Manifesto Workshop

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Prospects for Africa Europes Policies The EU
Presidency Project of VENRO 1st September 2006
31st August 2007
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• Objectives
• Official Agenda
• Events
• Main Demands
• Follow-up Bonds Presidency Demands

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• Conception
• To integrate the views of African civil society
  organisations into the presidency policy
• Two key aspects will be tackled
• lack of coherence
• role of NGOs

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• Lack of Coherence
• Conception
• Trade/EPA negotiations
• Security/conflict prevention
• Renewable energies
• Climate change
• HIV/Aids
• Gender

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• The German NGOs follow both the Austrians and
  the Finnish NGOs
• Austrian NGOs put emphasis on the EU
  Africa-Strategy
• A lack of consultation and participation with
  African Partners was stressed. For the future
  implementation a genuine dialogue was demanded.
• Finnish NGOs called for coherence
• Identification of inter-linkages between
  policies and mechanisms to ensure coherence and
  practical ways of monitoring implementation in
  different areas.

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• 2. Our Objectives
• Formulating shared positions of African and
  European NGOs and contributing these positions to
  presidency politics. Bringing Africa to the fore.
• Strengthening the poverty focus of EU development
  policy and crystallizing Europes responsibility
  for fair and just development policy.
• Promoting public debate on present focuses of the
  EU development cooperation with regard to Africa.
• Strengthening the role of NGOs in EU development
  policy.

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• 3. Official Agenda (not published yet)
• Improving Coordination between Commission and
  Member States.
• Facilitating successfull Conclusion of the EPA
  Negotiations.
• Energy and Development (Supply, Development
  oriented Energy policy, Renewable Energies,
  Efficiency).

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• 3. Central Events of the Official Agenda (1)
• Presentation of the Development Policy Programme
  (European Parliament, January 2007)
• Informal Ministers Meeting (Bonn/Peterberg,
  13.03.2007)
• GAERC with Development Focus (Brussels,
  14./15.05.2007)

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• 3. Central Events of the Official Agenda (2)
• ACP-EU-Ministerial Council (Brussels, end of May
  2007)
• ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (Wiesbaden,
  23.-27.06.2007)
• Debriefing European Parliament (end of June),
  Handing over to Portugal

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• 4. Project Events Organised by VENRO
• Manifesto Workshop, (Bonn, 30.10.-1.11.2006)
• Handing over the Manifesto to the German
  Government (Berlin, 6th December, 2006)
• Panel discussion on Governance(Bonn, 12th
  December, 2006)
• International NGO Conference in cooperation with
  CONCORD (Bonn, 12th March, 2007)
• Conference Role of NGOs (Bonn, end of June 2007)

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• 4. Project Events Organised by VENRO Members
  within the Presidency Project
• Conference on HIV/Aids (Bonn, May 2007)
• Partner Consultation on Conflict
  Prevention(Berlin, May 2007)
• Conference on EPA-Negotiations (Berlin, March
  2007)
• Gender Conference (Hambourg, March 2007)
• Public Discussion on Renewable Energies and
  Climate Change (Cologne, June 2007)
• Parliamentary Evening on Renewable Energies

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• 5. Main Demands

Manifesto Workshop 30th October 1st November
2006 Bonn
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• I Establishing fair EU-ACP trade giving
  precedence to development in regional trade
  agreements
• EPAs should guarantee the necessary policy space
  for governments to persue their own development
  strategies.
• Comprehensive consultations with civil society
• Extend time frame
• Eliminating all export subsidies.

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• II Focus on prevention and peace building and
  Effective control of trade in small arms and
  light weapons
• Focus on prevention and peace building
• Effective control of trade in small arms and
  light weapons
• More binding regulations regarding the
  Extractive Industry Transperency Initiative
  (EITI)
• Strengthening the role of African civil society
  in peace building
• Integrity of development cooperation and its
  funding

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• III Promoting a global change in energy policies
  making development compatible with the climate
• Shift energy funding away from fossil and nuclear
  energies to rapid expansion of renewable energies
• Power sector reform, increasing local empowerment
  to modern decentralised energy services
• Capacity building for modern energy policies and
  technologies

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• IV Preventing dangerous climate change
  supporting adjustment measures
• Ensure consistency with the objective of avoiding
  dangerous climate change in all EU actions
• Increase funds for adaptation to climate change
• Enhance support of community-led adaptation
  processes
• Comprehensive review of the EU Action Plan on
  Climate change

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• V HIV/AIDS improving world-wide access to
  prevention and treatment
• Promote Universal Access to Prevention,
  Treatment, Care and Support
• EU should not ratify the modifation of the TRIPS
  agreement
• Support to local production

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• VI Asserting gender equality
• Cross cutting issue
• Integrate demands in all relevant policy areas

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• VII Boosting the role of non-governmental
  organisations in EU development co-operation
• Abolish the name non-state actors
• Participation in policy formulation, setting the
  agenda and implementation processes
• Right of initiative
• Revising regulations and elegibility criteria

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• Follow up Bonds Presidency Demands
• More and better aid Crucial issue of campaigning
  and DSGA
• Trade justice and human security strong foci of
  the presidency project

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• Thanks for your attention!
• Anke Kurat
• Project Co-ordinator
• VENRO
• Kaiserstrasse 201
• 53113 Bonn
• Tel. [phone]
• E-Mail a.kurat_at_venro.org
• Internet www.prospects-for-africa.de
• (Start 15.11.2006)

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• Demands of Deine Stimme gegen Armut (GCAP)
• Goal achievement of MDGs Keep the promise
• 4 core demands in line with GCAP (More and better
  aid, trade justice, debt cancellation, just
  governance)
• Position paper Stand by your commitments with
  12 demands to German government in precise terms,
  e.g. how to reach 0.7, introduction of innovative
  financing instruments, steps against tax havens,
  boost crisis prevention, combating AIDS, prevent
  harmful climate change
• Full text in Englishwww.deine-stimme-gegen-armut
  .de/docs/ DSGA_VENRO_Forderungspapier_2006_eng.pdf

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• Official German G8 agenda (1)
• Leitmotif growth and responsibility
• Two main topics world economy and Africa
• Investment, innovation and sustainability
• Reduce global injustice (trade deficit usa,
  increasing currency reserves in Asia)
• Improve systemic stability and transparency of
  financial and capital markets
• Recognition of freedom to invest in developed and
  middle income countries, conditions for
  investment, social dimension of globalization
• Meaning of innovation and improvement of
  intellectual property protection
• Sustainability and resources (energy efficiency,
  climate change, Kyoto)

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• Official German G8 agenda (2)
• Africa good governance, sustainable investment,
  peace and security
• Building reform partnership with Africa
• Economic growth and the G8s responsibilities are
  of crucial importance for Africas development
• Strengthening of African health systems,
  especially in the fight against HIV/AIDS. 
• African countries have to develop structures for
  investments more democracy, less corruption,
  responsibility, sovereignty of ressources

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• DSGA plans 2007 (1)
• Petition to German Government Voices against
  Poverty (postcards/ lists, online, SMS)
• International collection of signatures
• Cultural event near Heiligendamm on 7th June 2007
  P8 Poor 8
• Music messages speeches and performances by
  celebrities and musicians from northern as well
  as from developing countries
• Local events organised by VENRO member
  organisations (Tour by Herbert Groenemeyer,
  activities in 80 cinemas)

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• DSGA plans 2007 (2)
• Advertisments open letters to govt./G8 (G8
  Finance Ministers Meeting, EU dev. minister, G8
  summit)
• New click-ad with German celebrities (for TV/
  cinema)
• Online Longest Click-Ad in the world
• Everybody takes picture/video of himself clicking
  upload on international website