On the occasion of the informal meeting of EU development ministers on 29 September 2020, which will also be attended by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, the Association for Development Policy and Humanitarian Aid (VENRO) calls for close and fair cooperation between Africa and Europe.
“We regret the postponement of the African and European Union summit originally planned for the end of October. The current humanitarian, economic and social consequences of the Corona pandemic call for cooperation and solidarity,” explains Mathias Mogge, Deputy Chairman of VENRO.
“The EU Commission and the German EU Council Presidency have declared the cooperation with Africa to be one of their priorities. The EU development ministers must now send a clear signal that the people in Africa will not be left alone with their problems. They need European support to fight hunger, expand health systems and adapt to climate change.”
VENRO also calls for a stronger involvement of civil society actors in the preparations of the AU-EU Summit and the AU-EU Strategy.
Additional information: On 16 October 2020, VENRO organizes the hybrid conference “Civil Society Driving Change: Towards a New Quality of the Africa-Europe Partnership”. Participants will include representatives of African and European civil society as well as the responsible state secretaries of the current EU trio presidency from Germany, Portugal, Slovenia and Jutta Urpilainen, the EU Commissioner for International Partnerships and Development.