Eurostep weeklyRegular News Update from Eurostep, N° 497 3 March 2008 EU election observation mission to Pakistan reports to the EPIn a report to the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, MEPs on the observer mission said that the poll took place in a positive atmosphere, although there were some irregularities. With all the results in, the election represents a defeat for the supporters of President Musharraf.
The European Union sent a large observation mission to Pakistan, headed by German Christian Democrat Michael Gahler. It was made up of 131 observers from 23 EU countries and was present in Pakistan from December onwards. For the election itself it was joined by a cross-party team from Parliament headed by British Labour Member Robert Evans.
The report was presented by Mr. Gahler and Mr. Evans. Mr. Gahler reported that the voter turnout was higher than at the last election - 44.6% as compared to 41.7% in the 2002 election. This comes in spite of an inadequate voter registration system and procedural irregularities. He also voiced concern that the recommendations made by the EU EOM after the last 2002 elections had not been adequately addressed.
Mr. Evans reported that he had had meetings with Musharraf, all political parties, local and international election observers and civil society prior to the polling day. He stated that Musharraf had committed to accepting the election results. Evidence was, however, found of cases where local authorities favoured the former ruling parties during the campaign. A final report will be published in mid-April.
With all the results in, the main winners were the Pakistani People's Party (now run by Benazir Bhutto’s widower) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) run by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
More than 30 deaths were recorded due to election-related violence on polling day.
Sources: Roundtable on the future of Development Cooperation under the Lisbon Treaty On Tuesday 26 February, a conference examining the implications of the EU's new Lisbon treaty for the fight against poverty took place in the Bibliothèque Solvay in Brussels. Among the speakers were Eurostep Director Simon Stocker and British Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, Gareth Thomas. The treaty formally recognises that the eradication of poverty is the key objective of EU development aid policy. But many of the participants questioned whether the Union is genuinely committed to ending hardship. Louise Hilditch from ActionAid's Brussels office said there is a "lack of consensus" among European policy-makers about "what is meant by poverty eradication". Until greater clarity is achieved on this matter, discussions about Europe's activities will be "in a vacuum", she remarked. Mr. Thomas said that under the Lisbon treaty, the goal of eradicating poverty will be enshrined in an EU treaty for the first time. Yet he argued that the treaty needs to be implemented in a way that guarantees "greater consistency" in the EU's stance towards poor countries. It "does not make sense", he said, that the EU now has one Commissioner for development aid, who deals with political relations with Africa, and another holding an external relations portfolio, who handles relations with poor countries in Asia and Latin America. One of the institutional innovations that will result from the treaty will be that the Union will appoint a political representative akin to a foreign minister. Yet rather than being called a minister, he or she will have the title of High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy. Dirk Messner, Director of the German Development Institute (DIE), said that development policy must not be made subordinate to security and strategic foreign policy goals. The High Representative should not be the "boss" of a development commissioner, he added, but someone who plays a coordinating role.
As representative of Civil Society Mr. Simon Stocker, Director of Eurostep, agreed that the Lisbon Treaty is a step forward in defining development cooperation as the principle framework for developing countries and said that the NGOs fully support the establishment of a single service. However, Mr. Stocker warned for the dangers involved in beefing up security and defence policies. He said that peace, security and governance definitely have a role to play, but the main objective of development cooperation needs to be poverty eradication.
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French priorities for the EU Presidency autumn 2008
The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, already announced the priorities for the French Presidency of the European Union in August last year. Last week in Strasbourg, the French Prime Minister, François Fillon, spoke at the EPP-ED Group Meeting at the European Parliament. At the meeting, the Prime Minister spoke about the four priorities for the French Presidency.
As first priority he listed the fight against global warming: “We want Europe to set in legislation the objective to which we are all committed; to reduce gas emissions by 20%.” Secondly, he listed the issue of immigration and asylum rights, promising that France will push for the harmonisation of the legislation on the matter, for better controls at the Union's borders and for an efficient development policy. The third priority is European defence, since France feels the Union does not possess the appropriate means to be able to handle the demands it receives for peace-keeping missions. The fourth priority is a check-up on the Common Agricultural Policy in order to reflect on its future. These priorities, and Sarkozy’s vision of a “protective Europe”, could be seen to be incompatible with the Czech slogan of a “Europe without barriers”. The Czech Republic assumes the EU Council Presidency in January 2009, placing it between France and Sweden. French and the Czech politics and opinions differ on a number of issues, for example on the Common Agricultural Policy, where the Czech government is "more liberal" and in favour of more spending on science and new technologies. Sources: Trade-Africa: EU continues to push for “full” EPAs in 2008The European Union (EU) has an ambitious agenda for the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations. It is pushing for the conclusion of full agreements in the next one to three years, covering everything from services to ‘‘trade-related’’ issues such as investment, competition and government procurement. The European Union is determined to get those African countries on board which have so far resisted the EPAs. Mark Maes, an EPA expert from the Brussels-based development organisation 11.11.11., spoke to IPS about the EC’s 2008 work plan, saying, ‘‘they are going to be pretty determined and aggressive”.
There are two areas which the EU is likely to use for pulling the ACP countries back to the negotiating table in 2008. According to Maes, ‘‘under the EPAs, some rules of origin (market access rules dealing with the ‘nationality’ of products) have been improved upon compared to what countries had under the Cotonou agreement, for instance in fish and textiles. The other area is development. The development chapters (where the EU is supposed to outline how they can support the ACP with aid) are incomplete and also have to be improved upon.’’
The two regions that were most opposed to the EPAs were West Africa and the Pacific. Most of the West African states refused to initial an interim agreement. They are clear that they want to negotiate a ‘‘friendly’’ EPA. They have given themselves two years, up to 2009, to do this.
According to Maes, West Africans were angry that the EU had pushed Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana to the point where they had signed individual EPAs ahead of the rest of the region. Now the EU wants the outstanding countries in that region to accede to these agreements. The interim agreements also have rendezvous clauses which are commitments to further negotiations that include services and trade-related issues.
The question is whether negotiations will be as controversial and full of tension between the two sides in 2008 as they were in 2007. At the EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon in December 2007, as a result of the public outcry by APC countries over the EPAs, José Barroso promised that he would meet all the ACP regions at high level this year to re-open the negotiations. The ACP countries, in their resolution of December 13, 2007, welcomed the Barroso proposal. But, said Maes, ‘‘now the Commission is backtracking. Peter Mandelson (EU Trade Commissioner) told the European Parliament at the end of January that the Commission will not look backwards but forwards”. Sources: MEP Ana Maria Gomes on China's "scramble" for AfricaChina's growing influence in Africa is the source of a recent report by the EP's Development Committee. Portuguese Socialist MEP Ana Maria Gomes drafted the report on China's latter day "scramble" for Africa and the consequences for the continent's development.
Ms. Gomes stated that her report’s objective was “to have a better articulation between Europe and China to make a difference for Africa's development.” “This should not take place over the Africans' heads, but involve their institutions and governments”, she added.
The report identifies the need to procure natural resources as China’s primary motive in the region, and notes that: “China became the world’s second-largest oil consumer in 2003 and Chinese demand is expected to double by 2025. Some 30% of China’s crude oil imports now come from Africa and oil accounts to 50% of Africa’s exports to China.”
Gomes’ report is critical of China’s influence on Africa in the fields of human rights, the environment, corruption and peace and security, particularly over the conflict in Darfur. China’s “strictly business” approach to co-operation with Africa means that aid and loans are provided to African governments on a supposedly "no-strings attached" basis. The report claims that “China’s ‘trade only, no politics’ approach, rather than ensuring neutrality, provides some African dictators with political and financial support to stay in power.”
Gomes urged the EU to respond to the new challenges presented by China in Africa by strengthening relations with African countries, delivering on aid commitments and making the pursuit of the MDGs a priority, and by maintaining pressure on China to conduct its international affairs in the interests of peace and sustainable development.
Sources: European Commission appoints new director to coordinate its approach to European External Action Service On 6 February, the European Commission appointed Gerhard Sabathil as Director of Strategy, Coordination and Analysis in the Directorate-General for External Relations (DG RELEX). Mr Gerhard, who is currently head of the European Commission's delegation in Germany, will be responsible for coordinating the EC's approach to the European External Action Service (EEAS). The Treaty of Lisbon provides for a High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who will belong both to the Council of Ministers and to the European Commission. The Treaty states that: “The High Representative shall be assisted by a European External Action Service. This service shall work in cooperation with the diplomatic services of the Member States and shall comprise officials from relevant departments of the General Secretariat of the Council and of the Commission as well as staff seconded from national diplomatic services of the Member States." There is concern that the EEAS might incorporate all EU external actions, including development co-operation and humanitarian assistance, which would affect the current status of these areas as equal to and separate from the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Sources: |
