Policy Sections
Mini Sections
Sir,
Regarding 'Redefining EU-Africa relations':
Considering that the African Union (AU) has less than one staff member per two million people, any task is an administrative feat. Kotsopoulos and Sidiropoulos, writing for the EPC, correctly identify the enormous structural and organisation capacity gaps between the AU and the EU. This is one area where the EU can be of substantial assistance. But the Lisbon Summit will not be the last.
Seven years is a long time in politics and no doubt there will be measures to reduce this time period between meetings. This summit will not be a 'cure all', and moreover this should not be its aim. This summit will establish the tone of future AU/EU meetings.
The interim period will establish the level of trust between the two regional organisations and the extent to which they honour the commitments made to each other. In this case, the interim period will be critical for gathering public support for inter-regional co-operation, particularly in Africa.
Those working in these organisations are the individuals who will be living the reality of the summit agreements and they will be involved in the implementation of any agreement. They are the ones who will be continually involved in the monitoring and evaluation process, and it is in their best interests that any decision made should be based on their opinions.
Poor public involvement will lead to poor policies and as a result, the failure of the entire endeavour. The primary importance of the role played by Africans as the key resource in implementing and sustaining the summit agreements must be acknowledged, and any attempt to think otherwise would be foolhardy.
Yours faithfully,
Lisa Mongahan
CAAGLOP
(Centre for African Affairs and Global Peace)
IFPD
(International Forum for Participative Democracy)
Dublin
Ireland
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
France
Hungary
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Turkey
Del.icio.us
Digg It
Technorati
Europeans challenge Europe