In this commentary Pauline Veron shares her takeaways from a recent high level DIE-ECDPM webinar event, with some key lessons for health cooperation between West Africa and the EU.
Brussels, Bonn, Maastricht, Paris, Rome, London and Madrid are sending a message of cooperation and vision for the future.
In this video we present you our network of think tanks and we introduce you to the ETTG world. By joining forces we are convinced that we can better influence the EU’s international cooperation agendas and work for a more sustainable future together.
The ETTG/ECDPM MFF online workshop event “Programming the NDICI in a post-Covid era” was a discussion exchange between representatives from the EU institutions and civil society / think tanks in order to take stock of the progress made on MFF negotiations and further discussion for the current state of play together with the next steps.
The development-security nexus has become a central concept for the European Union (EU) and other international actors. Key EU documents recognise the importance of the link between these two main domains of EU external affairs. This is part of a wider framework of the so-called triple nexus between humanitarian aid, development and security, which the European Commission aims to enhance to better respond to protracted crises.
On Thursday 29 of October at 16:00 pm (CET) we hosted a webinar event in cooperation with OECD on multilateral development finance in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The webinar investigated the dynamics of the Multilateral Development Finance framework in the wake of COVID-19, and made concrete recommendations on the most effective and impactful ways forward.
Video of the interview from Lisbon Speed Talks with Geert Laporte and the radio – journalist Ricardo Alexandre. The series of the discussion was organised by the Lisbon Club in partnership with the Municipality of Lisbon and the Institute Marquês de Valle Flor – IMVF.
Watch here the video from the DEVCO web Infopoint seminar event in cooperation with ETTG and DIE for the Humanitarian-Development- Peace Nexus.
Watch the video from the DEVCO web Infopoint seminar event in cooperation with ETTG and IAI for the Development – Security nexus.
This year was supposed to be crucial for Africa-Europe relations, culminating in the sixth AU-EU Summit, scheduled for 28 and 29 October in Brussels. But then COVID-19 happened. After a long palaver, a decision was finally taken: the summit will be postponed to 2021, although a date still needs to be fixed. Geert Laporte explains why postponing may not be such a bad thing.
An ODI video from their new series named Bites which is a continuation of our previous ETTG-ODI discussion on ‘Africa beyond Covid-19’.
Georg Lennkh, former Austrian Special Envoy for Africa (2005-2010) and EU Special Representative in Chad (2006-2010) in conversation with Geert Laporte, ETTG Director and Co-Director ECDPM – European Center for Development Policy Management, on the upcoming EU-Africa Summit and when will it take place.
The lockdown period related to the Covid-19 pandemic was marked by the requirement to teleworking for those who could do so. The possibility of its large-scale development burst into the public debate. This blog post gives an overview of the associated issues, and suggests ways to explore in a broader way the possible impacts on our lifestyles of a generalisation of teleworking.
COVID-19 has had far-reaching effects all over the world, the most visible of which on the world economy and public health. Could it also have an impact on Europe-Africa relations? With an EU-AU summit scheduled for late 2020, the pandemic will undoubtedly play a central role in it. Can the two continents avoid the usual aid mindset and move on to a more strategic one? Fernando Jorge Cardoso reflects on the nature of Europe-Africa relations since 2000 and argues that separating aid from strategy could help relaunch the relationship.
The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting all of us, but to differing extents. Overstretched health care systems, curfews, unemployment and school closures are posing challenges and pushing people beyond their ability to cope. The consequences of the pandemic will be felt in both, the short and long term. However, the longer term health, economic and social impact can only be estimated at present.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an additional layer of difficulty for refugees and asylum seekers, with frontline states like Greece facing unprecedented pressure in dealing simultaneously with a humanitarian crisis and the health crisis. The situation calls for EU states to speed up the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) since the current impasse is exacerbating the life conditions of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers.
European Think Tanks Group (ETTG) calls on the EU to look beyond its own economic recovery and to work with Africa as our ‘twin continent’ and ‘closest ally’ to avert the worst effects of the crisis and to craft a new partnership for the longer-term. History has taught us that major crises create opportunities for accelerating social, economic and political reforms. The coronavirus crisis provides an opportunity to finally transform the old paradigm of donor-recipient aid relations towards a model of genuine international cooperation between Europe and Africa.
The crisis linked to the CoVid-19 epidemic now plunges all societies in the world into a state of exception and a strange war made of both a sanitary emergency and a suspended time, for an indefinite period. Each individual and each organisation is now making arrangements until further notice, with the shared feeling of a long period of uncertainty and deep questioning about the very foundations of our societies, our economies, and our ways of living together: our view of the world will necessarily be profoundly modified.
Right in the middle of the crisis, Europe is in a state of shock. Italy, Spain and France, in particular, are experiencing an extremely deep sadness and a sense of powerlessness to help the most vulnerable, especially the elderly in our societies, despite health and social protection systems that could generally be considered better endowed and better organised than in other parts of the world. This deep moral distress goes beyond the question of how effectively different Governments have managed the crisis, and beyond questioning the policies that have undermined these social systems, although both questions will remain legitimate when it comes to learning the lessons of the crisis. The extreme vulnerability of the most fragile is bursting into our lives and into the public debate in industrialised countries.
Pandemic prevention and containment is a global public good, and its provision requires increased global coordination as well as adaptive, temporary, and coordinated decoupling. Cooperation can tackle cross-border health threats more effectively if well-known difficulties in coordination mechanisms, global governance and financing are addressed.
Twenty-twenty should have been the year of a fundamentally new Africa-Europe partnership, culminating in the sixth EU-AU summit in October in Brussels. Ursula von der Leyen, with a delegation of some 20 European commissioners in her wake, recently traveled to Addis Ababa for meetings with their African Union counterparts.
On 9-10 March, ETTG and UNDP Africa organised an Agenda setting workshop in Addis Ababa, aimed at discussing issues that would need further analysis and reflections in the run up to the African Union- European Union (AU-EU) Summit, slated for October 2020 in Brussels. This event coincided with the launch of the EU Communication towards a Comprehensive Strategy with Africa.
The human impact of the Coronavirus is widely reported but new research from the Overseas Development Institute highlights the outbreak will have a significant economic impact on the world’s poorest economies – even if they have no confirmed cases. The Overseas Development Institute have developed a Vulnerability Index, which shows Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the Philippines, followed by Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Kenya, Malaysia and Nepal are at greatest economic risk.
The multi-annual financial framework report was based on a previous physical workshop event which took place in Paris on January 2020 and which brought together key players in France to agree on the conditions allowing to secure an ambitious budget dedicated to external action (“Heading 6”), particularly for the challenges of sustainable development in southern countries. The workshop and the report was also an opportunity to reflect on the role of the European Union’s external action policy.
As a follow up to the ETTG Policy Brief “Harnessing EU external cooperation to boost ambitious and coherent climate action” and one month before the ETTG roundtable event ’How to walk the Green Deal talk in EU external cooperation? Harnessing development cooperation to foster European climate leadership‘ (18th March in Brussels) the DIE researchers from Steffen Bauer and Gabriela Iacobuta are putting together the pieces of the “Green Deal” puzzle in our new ETTG blog.
So, if Brexit is done and the question is “What’s next?,” the answer is, “Start talking and get to work.”
The December Communication on the Green New Deal – in the words of the EC President presented as the “man on the moon moment” of the European Union – outlines the steps to shape the European Union climate strategy for the years to come.
In December 2018, the ETTG published a paper comparing emerging Member State positions for the financing of the EU’s external action under its next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), covering the period 2021-2027. Its first observation that negotiations are moving slowly unfortunately still holds today.
The Council of the European Union – on proposition of France and Germany – mandated a Wise Persons Group (WPG) to assess options for a more efficient and sustainable European financial architecture for development. The group published its final report this Tuesday, in which it presents three scenarios for a future European Climate and Sustainable Development Bank. Lennart Kaplan and Benedikt Erforth (DIE) are analyzing and giving a brief blog based on the Wise Persons Group report.
In the years ahead, the European Union faces a number of vital challenges, and many of those lie beyond its external borders. As laid out by Simon Maxwell in a recent post to this blog, swift and decisive action is required in the fight against global warming, promoting sustainable development,
The new European Parliament will convene in Strasbourg in the first week of July. As a newly- or re-elected member of the European Parliament (MEP), your first priority should be to elbow your way onto the Development Committee. This is a higher priority than buying a return ticket to Brussels,
It may one day be the case that European Parliament elections are fought on a truly pan-territorial basis, with parties, politicians and platforms all operating at a European level. That is not going to happen this year, but there are moves in that direction. The party groups in the European
All eyes are on London, and specifically the House of Commons, right now. Political dynamics in Brussels fundamentally changed right after the British referendum in 2016. This also affects European policy on Africa, where the UK once played a leading role but is now almost invisible on the European stage. The
Daniele Fattibene (IAI), Giulia Maci (ECDPM) and Guido Santini (FAO) identify innovative approaches to better integrate food into urban planning.
Elisabeth Hege analyses the Reflection Paper of the European Commission, published last January 30.
Niels Keijzer and Simon Maxwell analyse the peer review of EU aid, highlighting six main issues on EU development finance.
You think you know about EU Aid? Take the New Year Quiz and check your score.
Irene Schöfberger and Niels Keijzer analyze three contradictions in the EU migration policy asking if and how the new European Commission can do better.
Innovation as a new way to do the same things, with available tools. Giulia Maci and Riccardo Sgaramella look back at the Conference ” Innovation in development: The future of EU international cooperation”.
In the public debate of 17 October last, some important points were highlighted in relation to future European international cooperation.
In this blog, Leo Roberts (ODI), stresses the importance of the private sector in shifting the energy landscape in African countries. The analysis focuses on Kenya.
Vittorio Capici stresses the importance of urbanization and the implications this process brings with itself. In this blog the author picks Ethiopia and the ‘Villagization program’ as a case study to further his analysis.
Emmanuel de Groof and Sanne Thijssen suggest that political leaders can find allies in philanthropists – and vice versa – to open the dialogue on family planning and to drive the potential of African youth. Population growth is in itself not a problem; however, it can become one when a country’s economy and infrastructure do not follow suit.
Rebecca Symington and Aaron Leopold describes what are obstacles for private investment in renewable energy in Africa.
Elisabeth Hege wrote down her takeaways about the High-Level Political Forum 2018
Giulia Maci, Laure Criqui, Jean Bossuyt, Paola Lucci make the case for an European and African comprehensive urban strategy.
With a view to he upcoming AU Summit on 1-2 July in Nouakchott, Geert Laporte (ECDPM) examines the negotiating mandate of the ACP group.
Niels Keijzer, Clare Castillejo, Mariella Di Ciommo raise five questions regarding the EU legislative proposal for the NDICI.
Mark Furness and Niels Keijzer (DIE) provide four reasons why the European Neighbourhood Instrument should be included in the proposed ‘single instrument’ for financing the EU’s international cooperation.
Christine Hackenesch and Niels Keijzer (DIE) identify five concrete means through which the EU can further human rights and good governance under the next EU budget.
Cities and agriculture? urban planning and sustainable food systems? Daniele Fattibene explores these almost forgotten linkages.
Simon Maxwell, Niels Keijzer, Mariella Di Ciommo and Clare Castillejo underline three main elements of the EC proposal for the 2021-2027 budget.
Waiting for the first local elections in Tunisia after the revolution, Dalil Djinnit and Giulia Maci reflects on the role of local authorities in sustainable development.
Tancrède Voituriez, Elisabeth Hege, Giulia Maci and Christine Hackenesch suggest some practical ways of translating the EU’s overall support for the SDGs into concrete action.
Giulia Maci and Daniele Fattibene write about the role of local authorities in improving the liveability of Mediterranean urban areas, focusing on youth as a key driver for stability in the region.
Volker Hauck and Matthias Deneckere (ECDPM) write on how an off-budget European Peace Facility Instrument could support African-led peace initiatives.
Bernardo Venturi, IAI, writes about the main false myths about migration that can be considered as a common ground for future meetings and partnerships.
Julian Bergmann and Mark Furness , DIE reflect on a possible model for the EPF that provides a secure basis for international cooperation.
This blog is a reflection by Giulia Maci on the seminar conversation and the challenge of youth participation in decision-making.
The EU was a driving force in the run-up to the 2030 Agenda, but is still reflecting on how to implement the Sustainable Development Goals at the European level. ECDPM’s Alexei Jones argues that the EU, together with the member states, needs to step up its game and break silos
James Mackie, ECDPM, discusses the EC Communication on the MFF, in view of the upcoming Informal Summit on 23 February 2018
In its Communication on “A new, modern Multiannual Financial Framework for a European Union that delivers efficiently on its priorities post-2020”, the European Commission superficially touches upon environmental, climate change and sustainable development issues. This is sobering news at a time when the EU claims to be Climate and SDG
T. Altenburg, S. Bilal, G. Maci and D.W. te Velde unpack the challenge of employment in Africa, and suggest priority actions forward for the AU-EU partnership.
The Sustainable Development Goals, the EU Global Strategy and the Consensus on Development present an unprecedented opportunity for a holistic understanding of what development means and how the EU can foster it. As part of this approach, the nexus linking migration, development and security is as important as bedevilled with
On 12 December 2017, the European Commission presented its recommendation to the Council for opening negotiations with the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of states (ACP). In the first semester of 2018, EU member states will need to chew over this proposal and agree on a suitable mandate for the EU
As 2018 begins, the challenges of humanitarian crises are momentous. Humanitarians are responding to large-scale emergencies in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. “These challenges are complex but there are reasons for optimism” writes Larissa Fast. In her blog on ODI website she claims that the opportunities to increase
Income and wealth inequality are rising in most countries around the world today. Recognizing that this challenge has become a universal issue, in 2015, the United Nations agreed to seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and specifically to SDG Target 10 committing countries to ‘reduce inequalities within and among countries’. The SDGs
Simon Maxwell scans the horizons of EU development policy in 2018.
Simon Maxwell in this blog introduces the ETTG perspective on the MFF.
Christine Hackenesch , Adolf Kloke-Lesch and Janina Sturm look at how the EU can anchor the 2030 Agenda in its policy
What good is a job, if people are not staying on for the long term?
Brexit will have far-reaching consequences for the UK, the EU and developing countries.
Teresa Ribera advocates for a sustainable development scenario for Europe.
The migration issue seems to have monopolised a large part of the discussions at the AU-EU Summit in Abidjan.
A reassessment of the cooperation scheme should be grounded on shared ownership and dialogue, in the spirit of the partnership.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 calls on states to ‘promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels’. This ODI briefing considers how ensuring migrants have fair access to appropriate and secure legal status, through
Ahead of new European Commission taking office in 2014, the European Think Tanks Group called for a drastic move away from the mandate of the Commission to one that connects Europe’s problems with those of the world, backed by radical changes in the way the European Commission is run. >>
