Highlights

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Building on their strong partnership, the European Commission and World Bank agreed on Friday to work more closely towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The two institutions pledged to support African countries' development priorities, particularly in critical areas of infrastructure, trade and regional integration. "Together we represent a critical mass which can make a real difference for African's daily lives," said Louis Michel, EU Commission for Development and Humanitarian Aid (http://eu-un.europa.eu/articles/en/article_4579_en.htm). The EU and World Bank account for more than half of the new resources committed each year for Africa's development.

The announcement was followed by a meeting between Commissioner Michel and Paul Wolfowitz, the next President of the World Bank to exchange view on development policies (see http://eu-un.europa.eu/articles/en/article_4577_en.htm). Mr. Michel presented the European Commission's set of proposals on Development which were approved last Tuesday (see http://www.eu-un.europa.eu/articles/en/article_4563_en.htm). These include new intermediate targets to increase Official Development Aid, a communication on coherence for developments in EU policies, and a focus on Africa, based on key multipliers: governance, interconnectivity and trade, equity and access to services. Commissioner Michel stressed that the EU "represents around 55% of the world's aid and the US another 25%. So we can make a real difference if we gather around common strategies and objectives."

In his speech at the World Bank, Commissioner Michel elaborated on these points, linking new sources of financing with efficacy and coherency of aid, which must be deployed at the political, economic, and social levels in Africa (see http://eu-un.europa.eu/articles/en/article_4581_en.htm).

Stressing their commitment to development in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, Commissioner Michel and Peter Mandelson, European Commissioner for Trade, will attend the 9th EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Bamako, Mali on April 19 (see http://eu-un.europa.eu/articles/en/article_4580_en.htm). The EU Presidency will be represented by Jean-Louis Schiltz, Luxembourg Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs. They will report to the assembly on the EU's humanitarian and development relations with the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States, the recent proposal adopted by the Commission on the EU contribution to the UN's Review of the Millennium Goals in September, and on the EU's Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations with the ACP regions.

In other news, Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union, High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, in his speech at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, Paris (see http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/discours/84584.pdf), emphasized that the "magnetic force of the European model is stronger than ever!" He noted that the EU is the most developed model of political integration based on law and freedom, it is the world's largest aid donor, and the top trading power. "The European Constitution paves the way for the successful continuation of the venture embarked upon 50 years ago. It proposes real institutional improvements."

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