Presidency System
I am speaking in my capacity as the Presidency of the European Union in Ghana. The Union has 25 Member States and is practising a rotating sequence of Presidencies with a change every six month. For the period from July to December 2006 Finland has the Chair of the President of the European Union.
In our relations to foreign countries the EU-Presidency also plays an important role abroad. Ambassadors of the member states meet regularly among themselves, but also with the host government, with host governments institutions, with the general public, civil society and with the media.
This is what we are doing today. Since Finland has no Embassy in Ghana, one of the European countries represents the Presidency. Germany has been chosen, this is why I am speaking to you representing Finland.
EU countries present in Ghana with diplomatic missions are, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom, plus Bulgaria who will join in very soon. The European Commission is the 10th member of our small European family in Accra.
Finland's Programme
Finland's programme for its 6 month presidency contains a large, wide and ambitious set of targets, many of them on internal aspects of the union like further enlargement, better internal regulations, transparency to increase confidence of EU citizens into the Union and financial aspects.
The agenda also focuses on political questions like the internal market, innovation and research, the general economic and monetary policy, questions related to transport, communications and energy, issues on employment, social and health related policies, education, environment and economic sectors.
Finally there is the very important set of agenda points focusing on Justice, Security and Freedom. I mention all these aspects to demonstrate the spread of the agenda.
EU External Relations
Speaking in our host country Ghana I should like to concentrate my remarks on the European Unions external relations. Of course, the immediate neighbourhood plays an important role for Finland's programme, relations to Russia being very prominent among them.
Also the Western Balkans will be a key external-relations issue. In Kosovo, the EU will support the UN-led status process and in Serbia our objective is to make effective use of the influence and the instruments at the EU's disposal in support of stability. Relations to all parts of the world are on Finland's agenda.
North America, the Mediterranean region, Asia and Africa are mentioned in the programme in particular. The reform of the United Nations, which we consider the centrepiece of an effective multilateral system is a priority. Finland and the EU back moves to strengthen the links between security, development and human rights in the UN.
EU Africa Strategy
Member states are discussing the further elaboration of the EU Africa Strategy, a progress report will be presented to the European Council in December 2006. At the 5th Ministerial Troika in Bamako, the EU and the AU agreed to transform the EU Strategy into an Joint Strategy. During Finland's presidency a proposal for an outline of the joint strategy will be elaborated to be discussed at the next EU-AU Ministerial Troika.
The EU-Africa Joint Strategy is intended to be a focused, political document, setting out a vision of EU-Africa relations in the decade ahead and building on dialogue that should be flexible, deeper, more frequent and should include new areas of interest. Preferably, the Joint Strategy should be adopted by the EU-Africa summit envisaged for the second half of 2007.
The joint strategy will be structured along the following agreed clusters:
- Peace and Security: The EU's Africa Strategy includes conflict prevention, cooperation with the AU and the sub regional institutions like ECOWAS, direct support to the AU and the sub regional institutions to promote peace and stability, post conflict reconstruction and efforts to stem the illicit flow if weapons;
- Human Rights and Governance: The EU's Africa Strategy emphasizes the promotion of human rights, support to good governance programmes through a EU Governance Initiative, support to African efforts and support to the fight against corruption, human trafficking, illegal drugs and organized crime.
- Trade and Integration: The EU's Africa Strategy includes the facilitation of a better connected Africa by establishing an EU-Africa Infrastructure Partnership and the creation - as a starting point - of a EC-EIB Trust Fund of - 260 million. It emphasizes as well increased aid for trade, agreement of Economic Partnership Agreements with Africa's regional groupings and support to Africa in countering the effects of climate change.
- Development: The EU's Africa Strategy brings forth the increased aid, more effective and predictable EU financial assistance to Africa, innovative financing mechanisms on a voluntary basis, support to the proposal to cancel outstanding debts owed by HIPC's, and the strengthening of the Commissions aid department.
What is the relevance for Ghana and ECOWAS?
Let me first of all stress that the EU has a regular and well established set for dialogue with its partners. We do have the EU-AU Troika and the EU-ECOWAS Troika meeting every six month. In the West Africa region the political dialogue is very intensive to support and consolidate peace in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Togo. On the bilateral level the EU-Ambassadors resident in Accra conduct regular political dialogue with the Government through personal contacts with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, other Ministers, Members of Parliament, of the private sector and civil society.
Contacts and interactions are regular, intensive and open as set out, among others, by Art. 8 of the Cotonou Agreement between the EU and the ACP states. I cannot let this occasion go without saying how much European African dialogue we had during the just concluded Soccer World Cup. And the quality of the dialogue has been at the highest level, both on the field, in the stadium and on the streets in Germany and also in the rest of the World. Congratulations again for the Black Stars and for their most impressive performance.
Let me now say a few words on in how much the existing EU activities already fall in line with the proposed joint EU-African Strategy.
Peace and Security: The EU and its member states are actively involved in many aspects of peace keeping and conflict prevention. The setting up and the continuous cooperation in and around the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre is a prominent but definitely not the only visible sing of this cooperation. We have taken note of a Concept Paper sent out by Ghana on Peace and Consolidation in West Africa.
This issue will be discussed in open debate at the UN Security Council in New York today. The Security council is under Ghanaian Presidency in the month of August and the meeting is being chaired by the Hon. Nana Akufo Addo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, -Regional Integration and NEPAD. The EU will react to this Concept Paper with a statement given by the Representative of Finland.
Human Rights and Governance: These aspects are prominently represented in many of the programmes or projects carried out in cooperation with the EU or with one or more of its member states. I should like to mention that the EU is getting more involved in projects designed to combat illegal activities. A few projects have been submitted by Ghanaian authorities and partners to the AENEAS funding window of the EU, among which the GIS-sponsored project of - 2 million is a very positive example.
The project is intended to combat document fraud and to support institutional capacities on the Ghanaian side. The selection procedure in Brussels is now concluded and we expect the financing decision to come at any moment from now. More generally, in the area of migrations the EU commits itself to maximise the development benefits and minimize the negative aspects of migration.
Trade and Integration: I will not elaborate much on this aspect since my colleague from the EU-Commission will address this aspect in detail.
However, on development I will make a few remarks. As pointed out by the Hon. Kan Dapaah, Minister for the Interior, on the occasion of this year's Europe Day on May 9th, "the EU is the single-largest multilateral donor to Ghana".
In 2004, the latest official OECD-figures available, the European Commission and the EU Member States provided a total of 706 Mio US$ to Ghana, either bilaterally or through multilateral institutions like the WB, the UN or the AfDB. This equals 34 US$ per capita and represents 52% of the total Official Development Assistance (ODA) directed to Ghana that year.
An analysis of the joint documentation of the Consultative Group Annual Partnership Meeting which recently took place on June 21st in Accra, shows that regarding real disbursements by development partners to Ghana between 2003 and 2005, the Commission and six Member States (UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, France and Spain) rank among the top ten.
Looking ahead, the projected development cooperation disbursements by the Commission and the EU Member States between 2006 and 2008 already now add up to a total of about 1.5 billion US$, an average of 500 Mio US$ annually. This does not include our share in multilateral institutions. Let me emphasize that all EU development partners see an increase in their assistance to Ghana comparing the time frame 2003-2005 to 2006-2008.
I am glad to point out that Ghana belongs to the group of the ten most important partners for the EU's cooperation world wide!
Together, the European development partners assist Ghana in practically all sectors with the aim to implement the priorities spelled out in Ghana's Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy II, to fulfil all the Millennium Development Goals and to support the country on its way towards achieving Middle Income Status by 2015. Special importance is given to the support of human rights, strengthening further democratization and decentralization, the fight against corruption and progress in social sectors like education and health as well as ensuring the enabling framework for private sector development and international trade.
The Commission and five Member States are involved in the Multi Donor Budget Support. We take up responsibility as leads of several sector groups and are in very close communication and coordination with the Government of Ghana as well as with civil sector and private sector representatives.
All European Union Member States that give support to Ghana and the Commission have signed the Paris Declaration on Harmonization and Aid Effectiveness. We work together with the Government and all development partners to implement the Ghana "Harmonization and Aid Effectiveness Action Plan", to reduce transaction costs and make our assistance as effective as possible. Within the last months we have agreed on standardized allowance rates for Government officials participating in cooperation programmes and a Mission-free period between Mid- September and Mid-November to give the Government sufficient time to prepare its budget. Moreover, work has begun to formulate a Joint Assistance Strategy of hopefully all development partners.
Summarizing, the European development cooperation with Ghana can build up on a solid past, is important for all partners today and in the future and seeks for further progress to the benefit of all Ghanaians, especially the poor and most deprived. The EU-Presidency is committed to working hard towards these goals.
I am speaking in my capacity as the Presidency of the European Union in Ghana. The Union has 25 Member States and is practising a rotating sequence of Presidencies with a change every six month. For the period from July to December 2006 Finland has the Chair of the President of the European Union.
In our relations to foreign countries the EU-Presidency also plays an important role abroad. Ambassadors of the member states meet regularly among themselves, but also with the host government, with host governments institutions, with the general public, civil society and with the media.
This is what we are doing today. Since Finland has no Embassy in Ghana, one of the European countries represents the Presidency. Germany has been chosen, this is why I am speaking to you representing Finland.
EU countries present in Ghana with diplomatic missions are, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom, plus Bulgaria who will join in very soon. The European Commission is the 10th member of our small European family in Accra.
Finland's Programme
Finland's programme for its 6 month presidency contains a large, wide and ambitious set of targets, many of them on internal aspects of the union like further enlargement, better internal regulations, transparency to increase confidence of EU citizens into the Union and financial aspects.
The agenda also focuses on political questions like the internal market, innovation and research, the general economic and monetary policy, questions related to transport, communications and energy, issues on employment, social and health related policies, education, environment and economic sectors.
Finally there is the very important set of agenda points focusing on Justice, Security and Freedom. I mention all these aspects to demonstrate the spread of the agenda.
EU External Relations
Speaking in our host country Ghana I should like to concentrate my remarks on the European Unions external relations. Of course, the immediate neighbourhood plays an important role for Finland's programme, relations to Russia being very prominent among them.
Also the Western Balkans will be a key external-relations issue. In Kosovo, the EU will support the UN-led status process and in Serbia our objective is to make effective use of the influence and the instruments at the EU's disposal in support of stability. Relations to all parts of the world are on Finland's agenda.
North America, the Mediterranean region, Asia and Africa are mentioned in the programme in particular. The reform of the United Nations, which we consider the centrepiece of an effective multilateral system is a priority. Finland and the EU back moves to strengthen the links between security, development and human rights in the UN.
EU Africa Strategy
Member states are discussing the further elaboration of the EU Africa Strategy, a progress report will be presented to the European Council in December 2006. At the 5th Ministerial Troika in Bamako, the EU and the AU agreed to transform the EU Strategy into an Joint Strategy. During Finland's presidency a proposal for an outline of the joint strategy will be elaborated to be discussed at the next EU-AU Ministerial Troika.
The EU-Africa Joint Strategy is intended to be a focused, political document, setting out a vision of EU-Africa relations in the decade ahead and building on dialogue that should be flexible, deeper, more frequent and should include new areas of interest. Preferably, the Joint Strategy should be adopted by the EU-Africa summit envisaged for the second half of 2007.
The joint strategy will be structured along the following agreed clusters:
- Peace and Security: The EU's Africa Strategy includes conflict prevention, cooperation with the AU and the sub regional institutions like ECOWAS, direct support to the AU and the sub regional institutions to promote peace and stability, post conflict reconstruction and efforts to stem the illicit flow if weapons;
- Human Rights and Governance: The EU's Africa Strategy emphasizes the promotion of human rights, support to good governance programmes through a EU Governance Initiative, support to African efforts and support to the fight against corruption, human trafficking, illegal drugs and organized crime.
- Trade and Integration: The EU's Africa Strategy includes the facilitation of a better connected Africa by establishing an EU-Africa Infrastructure Partnership and the creation - as a starting point - of a EC-EIB Trust Fund of - 260 million. It emphasizes as well increased aid for trade, agreement of Economic Partnership Agreements with Africa's regional groupings and support to Africa in countering the effects of climate change.
- Development: The EU's Africa Strategy brings forth the increased aid, more effective and predictable EU financial assistance to Africa, innovative financing mechanisms on a voluntary basis, support to the proposal to cancel outstanding debts owed by HIPC's, and the strengthening of the Commissions aid department.
What is the relevance for Ghana and ECOWAS?
Let me first of all stress that the EU has a regular and well established set for dialogue with its partners. We do have the EU-AU Troika and the EU-ECOWAS Troika meeting every six month. In the West Africa region the political dialogue is very intensive to support and consolidate peace in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Togo. On the bilateral level the EU-Ambassadors resident in Accra conduct regular political dialogue with the Government through personal contacts with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, other Ministers, Members of Parliament, of the private sector and civil society.
Contacts and interactions are regular, intensive and open as set out, among others, by Art. 8 of the Cotonou Agreement between the EU and the ACP states. I cannot let this occasion go without saying how much European African dialogue we had during the just concluded Soccer World Cup. And the quality of the dialogue has been at the highest level, both on the field, in the stadium and on the streets in Germany and also in the rest of the World. Congratulations again for the Black Stars and for their most impressive performance.
Let me now say a few words on in how much the existing EU activities already fall in line with the proposed joint EU-African Strategy.
Peace and Security: The EU and its member states are actively involved in many aspects of peace keeping and conflict prevention. The setting up and the continuous cooperation in and around the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre is a prominent but definitely not the only visible sing of this cooperation. We have taken note of a Concept Paper sent out by Ghana on Peace and Consolidation in West Africa.
This issue will be discussed in open debate at the UN Security Council in New York today. The Security council is under Ghanaian Presidency in the month of August and the meeting is being chaired by the Hon. Nana Akufo Addo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, -Regional Integration and NEPAD. The EU will react to this Concept Paper with a statement given by the Representative of Finland.
Human Rights and Governance: These aspects are prominently represented in many of the programmes or projects carried out in cooperation with the EU or with one or more of its member states. I should like to mention that the EU is getting more involved in projects designed to combat illegal activities. A few projects have been submitted by Ghanaian authorities and partners to the AENEAS funding window of the EU, among which the GIS-sponsored project of - 2 million is a very positive example.
The project is intended to combat document fraud and to support institutional capacities on the Ghanaian side. The selection procedure in Brussels is now concluded and we expect the financing decision to come at any moment from now. More generally, in the area of migrations the EU commits itself to maximise the development benefits and minimize the negative aspects of migration.
Trade and Integration: I will not elaborate much on this aspect since my colleague from the EU-Commission will address this aspect in detail.
However, on development I will make a few remarks. As pointed out by the Hon. Kan Dapaah, Minister for the Interior, on the occasion of this year's Europe Day on May 9th, "the EU is the single-largest multilateral donor to Ghana".
In 2004, the latest official OECD-figures available, the European Commission and the EU Member States provided a total of 706 Mio US$ to Ghana, either bilaterally or through multilateral institutions like the WB, the UN or the AfDB. This equals 34 US$ per capita and represents 52% of the total Official Development Assistance (ODA) directed to Ghana that year.
An analysis of the joint documentation of the Consultative Group Annual Partnership Meeting which recently took place on June 21st in Accra, shows that regarding real disbursements by development partners to Ghana between 2003 and 2005, the Commission and six Member States (UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, France and Spain) rank among the top ten.
Looking ahead, the projected development cooperation disbursements by the Commission and the EU Member States between 2006 and 2008 already now add up to a total of about 1.5 billion US$, an average of 500 Mio US$ annually. This does not include our share in multilateral institutions. Let me emphasize that all EU development partners see an increase in their assistance to Ghana comparing the time frame 2003-2005 to 2006-2008.
I am glad to point out that Ghana belongs to the group of the ten most important partners for the EU's cooperation world wide!
Together, the European development partners assist Ghana in practically all sectors with the aim to implement the priorities spelled out in Ghana's Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy II, to fulfil all the Millennium Development Goals and to support the country on its way towards achieving Middle Income Status by 2015. Special importance is given to the support of human rights, strengthening further democratization and decentralization, the fight against corruption and progress in social sectors like education and health as well as ensuring the enabling framework for private sector development and international trade.
The Commission and five Member States are involved in the Multi Donor Budget Support. We take up responsibility as leads of several sector groups and are in very close communication and coordination with the Government of Ghana as well as with civil sector and private sector representatives.
All European Union Member States that give support to Ghana and the Commission have signed the Paris Declaration on Harmonization and Aid Effectiveness. We work together with the Government and all development partners to implement the Ghana "Harmonization and Aid Effectiveness Action Plan", to reduce transaction costs and make our assistance as effective as possible. Within the last months we have agreed on standardized allowance rates for Government officials participating in cooperation programmes and a Mission-free period between Mid- September and Mid-November to give the Government sufficient time to prepare its budget. Moreover, work has begun to formulate a Joint Assistance Strategy of hopefully all development partners.
Summarizing, the European development cooperation with Ghana can build up on a solid past, is important for all partners today and in the future and seeks for further progress to the benefit of all Ghanaians, especially the poor and most deprived. The EU-Presidency is committed to working hard towards these goals.
* Speech delivered at Goethe Institut on August 8 by Peter Linder, German Ambassador to Ghana.
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