The Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) at a critical juncture
The Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) was agreed upon at the 2007 Lisbon Summit. The purpose of the new policy framework was to “take the Africa-EU relationship to a new strategic level with a strengthened political partnership and enhanced cooperation at all levels”2. It reflected a bold, ambitious and innovative response to new geopolitical realities (e.g. emergence of new players such as China, Brazil, India) as well as major changes in Europe and Africa. It was meant to provide an “overarching long-term framework for Africa-EU relations”3, to be implemented through eight thematic partnerships and successive Action Plans (AP).
Two years later, the mood seems less euphoric. Many stakeholders on both sides, argue that the JAES is not moving in the right direction –or not fast enough- in terms of modifying substantially the nature and quality of EU-Africa relations as originally intended, despite some qualified successes and the best efforts of many. The 13th Africa - EU Ministerial Troika in October 2009 acknowledged this state of affairs and invited all stakeholders to proceed to a “fundamental review” of the structures and functioning mechanisms of the first Action Plan and to come up, if necessary, with proposals for “significant changes”, to be discussed at the next Troika at the end of April 2010.
Ever since, officials in Africa and Europe have brainstormed on the start-up challenges experienced by the JAES and explored potential solutions, reflecting a common concern to make progress before the 3rd EU-Africa Summit in November 2010. Yet this important review exercise should not be limited to ‘downstream’ (technical) implementation issues. Revitalizing the JAES may require a preparedness to also reflect and act on ‘upstream’ (political) bottlenecks that are currently limiting ownership and reducing its effective use.
As an independent foundation, engaging with both European and African actors and following the JAES process from the outset, ECDPM seeks to contribute, in a non-partisan way, to this crucial debate in the form of a ‘scoping paper’. Building on the commitments made by European and African stakeholders with regard to the JAES (section I), it reviews progress achieved so far as well as highlighting perceived gaps between political ambitions and actual implementation practices (section II). It thereby focuses primarily on political bottlenecks hampering effective delivery. The paper then argues that the observed weaknesses in the implementation strategy followed so far do not undermine the intrinsic value of the JAES vision. The political objectives underpinning the JAES seem now even more relevant than in 2007 (section III). The ball is in the camp of political leaders in Europe and Africa. This is not the time for criticising the two Commissions involved for the limited progress achieved so far. All parties (particularly Member States on both sides) share responsibility for the success or failure of the JAES. All parties stand to loose if the opportunities provided by this highly innovative policy framework are not strategically exploited (even if it may take some time). Both the April Troika and the November Summit provide opportunities to redefine their respective levels of ambitions with regard to the JAES. The paper concludes with a brief exploration of three possible reform scenario’s which policy-makers may choose to follow (section IV).Download the full report
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