CONCORD: ACP countries hit by EU policies
Published on Wed, 2011-11-23 08:07
All over the developing world, European Union (EU) policies continue to seriously undermine people's rights, because these policies are not coherent with development objectives. The EU fails to comply with its own treaty obligations, according to a new study released by the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development (CONCORD), reported the African Press Organization (APO). The report was launched this week in Lome, Togo, to coincide with the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, where African, European, Caribbean and Pacific decision-makers meet twice a year as part of the Cotonou Agreement, that provides ACP representatives the possibility to question the European Commission on any policies that have or likely to have an impact on development. “You can't deny that European policies have effects overseas, like right here in Africa. Our report shows that European agriculture, trade and migration policies have negative impacts on ACP countries, undermining efforts to reduce global poverty,” said Gerard Karlshausen, of CONCORD. The report finds that: Some 925 million people went hungry last year – that's almost 1 out of every 7 people on the planet, the report shows. At the same time one third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted. “EU policies can do more harm than good in the developing world. In Africa for example, we see the affects in our agricultural production where we just cannot compete with cheaper, subsidized European imports,” said at the launch event Malian agro-economist Salif Foulani Sissoko. “The EU must realize that global food security can only be achieved if poor countries are enabled to develop and safeguard their own sustainable domestic production," said at the same press conference Laust Gregersen, of CONCORD Denmark. “To avoid harmful policy impacts, more dialogue must take place between the EU, notably the EU Delegations, and the stakeholders in ACP countries, including civil society organizations. Delegates of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly should embrace the opportunity that the Cotonou Agreement gives them to engage this dialogue on policy impact on development. The Assembly should nominate two of its delegates to gather evidence of policy incoherencies and seek to redress the situation,” said Pascal Erard of CFSI -Coordination Sud. The EU invests €53 billion per year in its development policy, being the biggest aid donor. But without a clearer commitment to Policy Coherence for Development, the positive development gains achieved through EU aid-funded programmes will continue to be severely jeopardised by the negative impact of other EU policies. CONCORD’s report highlight aspects of the Policy Coherence for Development, concept that refers to the aim to ensure that the objectives of EU development co-operation policy are not undermined by other EU policies, such as those on climate, trade, energy, agriculture, migration, and finance matters. These issues are highlighted in CONCORD's report. CONCORDs 26 national associations and 18 international networks represent over 1,600 NGOs which are supported by millions of citizens across Europe. The report is the joint effort of European development NGOs and civil society organisations, coordinated by CONCORD. The first was published in 2009. In the 2011 report, throughout the thematic chapters of relating to food security, natural resources management, human security, and migration, CONCORD uncovers some incoherencies of current EU policies and proposes alternative, fairer measures that respect the Human Rights of all. More information Source |
