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   Summary 18 (20-26 September)


FOLLOWING IS A MACHINE TRANSLATION OF THE ORIGINAL IN FRENCH. IT HAS BEEN EDITED FOR MISTRANSLATION ONLY. THE ORIGINAL IN FRENCH IS AVAILABLE ON THIS WEB SITE AT: <http://www.ue-acp.org/fr/forum/syntheses/synt18.html>

KEY WORDS: PROGRESS OF THE DEBATE

* * Title: Summary 18 (20-26 September) * *

by: Anne SIMON <anne.simon@skynet.be>
<http://www.ue-acp.org/fr/forum/presentations/simon.html>

°°° Abstract:

To build good governance with the whole of the society must be a priority of the budgetary aid to states, in order to avoid drifts and the reinforcement of social tensions.

To support actors and processes by combining Lomé Convention and Community budget: These two forms of financing of the European cooperation forms a whole that must change substantially. The state is the organizer of societies and the principle of joint management of the aid must be noted, but it must change in the practice by the creation "public spaces of joint management" where controls and arbitration are possible.

On the Community budget, it is necessary, in the same spirit, to encourage the active citizenship and the backing of actors according to their nature and their function (specific line). Changes must be deep, they will be progressive and complex to implement. It would be necessary that Commission and Parliament (In the EU-ACP cooperation, the European system has the advantage to make possible a citizens control) agree to launch this dynamics. Why not accept in the next Convention the principle of experimenting this renewal of cooperation in test countries or test regions?

It is necessary to go beyond the incomprehension and suspicion toward officers of institutions and in the ACP administrations and to identify, to get the best out of the positive actions and to create a pulling effect. °°°



1. Making of Budgetary Aid a Collective Process of Evolution of Governance (3.10)

Joseph Fumtim notices that organized actors of the civil society have been left outside of the process of improvement of good governance conducted by the states. Which risks to lead to a rejection on the part of the society facing an exogenous process in the local realities, or even to social conflicts. To learn good governance, a "contractual" process must join the state and all social actors.

2. Backing the Actors and the Processes by Combining the Lome Convention and the European Union's Own Budget (3.11)

Participants come back to the incomprehension and tensions existing between local actors and the National Authorizing Officer " nearly deified". This personalization is more harmful to the pursuit of cooperation objectives than it is a pledge of efficiency.

But they agree to recognize the role of states ("the heart of the progress of human society" -Joseph Fumtim; "we insist on the state because one would not know how to disqualify it" - Sidiki Abdoul Daff), and on the function of cooperation which is to contribute to their evolution by bringing them closer to the citizens. Therefore, the principle of joint management of the Lomé Convention - necessary - must be extended to the public place.

The future of the Lomé Convention must be thought in parallel to the evolution of the Community budget of development. It would be necessary to create permanent links of dialogue and coordination between the aid of the Convention (Lomé) and the aid on Community budget (non Lomé).

Participants propose:

  • That the non Lomé budget allocation is increased (because independent of internal political positioning), that a budgetary line should be available for projects of actors (Madeleine Ngo Louga);
  • That a bigger margin to maneuver is given to the EU Delegations. (Joseph Fumtim);
  • That a line of financing of the EDF is specifically allocated to the development of an active citizenship (Sidiki Abdoul Daff);
  • That the principle of joint management of the Lomé Convention changes toward one of "public places of co-management" (the budgetary lines should contribute to this).

Madeleine Ngo Louga wonders otherwise if the present use of the Community budget of aid is adapted to objectives of sustainable socioeconomic development in the ACP countries. She asks herself on the priority given to the humanitarian aid and the aid of emergency over a longer-term aid (human resources, health, protection of the environment). She proposes that a budgetary line encourages the access of the ACP to the modern technologies.

3. Sparking off, with Officer Involvement, a Dynamics of Change within the Commission (3.12)

A certain suspicion or incomprehension exists towards agencies or institutions of cooperation (R. Segbenou mentions a reaction of the President of the World Bank on this subject). It is necessary to take in account efforts done by officers in these institutions (EU for example) or in the ACP countries. "It will be necessary to identify these positive elements and make it so that they develop themselves into an acceptable critical mass" to make the renovation of cooperation advance.

4. The Need for a Joint Effort of the European Parliament and the European Commission (4)

Answering Thierry Lassalle (see Summary 16), René R Segbenou explains that for him it is necessary to set up more "systemic" cooperation forms. This means that it is necessary to have a more overall approach making it possible to adjust to components of development and the relations between them. Cooperation cannot ignore categories of actors of different roles and levels. Efforts are to be made in these different categories (for example civil society in the South, NGOs in the north). The control and the arbitration cannot be the fact of only one category of actors.

The readaptation of cooperation requires a gigantic effort of thinking and change of attitude. As already highlighted (See Summary 13), R Segbenou, recalls that to face such a challenge supposes to be endowed with the suitable human and financial means (15 to 20% of the EDF). It is not about creating a simple financial budgetary allocation in favor of such or such category of actors, but to learn another cooperation reinforcing actors according to their nature and their level, giving the right of control and arbitration to all (civil society, officers) in test countries or regions.

The question of the control of the civil society is as valid in Europe where there is a European Parliament that can exercise a control on the administration. The political system of the European Union has this advantage over the system of the United Nations. With regard to the ACP countries, Europe has the advantage to have a more experienced Community structure. The joint effort of the Parliament and the Commission is necessary to launch this cooperation based on mutual learning and understanding.



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