people living in poverty in Europe and outside Europe will take place during the Czech Presidency of the EU, said the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU to Caritas Europa as they met on 15 December. Following up to the Doha Conference on Financing for Development and ahead of the G20 meeting in London in April, the Czech Presidency will guide the preparation of a statement on the financial crisis impact on developing countries which could consist of a political chapeau to the traditional “April package” of reports on aid effectiveness, financing for development and the MDGs.

Linking to broader EU debates on energy security and recent increases in global energy prices, the Czech Presidency hopes to bring forward what could be an interesting debate on Southern access to local and sustainable energy sources. This issue will be on the agenda of the informal meeting of of Development Ministers in Prague on 29-30 January, with the view to lead to a Staff Paper. The Czechs plan to place the emphasis on development cooperation with countries in Southeastern and Eastern Europe, which appears to raise divergent views in DG DEV and DG RELEX. A debate on the development impact of the EU’s financial instruments targeted towards these regions could be held at the January informal ministerial meeting.

The Czech Presidency will be responsible for ensuring that Member States put forward clear plans for implementation of the Accra Agenda for Action on aid effectiveness, in the lead-up to the 18-19 May meeting of Development Ministers in the Council. The future of EU relations with African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries will also be front and center, with the kick-off of negotiations on the second revision to the 2000-2020 Cotonou Partnership Agreement (see article below). In parallel, the process for the mid-term review of the EU’s country strategies for development will begin, with the transparency of the process and ability of civil society to influence the orientation of the strategies towards a meaningful impact for the most vulnerable populations at stake.

A promising element of the Presidency is the attention to be given to democratic governance, with a focus on democracy and human rights, including national accountability and the roles of Parliaments and civil society. A conference should be organised in March/April jointly with the civil society. As part of it, one roundtable should be dedicated to governance and development cooperation. The Czech Permanent Representation to the EU highlighted their good ongoing communication with FORS, the Czech Platform of Development NGOs and confirmed that CONCORD would be invited to some CODEV meetings during the course of their Presidency, as it already happened in the past.

The first half of 2009 also portends major changes in the EU institutions. Still to be resolved is the thorny question of the Irish no to the Lisbon Treaty, while elections will go forward in June for the new European Parliament, bringing with it a new Commission of the same political stripes as the Parliament’s majority. This will raise again larger questions about the place of development in the EU: both in terms of its coherence and autonomy vis-à-vis other external policies, as well as its financial means, with the parallel early review of priorities for the 2007-13 EU budget.

See the EU Presidency Outlook for Development including a review of the French presidency, World Economy & Development in brief, 9 Dec 2008.

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on the EU Presidency, CIDSE and APRODEV

What French NGOs will be doing during the French Presidency of the EU

Source: Concord Flash 52, May 2008

France takes the lead in Europe on 1st July. This French presidency of the EU comes in a particular context, marked by the French rejection of the European Constitutional Treaty in 2006 and the recent No from Ireland. Moreover, the EU elections and the eventual entry into force of the amended treaty will closely follow the French EU presidency. The future of Europe will be a central issue in debates.

To highlight the importance of development cooperation, the French national association, Coordination SUD, has planned several activities, both at national level and, with CONCORD, at European level. Its presidency programme focuses on the EU's relationships with countries from the South and, more widely, the EU's role in globalisation. The future of Europe will be the cross-cutting theme tackled from different angles.

Advocacy work aimed at French and EU decision-makers and communication and awareness-raising activities will be carried out to ensure that civil society’s main concerns are included in the official EU agenda. A manifesto for the French EU presidency, drafted by Coordination SUD, sets out NGOs' analysis and their demands for the future of the EU and the EU's relations with countries from the South.

For each theme, a European seminar will be organised:

• Development financing (1 July): in the context of the international summits, on aid effectiveness in Accra and on development financing in Doha in December.
  
• Agriculture and development (16 September): in the context of the review of the EU budget and the re-assessment of the Common Agricultural Policy.
  
• Climate change and development (25 September): the impact of global warming on development in the South.
  
• International conferences on the role of national platforms (27-28 October) and on the EU as seen by the rest of the world (29-30 October, co-organised with CONCORD) with 80 representatives from all over the world sharing their opinions on different aspects of the EU's external policies, and its role.
  
• Citizens, the EU and international solidarity (18-19 November): the role of citizens in the elaboration of the EU project and particularly with regard to development and solidarity.
  
• Europe-Africa relations (5 December): with the joint EU-Africa strategy having been adopted at the end of 2007, there is a need to carry on with the analysis and advocacy work on this subject that was undertaken under the preceding presidencies. The aim is to have proposals for a balanced and mutually enriching relationship between the two continents.

For further information contact Florence McBain

Also check the Euforic newsfeed on the French EU Presidency

First Presidency of a new member state: Slovenia leads the way

Source: Concord Flash 48, January 2008

The Slovenian government is taking its job seriously and has been preparing for its Presidency of the European Union (EU) for more than a year now. At stake is not only the country's image, as one of the most deserving in terms of European integration efforts, but also the burden that will be placed on its civil service, 10% of whose staff will be working on the presidency.

The key priorities for the Slovenian Presidency of the European Union have been decided, within the framework of the common programme established at the end of 2006 with Germany and Portugal to cover an 18 month period. Slovenia has also worked with France to ensure the best meshing of their presidencies and action priorities although the partnership with Mediterranean countries will not be one of its priorities as it is for France.

The four main priorities for the Slovenian presidency are:

• Enlargement: prioritising the Balkan states joining the EU and the continuation of talks with Turkey.
  
• Future of Europe: work will concentrate on a smooth Treaty ratification process.
  
• The Lisbon Strategy: prioritising the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy for growth and employment, including energy policy and climate change.
  
• Inter-cultural dialogue: Slovenia will make the most of 2008 as the European Year of Inter-Cultural Dialogue to organise events with European civil society in the EU and the Balkans.
  

Regarding development policies, the Slovenian presidency is focusing on finalising the European Partnership Agreements, development education and the situation of children and women affected by armed conflict. Indeed, the first big event of the Presidency was the presentation of the study entitled "Enhancing the EU response to children affected by armed conflict" which took place in Brussels on 11 January. CONCORD’s photo exhibition, and members, were there as well.

CONCORD and SLOGA, the national platform of Slovenian Development NGOs is working closely with the Slovenian government. SLOGA's aim is to enable the Slovenian public to link their own lives with those of people throughout the world – with a special focus on Africa and the Balkans – and to increase people’s understanding of the interrelation between economic, social, political and environmental factors as the main causes of poverty.

The Slovenian NGO project is addressing the issues of climate change, aid effectiveness, development education and social inclusion (intergenerational dialogue with a focus on Africa, traficking of women, migration with a focus on women and children, and advocacy for children).

Read more...

See the CONCORD newsfeed

See also Euforic's newsfeed and dossier on the EU presidencies

From the Slovenian to the French EU Presidency

Source: EU News, January 2008

On 1 January, the Slovenian Government took over the EU presidency, whose priorities were to a large extent determined by the 18-month programme of the German, Portuguese and Slovenian Presidencies. Hence, it is expected that the Slovenian presidency will build on its predecessors work and boost the effectiveness of current EU policies rather than proposing "endless initiatives."

Slovenia is inheriting a significant project initiated by Germany, that had used its political leverage to push through the EU Code of Conduct on Complementarity and Division of Labour in Development Policy, aimed at rationalizing the number of EU donors present in a country and/or across sectors, according to donors’ "comparative advantage".

It would be big success for the EU, if the French Presidency starting in June could present a comprehensive and positive report, citing examples of successful implementation (Ghana, Vietnam) in the third high level forum in Accra. Until June, however, the Slovenian Government has committed to take forward several other issues as well. Read more...

For more information, please check the Slovenian Presidency website

See also the Euforic highlights on the EU Presidency

A word from the Portuguese Platform on its Presidency

Source: CONCORD Flash - June 2007.

In the second half of 2007, Portugal will play the leading role in drafting EU policies and priorities and seeing them translated into action. The Portuguese presidency of the European Union is a challenge for Portuguese civil society organisations, and in particular for development NGOs (NGDOs). It is also a unique opportunity for coordinated working, drawing together the different types of expertise and initiative in the various civil society organisations at the national, regional and international levels, with the aim of putting forward an integrated analysis of the issues and boosting action proposals for development.

At the first Civil Society Europe-Africa Meeting, in Lisbon in 2000, over 80 organisations underlined some crucial aspects of the relationship between the two continents such as the need to analyse the promotion of wellbeing and sustainable development; to put poverty reduction at the heart of development policies. They also highlighted the interaction between economic processes and policies and development, in particular globalisation; the inclusion of African countries in the world economy and levels of development aid; the rights of the individual; the pre-eminence of law and good governance, and boosting national and regional capacity in the construction of citizenship by taking into account the role played by civil society.

Since then the international situation has changed greatly, and the relative priorities of political agendas have evolved. So it is time to resume the dialogue. The presidency project of the Portuguese NGDO Platform thus sets out to influence the dialogue between Europe and Africa, and to encourage reflection and action by civil society organisations in five major areas: the two issues of governance and migration, one strategic process, one framework for action on development and one cross-cutting principle – coherence.

The project fits in with the series of "presidencies" initiatives developed previously, and is designed to feed into the actions to be carried out by the national platforms of the Union presidencies that will follow that of Portugal (Slovenia and France). The Portuguese presidency project will thus continue to carry forward the Finnish agenda on coherence between development policies, and will follow up on a number of dossiers already dealt with by its German counterpart in the first half of 2007, in particular the joint EU-Africa strategy, which will be adopted at the second Summit of Heads of State and Government in Lisbon on 8 and 9 December next, and the Economic Partnership Agreements.

The Portuguese Platform's proposals

The project centres around an analysis of the processes designed to step up the effectiveness of the dialogue between the EU and Africa, in line with sustainable development policies and programmes and based on key principles such as ownership, partnership, integrity and innovation. The subjects to be tackled – migration and governance – are particularly important as they represent two vital, multifaceted aspects of development management, in both Europe and Africa, without which it will be difficult to attain the Millennium Goals.

The main ideas underpinning the project are, therefore:

• The Europe-Africa Dialogue: moving on from statements of principle to actual practice.
• Good governance: promoting a mutual effort.
• Development cooperation: innovation, integrity and partnerships to turn development into a process that sparks local, national and regional dynamics which promote development and strengthen institutions.
• Policy coherence: a prerequisite for effective, sustainable development assistance. The publication of the first report on the coherence of EU policies during the second half of 2007 will be an opportunity to take stock of the situation.
• Migration: between the right to emigrate and the right to stay at home in dignity, the Platform recognises the two-fold opportunity presented by migration in its different forms, both for communities of origin and for destination communities. There is thus a need to work on developing clear, low-cost tools, notably for sending funds to countries of origin, and to design and set up community projects.

High points in the timetable of the NGDO presidency project

In addition to the activities aimed at influencing the official agenda for the Portuguese presidency, over the next nine months the Platform plans to organise reflection and action by civil society organisations at several different levels:

• At the inter-regional level, a Civil Society Forum for Europe-Africa dialogue. This will be prepared in cooperation with European partners organised within CONCORD, and will be held in conjunction with the meeting of MEPs organised by one of the project’s key partners, the North-South Centre. It will also be relying on a contribution from African networks when drafting working papers. The outcome will, among other things, inform NGDO positions at the second Summit of Heads of State and Government next December. Working groups will also be formed after the Civil Society Forum, to ensure that the recommendations emerging from the meeting are followed up on.

• At the national level, a series of debates and decentralised workshops on the presidency themes, with the participation of various civil society players (universities, NGOs, Private Institutes for Social Solidarity, migrants’ organisations, etc.), will link in with complementary initiatives organised in the context of the presidency.

The Portuguese Platform will also organise a trilingual virtual space for development information and education, focusing on the presidency issues and featuring an electronic conference organised jointly with the North-South Centre to prepare for the meeting at the end of October. It will also produce many participatory tools and games designed to improve knowledge of African development issues among people living in the European Union while at the same time giving an indication of the real extent of their awareness of these different subjects.

For further information: www.plataformaongd.pt

Source: CONCORD Flash - June 2007.

More resources on the EU Presidency; and on Portuguese development cooperation.

A shaky end for the German Presidency

Let's look back on the events of the past month and take stock of the last six months of Germany's Council Presidency and the presidency project of Germany’s national platform, VENRO, which focused mainly on "Prospects for Africa – Europe's Policies".

Given the rapidly changing economic, political and social processes taking place in Africa and Europe, close cooperation between Southern and Northern NGOs is more urgent and necessary than ever. European NGOs and their African partners therefore discussed the role of NGOs in the European Development Policy. In their Development Policy Manifesto, African and German civil society organisations resist all attempts to commercialise private efforts on sustainable development and refuse to be seen as implementers of preconceived EU policies without a full right of initiative.

In June – as relations between Africa and the European Union were at the heart of the Presidency's activities, with the 13th ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly taking place in Wiesbaden from 23 to 28 June – VENRO presented its presidency project, entitled "Prospects for Africa – Europe's Policies", with an information stand. Together with the informal Alliance EPA07 it organised a breakfast meeting with parliamentarians from Africa and Europe to discuss the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). On the EU-Africa Strategy, which is to be adopted at the planned EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon in December 2007, VENRO met with the
Member of European Parliament, Maria Martens, who will report on this strategy in the EU.

But June was also the month of the G8 meeting. On this occasion, international civil society organisations gathered in Germany under the banner of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) to remind the leaders of the world's eight richest nations to meet their promises to eradicate poverty. NGOs held a civil society demonstration and an alternative summit in Rostock. This week of protest against the G8 summit included mobilisation, demonstrations and blockades as well as debates and seminars.

In particular, German NGOs launched a campaign against unfair international trade policies and urged the German Chancellor and the G8 to reorient world trade policy so that it contributes to global justice and respect for social and economic human rights. It wants policies that put environmental protection, human rights and overcoming poverty before economic interests and ahead of one-sided liberalisation. In parallel, a number of GCAP West Africa NGOs attended the People's Forum in Sikasso to raise awareness of the demands the GCAP was putting to the G8, and held a press conference.

The biggest global climate petition in history was also handed to Ms Merkel, German's top negotiator at the G8+5 summit. Germany chaired the talks, and used the petition to show the strength of global opinion on this issue.

For further information: a two-page summary of the main VENRO activities: http://www.trialog.or.at/docs/venro_presidency.pdf.
Also visit the GCAP website: www.whiteband.org

Source: CONCORD Flash - June 2007.

See also Euforic dossier on the EU Presidency

CONCORD meets with Portuguese Presidency

On 3 May, a CONCORD delegation met with Prof. Dr. João Gomes Cravinho, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs & Cooperation of Portugal. Mr. Cravinho explained that the upcoming Portuguese Presidency will deal with a number of dossiers, some of those are 'inherited' while others are put on the agenda as an initiative of the Presidency. Among the inherited dossiers are the EU-ACP negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements (which the Commission would like to finalise by the end of this year), the Joint EU-Africa Strategy, and the Consensus on Humanitarian Aid. Two issues (out of the list of 12 thematic areas for Policy Coherence) will be put on the agenda by an own initiative: security and migration.

The Portuguese Presidency has asked ECDPM to produce a study on fragile states. This will be the topic of a conference which is planned to take place in July. In November, a meeting is planned where development and defence specialists will discuss issues of common concern. It is hoped that these initiatives will also be
useful for the Commission which is working on a Communication on fragile states. Mr. Cravinho asked CONCORD members for input on the issue of fragile states.

On the issue of migration, Mr. Cravinho is of the opinion that the development community has homework to do. It is too easy to say that development will take away the reasons for migration from South to North. Guidelines may have to be developed concerning the issue of migration and development.

Asked about the Portuguese position on the EPA negotiations, Mr Cravinho said that the issue may be on the agenda of the informal meeting of Development Ministers in September. The CONCORD delegation urged the Development Ministers to be more assertive to ensure that trade relations between the EU and the ACP countries will really be instruments for development from the very beginning (rather than development money being used, ex post, to soften the effects of trade liberalisation).

Concerning the Joint EU-Africa Strategy, the CONCORD delegation expressed apprehension. What could be the significance of such a joint strategy if many things are already 'done and dusted', such as EPAs, the Governance Initiative, EDF Programming, the Communication on fragile states, etc? Mr. Cravinho explained that, for him, this is the beginning of a new process and, hopefully, a new way of working. Member States are taking this seriously and reference was made to the initiative of the German Presidency to establish an ad hoc group of Member States on the Joint Strategy.

Source: EU News - Issue 3, May 2007 (APRODEV, CIDSE, Caritas Europa).

See also Euforic dossiers on EU Presidency.