âRestore Our Earth!â was the theme and rallying cry for this yearâs Earth Day on 22 April. This is not something that could be achieved on a single day. Yet, Earth Day 2021 might signal a greater turning of the tide as the world enters the âGreen Twenties.â
EuropeâAfrica relations are facing a double challenge â the COVID-19 pandemic puts social and economic systems under strain at a point when the consequences of the climate crisis are being increasingly felt on both continents. Within Africa and Europe, debates have started about recovery measures to address the pandemicâs short and medium-term socio-economic consequences. A key question in these debates is how to âbuild back betterâ and use the crisis to promote green transitions and move towards more sustainable development pathways.
Multilateralism has been in trouble for a while, particularlyâ âat the global level. Yet, the European Union (EU) and itsâ âmember states have remained among its staunchestâ âsupporters.âIân their June 2019 Council Conclusions, EUâ âleaders drew the outlines of a common European vision toâ âuphold, extend and reform the multilateral system. Againstâ âan increasingly complex and contested geopoliticalâ âbackdrop, these goals were further developed in theâ ârecent EU Communication on Multilateralism, published inâ âFebruary 2021.
On the 19th of March the DG International Partnerships (INTPA) in cooperation with a group of selected topic specialist researchers from ETTG hosted the proposed dialogue on how the EU can support its partner countries to avoid and resolve debt crises.
The Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) represents a fundamental reform for the European Union (EU)âs development policy, its neighbourhood policy and its external action more broadly. The new instrument will be implemented in a rapidly changing geopolitical context and will have to respond to unprecedented challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Â
The European Commission DG NEAR and the office of the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy released a new policy statement (âCommunicationâ) âRenewed Partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood: A New Agenda for the Mediterraneanâ on 9 February 2021. The Communication was accompanied by a staff working document âRenewed Partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood Economic and Investment Plan for the Southern Neighboursâ. The priorities outlined in the Communication and the investment Plan are to be concretised during 2021 as the new âNeighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), which will finance the EUâs international cooperation, is programmed during 2021.Â
