Contact Details
Headquarters Embassy in Ethiopia Representative
Head of Unit Delegation of the Mr. Dino Sisigallia
European Commission European Commission to Ambassador of the EU to Ethiopia Europe Aid Co-operation Office Ethiopia
B-1049 Brussels EU Road
Belgium P.O.Box 5570
Addis Ababa Ethiopia
TEL; +32 2 299 1111 +251-116-612511 +251-116-612511 FAX: +32 2 299 3206 +251-116-612877 +251-116-612877
Point of reference at EGA: Office of the Executive Secretary (OES) Tel: +251 115 511231/+251 115 443336
1. Areas of Interest
Development is at the heart of the EU's external action, along with its foreign, security and trade policies. The primary and overarching objective of EU development policy is the eradication of poverty in the context of sustainable development, including the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
EU action in the field of development is based on the European Gonsensus on Development, signed on 20 December 2005, whereby EU Member States, the Gouncil, the European Parliament and the Gommission agreed to a common EU vision of development,
EU partnerships and dialogue with developing countries promote respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, peace, democracy, good governance, and gender equality, the rule of law, solidarity and justice. European Gommunitys contribution is focused in certain areas of intervention, responding to the needs of partner countries.
As the world s largest donor of official development assistance, the EU has, in the last years been strongly committed to improve aid effectiveness. The adoption of an ambitious Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness in 2005 was due, in no small measure, to the strong input provided by the EU.
Policy Goherence for Development plays a central role in reinforcing the EU contribution to developing countries progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. The aim is to maximise the positive impact of these policies on partner countries and to correct incoherence.
69
EC A Partners Profiles 2010
2. History and co-operation with ECA
In accordance with the Financing Agreement of2001, the Commission of the European Communities agreed to provide a grant of Euro 1,800,0000 (approximately US$1,650,000 at the UN rate of March 2001) and ECA agreed to co-finance projects worth $726,000 including a contribution of professional staff time for the following activities:
• Annual Report on Integration in Africa (ARIA),
• Scan information and communication technology (ICT), and
• National information and communication infrastructure plan (NICI).
In April 2010, the EC and ECA signed a grant agreement for a total amount of Euro 8.8million for the implementation of Capacity Building in Support of Land Policy Development and Implementation in Africa. The overall objective is economic development and poverty reduction through improved land use, management and governance. The specific objective is to facilitate the implementation of the framework and guidelines on Land Policy in Africa.
3. Geographic concentration of development assistance
The European Development Fund (EDF) is the main instrument for providing Community aid for development cooperation in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states and overseas countries and territories (OCTs). Substantial financial resources have been committed to the co-operation (10th EDF: Euro 22.682 billion for 2008 to 2013).
The EU-Africa summit, held in December 2007 in Lisbon, cemented new Africa-EU strategic partnership, marking a qualitative leap in relations between the two continents.
The Joint Africa-EU Strategy provides an overarching long-term framework for Africa- EU relations, while its first action plan specifies concrete proposals for 2008-2010, structured along 8 Africa-EU strategic partnerships:
• Peace and security
• Democratic governance and human rights
• Trade, regional integration and infrastructure
• Millennium development goals (MDGs)
• Energy
• Climate change
• Migration, mobility and employment
• Science, information society and space.
Together with the political Lisbon Declaration, those key documents define the framework for the Africa-EU strategic partnership, designed to guide EU-Africa dialogue and cooperation in the coming few years, in line with the principles of African ownership, co-management and co-responsibility.
The Communication One year after Lisbon: the Africa-EU partnership at work (October 2008) reviews the progress made during the first year of implementation of the joint strategy and outlines the challenges ahead of the next Africa-EU Summit in 2010. It confirms the step change in Europe's relations with Africa and aims at stimulating debate among stakeholders on both continents: Member
EC A Partners Profiles 2010
States, regional bodies, parliaments, civil society and international partners, concrete results achieved so far for each of the 8 partnerships and a way forward.
One of the main objectives of the EU relations with Africa is to promote the achievement of the UN Millennium development goals (MDGs) in Africa. This objective is strengthened and complemented by the specific objectives pursued within the Cotonou Agreement, the Trade Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA), the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, and the European neighbourhood policy, including the support to political reform and economic modernisation.
4. Economic Data
Economy overview: The EU, formerly known as European Community or European Economic Community (EEC), is a union of 27 independent States. It was founded on 1 November 1993 to enhance political, economic and social co-operation.
Its member states are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and UK. Three countries namely, Croatia, Macedonia, and Turkey have requested to join the EU.
Internally, the EU has abolished trade barriers, adopted a common currency, and is striving toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income among member states (from $7,000 to $78,000) and historic national animosities, the EU faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. In the wake of the global economic crisis, the European Commission projected that the EU's economy will shrink by 4% in 2009. In September 2009, the Commission reported that the EU was recovering from the crisis faster than it had projected, however, significant risks to sustainable growth remain, including, deteriorating fiscal positions, rising unemployment, tight bank lending, and a strong euro. Even prior to the global economic crisis Germany and France flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit, and now many more member states are running substantial deficits. Between 2004 and 2007, the EU admitted 12 countries that are, in general, less advanced economically than the other 15. Eleven established EU member states introduced the euro as their common currency on 1 January 1999 (Greece did so two years later), but the UK, Sweden, and Denmark chose not to participate.
Of the 12 most recent member states, only Slovenia (1 January 2007), Cyprus and Malta (1 January 2008), and Slovakia (1 January 2009) have adopted the euro; the remaining eight are legally required to adopt the currency upon meeting EU's fiscal and monetary convergence criteria.
GDP: Purchasing power parity- US$ 14.52 trillion (2009 est.) GDP (per capita): US$ 32,700 (2009 est.)
Currency: Euro
Fiscal year: Calendar year
71
ECA Partners Profiles 2010