Eurostep WeeklyRegular News Update from Eurostep, N° 525 20 October 2008 Ferrero-Waldner backs initiative for EU Special Envoy for Women's Rights At a conference in the European Parliament on Tuesday October 14, held to promote the initiative for an EU Women's Rights Envoy, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner gave full support to the initiative and called for greater female representation in top EU jobs. Ms Ferrero Waldner, who was the first female foreign affairs minister in Austria and the first female External Relations Commissioner of the EU, said: "The current situation, in which we have only seven women out of 91 head of delegations, is obviously also far from satisfactory." "The problem, unfortunately, is that women often have to do more to climb the career ladder and sometimes they do not even try or dare to do it. They still have to break through the glass ceiling." The Commissioner is already a supporter of the "50/50 Campaign for Democracy", which calls on the EU to secure equal representation of women among its elected and appointed officials. The event was organised by the Green/European Free Alliance group. Green MEP Kathalijne Buitenweg strongly made the case for an EU Women's Envoy, telling Parliament: "Such an appointment can make a difference. This high-ranking diplomat would ensure that women's rights are effectively taken into account in policymaking." "She could be able to raise her voice or mediate whenever violence is done to women. She could present proposals to the council and commission and be held accountable by parliament, and could spur governments to live up their millennium goal commitments. But first and foremost, she could make sure that Europe has a face and a telephone number for women in the developing world who struggle for the rights of their sisters." Sources: Farmers' representatives from developing countries at the gates of the EU On the occasion of the World Food Day and International Day of Poverty Eradication, SAAPE in collaboration with its European partners Eurostep, Hivos and the Europe External Policy Advisors (EEPA) jointly organised a hearing in the European Parliament urging the EU to adequately respond to the food crisis by making use of the €1 billion food facility in a way that focuses on the vulnerable and marginalised small-scale farmers in the developing world. The event brought together officials from the European Commission, EU parliamentarians, representatives from the EU member states, the European civil society and the World Bank on a common platform to critically debate solutions to the ongoing food crisis. It was jointly hosted by MEPs Thijs Berman and Gay Mitchell who are supporting the €1 billion EU food facility. "We are concerned that the food facility will be used in a way that supports multinational agribusinesses in making inroads in the region because the ongoing intensive external inputs driven industrialisation of agriculture has significantly contributed to the current crisis and has devastating economic, environmental and health repercussions" said the delegation of representatives from Nepal, India and South Africa. The delegation strongly criticised the current aid and trade policies of the EU that undermine sustainable models of eco-agriculture being successfully practised by a majority of small-scale farmers in the developing world. There is ample empirical evidence on the ground that sustainable eco-farming traditions put farmers in a sovereign position, enabling them to produce a livelihood for themselves and their families as well as ensuring world's food security by using local seeds, organic fertilizers and pesticides and traditional multi-cropping growing patterns. The hearing concluded on an optimistic note, urging the EU to provide the political leadership in international development cooperation by redefining and kick-starting a genuine pro-poor development paradigm that is based on justice and not on charity. The food facility indeed provides the opportunity of making an historic start to give due recognition to people's voice and people's agenda as opposed to the existing top-down prescribed solutions that have failed in eradicating global poverty and promoting sustainable development. Source: EU embarrassment over EPA delays As thirteen Caribbean countries signed Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the EU on Wednesday, Terraviva Europe reported that senior EU officials had "admitted being embarrassed at how the bloc's own procedures are delaying them" from signing the EPAs. This delay is particularly embarrassing for the European Commission, which repeatedly insisted during 2007 that the EPAs must be concluded by the end of that year. The Commission's attitude led to criticism from ACP countries and civil society that the agreements were being rushed and that unfair pressure was being exerted on the ACP states. The Commission's stated that the EPAs needed to be submitted to the WTO in time for its deadline of January 1 2008, but so far the 35 EPAs initialled in late 2007 have not been formally notified to the WTO. Terraviva reports that David O'Sullivan, head of the Commission's Directorate-General for Trade, "confessed on October 13 at a hearing at the European Parliament that the delays were ‘very worrying'", and "blamed the holdup on demands by the European Union's governments that the accords be translated into the Union's 23 official languages." At the hearing, Green MEP Frithjof Schmidt suggested that the Commission had misled Parliament about the need for rapid notification to the WTO. This new embarrassment represents a further blow to the Commission, which has repeatedly been accused of mismanaging and misrepresenting the EPA negotiations. Mr Mandelson was hailed by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown as having done "a brilliant job" in Brussels when left his post as Trade Commissioner to return to the UK Cabinet earlier this month. Many have questioned this assessment, considering the strong criticism the Commissioner received during the EPA negotiations for employing bullying tactics and ignoring ACP concerns. Sources: GAERC Conclusions on Zimbabwe Meeting in Luxembourg on Monday 13 October, EU foreign ministers at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) adopted a number of conclusions on the ongoing political and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe. The Council reaffirmed its "commitment to ensuring that the will of the people of Zimbabwe, as expressed in the elections on 29 March 2008, is respected" and "condemns the unilateral decision to embark on the formation of a new government that does not meet with the agreement of all the parties." On Monday Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai boycotted regional talks concerning the proposed power-sharing deal after emergency travel documents were only delivered at the last minute. Tsvangirai has still not been granted a regular passport despite the proposal under the agreement that he will become the country's Prime Minister. The Council urged that the power-sharing agreement be implemented and stated that it "is ready to contemplate additional measures" should it be blocked. The GAERC also voiced concern at the deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe and noted that a further €10 million in aid has just been released by the Commission. It stated that, once the power-sharing deal is implemented, the EU will "adopt a package of measures to assist in the consolidation of democracy and in the country's economic and social rehabilitation." Sources: 1 billion people worldwide suffering from hunger As European and US leaders negotiate multi-billion rescue packages to help resolve the financial crisis, the global food crisis has been pushed from the agenda at a crucial time. Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke out against this neglect on Thursday 16 October at an international conference in Dublin. "The financial crisis cannot be an excuse for inaction." he said. "We must maintain our resolve. We can end hunger and poverty. Doing so is critical to Africa and to a healthy and resilient global food system." "For although the ups and downs of the global economy may be cyclical, there is nothing cyclical about hunger in sub-Saharan Africa. There, the pattern is a steady and appalling rise," Mr Annan added. Speaking at the same event, U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs criticised the developed countries for not delivering on aid commitments and branded the Rome commitments "nearly a wash-out". "The United States, Japan, Italy, and to a slightly lesser degree France and Germany, are nowhere near where they should be. Virtually all of the world's wealthy countries have made promises that they have yet to deliver. And our international system does not have any enforcement system." CEO of Irish NGO Concern, Eurostep member organisation, Tom Arnold said: "The brutal reality is that, notwithstanding the good analysis and the political commitments made at the UN, G8 and EU level, very few additional resources have been found to translate commitments into actions. In addition, the price of food and commodities has fallen in recent months, possibly inducing a false sense of complacency among political leaders." Sources: EU and Morocco to strengthen partnership The EU has granted "advanced status" to Morocco as part of a package of measures designed to strengthen ties with the country, including cooperation in political and security matters and the preparation of a comprehensive and deeper free trade agreement. Ms Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and the Neighbourhood Policy, said: "Morocco is undertaking a raft of reforms in all areas. It has asked for Advanced Status in our Neighbourhood Policy, stronger links with Europe to consolidate what has already been achieved and to give fresh impetus to its modernisation and democratic transition process. The Commission has done its utmost to respond to Morocco's expectations and we have made a great many proposals in the areas that are within our competence." Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri commented: "This European engagement on the advanced status is firstly proof of confidence... in Morocco's efforts in terms of political reforms, consolidation of the rule of law, a better justice system, economic reforms, social cohesion and the fight against poverty." Specifically, the new status provides for regular summits between the EU and Morocco, the participation of Morocco in European crisis management operations and the creation of a "common economic space" similar to the European Economic Area. Under this new agreement the European Union will increase its aid to Morocco, which is already the biggest beneficiary of European Neighbourhood Policy funds. Sources:
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