Africa, Development & Aid, Europe, Headlines, Poverty & SDGs

DEVELOPMENT: EU Mulls Over Africa Report

Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, Mar 16 2005 (IPS) - While the European Union has largely welcomed the Commission for Africa report released last week, there is a debate over how the recommendations made in the paper will fit into the bloc’s new development policy.

The report by the Commission for Africa, set up by the British government, was launched in London Friday (Mar. 11).

Amongst a series of proposals, the commission recommended that an additional 18.6 billion euros (25 billion dollars) a year in aid be made available for Africa by the international community by 2010. It called also for 100 percent debt cancellation for African countries, and for rich countries to provide 0.7 percent of their gross national income (GNI) for aid.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso was swift to welcome the report as an important contribution to the fight against poverty, but European Union (EU) officials and development experts are questioning where the recommendations will feed into the renewed EU development policy.

In a statement released Monday (Mar. 14) Barroso said he welcomed the Commission for Africa’s emphasis on the role that trade can play as a driver of growth for Africa’s development.

"The EU, which is already a main importer from Africa, is also the main provider of trade-related assistance and supports additional, targeted funding to help poor countries in Africa develop that capacity," he said.

"I want Africa to be a flagship issue for this commission. Both the European Commission and the Commission for Africa recognise that more should be done both for and by Africa. The European Commission will come forward in April with its proposals on accelerating progress in reaching the Millennium Development Goals," he added.

However, there is much debate over the report in the European Parliament, the only democratically-elected EU institution.

Shortly after the release of the report Socialist MEP Glenys Kinnock said the findings were "both radical and realistic".

"Radical because the commissioners, acting independently have given detailed analysis, and have identified specific areas which need urgent action. Realistic because the delivery of these goals has been properly costed and agreed with African leaders," she said in a statement.

Presenting the main findings of the report to members of the European Parliament during a workshop on the ‘EU and the UN Millennium Challenge’ Tuesday (Mar. 15) Myles Wickstead, head of secretariat to the Commission for Africa, said the report marked an important contribution to the development debate.

"The important thing about the report is that its elements hang together and the international community can’t just pick and choose the bits of it that they want to. It is a convincing, comprehensive story on how the world has to react to poverty," he said.

While Wickstead acknowledged that many of the recommendations made in the report were not new ideas, he insisted that this in itself was a positive sign.

"This means that the ideas are already in place and makes us ask they haven’t already been implemented. We know what the goals are, all we have to do now is generate the political will to go forward with our recommendations," he said.

"We will be lobbying G8 members and EU countries, asking them to endorse our recommendations and to put them into practice. If it’s not done then we have failed," he said. "The world must act differently as a result of this report."

Wickstead also urged members of the European Parliament MEPs and other EU officials not to miss the opportunity to use the report in the fight against poverty.

"It is my firm belief that if we don’t use the opportunity of this year as the year for development, then we will lose the chance to act on poverty forever."

This has been earmarked as the year for development. There is a G8 (the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia) summit in July, a United Nations high level review of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in September, as well as a World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, is also currently reviewing its development policy. Next month Louis Michel, EU commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, will announce a package of proposals on the future orientation of its development agenda.

Swedish Christian Democrat MEP Anders Wijkman cautiously welcomed the report, but stressed that aid effectiveness was important.

"I like the way that the report talks about packages of goals. In so many areas we are working in silence. For the MDGs for example, we are addressing them one issue at a time which isn’t very effective," he told fellow MEPs.

"There is a lot of attention given to debt relief, but we should be improving the efficiency of aid and look at the coherence and consistency of the EU’s policies. There is too little coordination between donors in countries and we have to deal with that. While the EU cannot deal with all of the issues, we should get our own house in order," he said.

Wijkman added that anti-corruption measures should be added to the report.

"There is a tremendous amount of resources that isn’t benefiting poor people. If we don’t correct this as part of the package we aren’t going anywhere," he said.

Fraser Cameron, director of studies at the Brussels-based European Policy Centre said stock-taking and coordination were essential.

"We don’t need any more commissions or reports. We have to assess what has been done. Our agenda now should be to mobilise support and national parliaments should be brought into this," he told MEPs.

Cameron said the MDGs were the best vehicle to achieve and measure the fight against poverty.

"We have to name and shame those countries that aren’t contributing to the goals. There is a moral agenda because people do react to that, and have a moral responsibility," he said.

The debate is continuing in the European Commission.

Amadeu Altafaj Tardio, development spokesperson for the EU executive, said that while the Commission for Africa report would "enrich" EU policy discussions, more concrete action is needed.

"The risk is that we have many initiatives concerning Africa and concerning development. There is the MDG review in September and there has been a lot of discussion on how to finance development, but now it is urgent that we have a common position to work on. It’s time to deliver on these declarations," he told IPS.

"Although there are many interesting conclusions in the report, the diagnosis is well known. It’s good to have assessments and proposals, but now let’s have a common strategy at EU level and amongst member states that can be coordinated with the UN and all other major donors," he added.

The development group Oxfam added its cautious approval of the report, but insisted that time and political will would determine the success of its recommendations.

"In the long term, history will judge this report not just by its content but by its capacity to deliver genuine change," said Oxfam’s Adrian Lovett said in a statement.

"This report can be a rallying call for a generation that will no longer tolerate the obscenity of extreme poverty in Africa – or it could end up gathering dust. It’s now up to world leaders to make that choice."