European Commission-African Union Joint Declaration

- to continue to take on the challenges of conflict, war and insecurity. In April 2006, the EU decided to increase the short term funding for the African Peace Facility (APF) by €50 million and to earmark a total amount of €300 million for the coming three-year period (2008-2010). And the needs remain large and urgent. For example, in the Darfur region of Western Sudan, the AU - supported politically and financially by the EU - has conducted a 7,936 people strong peacekeeping operation, AMIS. In this and other conflict areas we will, more than ever, continue to stand shoulder to shoulder.

- to work together to improve governance within the framework of a broad holistic approach and to support governance programmes at all levels to nurture and promote an effective African architecture of governance and instruments for their realization. Also, in August 2006, the European Commission put forward a Governance Initiative, proposing additional financial support - an estimated sum of €3 billion - to those countries that have adopted or are ready to commit to a credible plan of concrete governance reforms. The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the AU's own voluntary evaluation system to which so far 26 African states have adhered, will be the central reference point for this Initiative.

- to establish an EU-Africa Partnership on Infrastructure to support programs that facilitate interconnectivity at inter-regional continental level. An estimated €5.6 billion will over the next six years be dedicated to identify and address missing links and improve security and safety in transport, water, energy and ICT networks. We also agreed on a number of flagship projects to be implemented in the short term, such as the Felou hydropower scheme in Senegal and the EASSY project - a submarine broadband network running from South Africa to Sudan.

- to encourage the creation of full-fledged regional markets, with improved economic governance. We will share our experience in forming regional economic spaces that serve development and facilitate trade by smoothening trade procedures and customs operations. We agree that the negotiations of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) should be instrumental to build African regional markets and be concluded within existing and legally binding timeline. We regret the suspension of the multilateral negotiations at the WTO negotiations but reaffirm our commitment to restart and rapidly conclude them. We also agreed to organise a first-ever EU-Africa Business Forum in Brussels on 16 and 17 November to identify innovative ways to attract vitally needed private investment for Africa's growing economies.

- to try and manage the migration flows to the benefits and development of both continents. We have explored elements of a common agenda based on the AU African Common Position of Algiers and the Rabat conference in July 2006. We look forward to coming to a final shared analysis of the challenges, benefits and actions to undertake at the EU-African ministerial conference on migration and development in Tripoli, Libya, scheduled to take place on 22- 23 November 2006.

- to foster regional centres of excellence for research and higher education. These centres will be inter-linked within Africa and twinned with European centres. We agreed to support the Nyerere Programme, a new student exchange scheme across Africa. Complementary support will also be provided within the Erasmus Mundus programme, allowing for more well-qualified African students to come to Europe for post-graduate education.

- to establish joint strategies to tackle the challenges of agriculture and environment. We have already made substantial progress: for example we supported with €21 million the AMESD, a continental programme which will provide satellite based information on Africa's environment helping the continent to improve the management of its natural resources. These and other programmes will help us address the balance between land degradation, desertification and agricultural productivity.

- to exchange experience and best practices in employment and health policies. We will strengthen the policy dialogue launched this year on how to make national policies more coherent and efficient, inter-alia by establishing regional frameworks and peer review mechanisms. Together, we will address the crisis of the health workforce. We also agreed to step up our financial and political efforts in combating Avian Flu.

- to strengthen further our institutional ties, Commission to Commission. Today, we signed a first large support programme of €55 million for the African Union's operational and institutional development to be implemented as from 1 January 2007 as well as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a permanent and structured exchange of officials and trainees between the two institutions. In view of all the above-mentioned initiatives and cooperation programmes, we also agreed to strengthen our respective missions.