Intervention by Ms Paula Lehtomäki, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland, in the Development Committee (DEVE) of the European Parliament
December 18, December 2006
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Honourable Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to be here today - for the second time during the Finnish EU Presidency - and give you a kind of a stocktaking report on the most topical development policy issues during the Finnish EU Presidency. For the EU, the year 2006 can be characterized as the year of implementation. I am happy to note that many concrete results have been reached during the Finnish Presidency, and the cooperation between the Council and the European Parliament has been commendable.
In the following, I will touch upon some central development issues such as development financing and aid effectiveness, policy coherence and the EPA negotiations as well as EU's relationship with Africa. I leave many other important topics to be taken up during the discussion.
Development Financing and Aid Effectiveness
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The most significant concrete achievement of the Finnish EU Presidency has been, in my view, to secure development financing for the coming years 2007-2013. As a result of a challenging negotiation process, we managed to reach a balanced compromise on the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI). While all parties have had to compromise on some issues, the most important achievement is that we have an instrument with a strong focus on poverty reduction and the MDGs. The timely finalisation of this instrument has been a high priority for us because of the major role the EU plays in providing the necessary support to poor countries in their efforts to tackle poverty.
The agreement on the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) completes the package of financing regulations. The expertise and contributions of the European Parliament in this field have been particularly important. While a separate instrument constitutes an opportunity to provide support in the most difficult situations and mainly through civil society actors, it must not become an excuse for not mainstreaming human rights and democracy issues in all cooperation. I am pleased to announce that after the vote by the Parliament in the December Plenary, the Presidency has proposed a fast approval process: subject to final confirmation by the Council tomorrow, the act can be signed already before the end of this year.
The agreement on the Financing Protocol of the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) with our African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Partners was agreed upon in Port Moresby in June and the Internal Agreement on its financing signed in July. During our Presidency, we have continued the process of setting up the 10th European Development Fund. We are working hard in the Council to have the regulations on implementation and financing ready to support the continuation of the programming exercise.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The EU remains committed to the growth of development financing. At the same time, the effectiveness of aid needs to be further enhanced. During our Presidency, the main focus in this respect has been in the implementation of the donor commitments made earlier, especially in the Paris Declaration.
In October, the Council approved conclusions on complementarity and division of labour. Now we have to assess thoroughly how our development cooperation is carried out. This is a long process which needs to be taken forward by the incoming Presidencies, along with all the Member States and the Commission. As an indication and a sample of new approaches in the provision of aid, I am delighted to note that an increasing number of our partner countries have formulated joint planning processes for their aid. This has also been a notable feature in the EDF programming. This all underlines the notion that results can only be achieved by further strengthening our partnerships and all of us implementing the commitments we have made.
Policy Coherence
Honourable Chair, Ladies and Gentlemen,
One of our main priorities during the past six months has been to find practical solutions in improving the coherence and effectiveness of the Union's external action. In this context, strive for Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) has been in focus.
During our Presidency, the first-ever Rolling PCD Work Programme was finalised to facilitate our work in horizontal PCD matters and the integration of development dimension into the 12 agreed priority policy areas. The Council has also agreed on ways to improve its decision-making in order to integrate development concerns better into policy processes. The next step is to produce the first-ever PCD Report of the European Union. I am confident that the preparatory process will become a useful learning exercise for all of us. Both the German and the Portuguese Presidencies are well on-board to successfully guide this process.
Coherence between trade and development has been the priority of the Finnish Presidency in the PCD context. We have highlighted the importance of supporting developing countries' integration into and participation in world trade. The first ever Joint Session of the EU Trade and Development Ministers was organised as part of the October 2006 General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) and proved very fruitful. Its main topic was Aid for Trade. The meeting was extremely timely since the WTO General Council had just a week earlier approved the recommendations of the WTO Aid for Trade Task Force on how to operationalise the Aid for Trade initiative.
The October Council Conclusions on Aid for Trade, adopted by the Joint Session, give a strong commitment to the implementation of the WTO-based Aid for Trade initiative. The EU needs to take firm action in implementing its Aid for Trade commitments. This is crucial for the credibility of the whole initiative. One of the first steps is to prepare next year a Joint EU Aid for Trade Strategy as mandated by the October Conclusions.
The Conclusions also give particular guidance to the EU's Aid for Trade policies towards the ACP countries. This is important in the context of the ongoing negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA). Both the EU and the ACP countries underline the importance of EPAs as instruments for development. Important issues still remain to be addressed and the remaining time to conclude the negotiations is short. An uncertain situation which would follow from not having EPAs in place for 2008 would not serve the interests of either Party. The EU will be ready to use all the flexibility the WTO allows to successfully conclude the agreements. Commitments could be implemented through reasonable and accommodating transition periods. The outcome of the review of the negotiations will only be available early next year and will naturally, as the EPAs in general, be high on the agenda of the incoming German Presidency.
A significant achievement in the field of migration and development was the adoption of an EU position for the recent UN High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development. The Joint Statement was received with appraise and is considered a good basis for further concretisation of the common goals. The outcomes of the fruitful GAERC dinner discussion on this topic in October have provided valuable further input to this work. The first meeting of the Global Forum is due to take place in Belgium in July 2007. Preparations for this are already underway.
We consider the dialogue between the EU and Africa on migration and development particularly important. The Ministerial Conferences held in Rabat in July and in Tripoli in November are significant turning points in this field at inter-regional level. The incoming Presidencies will continue this important dialogue.
Africa
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Last week, the European Council welcomed the progress report on the implementation of the EU Strategy for Africa. Important concrete steps in this regard have been the initiatives on infrastructure and good governance. At the October GAERC, Ministers agreed on the Council Conclusions on the EU-Africa Partnership on Infrastructure which give guidelines to the management of the recently established EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund. The Ministers also agreed on the Conclusions on Good Governance, highlighting the importance of political dialogue, ownership and harmonisation when taking further the European good governance agenda.
I'm glad to note that real progress has been made as regards the Joint EU-Africa Strategy, as well. The EU-Africa Ministerial Troika meeting in October 2006 agreed on a road map for the preparation of this Joint Strategy. A common goal is to have it approved by the second EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon 2007.
We have also taken steps forward in the relations between the EU and South Africa. The EU - South Africa Joint Cooperation Council in November adopted a Joint Statement on an EU - South Africa Strategic Partnership. It aims at enhancing the existing cooperation between the Partners through shared objectives and strategic political cooperation on regional, African and global issues. Furthermore, I would like to pinpoint that the Council decided during the autumn to restart cooperation with Togo and Guinea under the 9th EDF. This was possible because of positive developments in those countries in fulfilling the benchmarks agreed upon in article 96 consultations. On the other hand, the military take-over in Fiji presented us with concerning news which need to be taken into account under the Cotonou Partnership.
Honourable Chair, Ladies and Gentlemen,
During the past six months, the EU has continued to emphasise the importance of the UN reform process. We welcomed the report by the UN System-Wide Coherence Panel published in November, which proposes measures that could help overcome the fragmentation of the UN system. The EU Presidency organised an expert-level meeting in Helsinki in November, where the partners' primary views on the report and the way forward were discussed. This discussion will continue.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The field of development cooperation is vast and challenges are immense. Issues linked to security and development are in the background in today's headline news. The deeply worrying situation in Darfur is a sad case in point. Climate change, loss of biodiversity and delivery of humanitarian aid, including the reinforcement of the EU's emergency and crisis response capacities, need our further attention. HIV/AIDS is still a serious obstacle to development in many parts of the world.
Honourable Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I believe that we can be proud of what has been achieved during the latter part of year 2006. We managed to reach the targets that we set for ourselves at the beginning of our Presidency. The support from all of you and your Parliamentary Colleagues has been crucial in this success. I truly value the regular, constructive dialogue and the open and frank discussions with the Members of this Committee during our Presidency. It has been an honour to work with you and I am sure we will continue to work together towards our shared objectives in the future.
Thank you - and I am now ready to address your questions.