Following are major points of the EU-Africa Joint Strategy adopted at the second EU-Africa summit Sunday.
-- Objectives and New Approaches
The two sides will establish a political partnership of equals to address bilateral issues as well as common global challenges, to promote integrated and "whole of Africa" approaches, and it will be a broad-based and wide-ranging people-centered partnership.
The Joint Strategy therefore foresees different levels of cooperation (domestic, bilateral and global), in an approach which simultaneously encourages multilateral channels and seeks to handle the multiple dimensions of the relationship in an integrated manner.
-- Policy Priorities
This strategic partnership encompasses four broadly defined clusters of policy priorities, namely:
a. Peace and Security
Although the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) is taking shape and the EU has become a political partner that promotes Africa's lead in tackling African crises and conflicts, Africa and the EU consider that there are still areas in which both can build on to advance their cooperation, not only to foster peace and security in both continents, but also to address issues of common concern in the global arena:
-increasing the support to African agendas and capacities, specially AU's efforts to fully operationalize the APSA;
-overcoming the challenge of providing sustainable, predictable and flexible funding for African-led peace support operations;
-strengthen the dialogue and institutional cooperation, systematically sharing views as well as agreeing and implementing common positions on global issues;
-supporting and promoting the role of civil society and non-state actors in the security agenda.
b. Governance and Human Rights
Placing the promotion of democratic governance and human rights as a central feature of the EU-Africa partnership will mean that both sides will join efforts towards the enhancement of the effectiveness of the multilateral system and the promotion of the values of democracy, governance, rule of law and human rights.
c. Trade and Regional Integration
In this area, the EU and Africa will work towards the improvement of economic governance and investment climate in Africa. The key goals pursued by the EU-Africa dialogue will be:
-private sector development, supported by foreign investments, to strengthen the supply side of African economies;
-the development and strengthening of physical infrastructure networks needed for the movement of persons, goods, information;
-trade integration, which is vital to increase both South-South and North-South trade flows.
d. Key Development Issues
The EU and Africa will also focus on making a key contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
-- Institutional Architecture and Implementation
a. In the future, starting from the Lisbon summit, meetings of the Heads of State and Government will be organized every three years, alternately in Africa and the EU.
b. Presidents of the EU Council and the African Union (AU), of the European and the Pan-African Parliament and of the European and AU Commissions, will meet their institutional counterparts, alternately in Africa and the EU, to review progress and provide political guidance to the partnership.
c. The Joint Strategy should remain a permanent platform for continued dialogue with stakeholders in Africa and the EU in the years ahead. Members of Parliament, civil society organizations and European and African research institutes and think tanks will participate in dialogue mechanisms and initiatives and play a key role in monitoring the implementation of African, European and joint policies and commitments outlined in the Joint Strategy.
d. The Joint Strategy, which provides an overarching long-term policy framework for Africa-EU relations, will be implemented through successive Action Plans which will build on the operational part of this Joint Strategy and cover proposed priority actions for three years.
Source:Xinhua
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