[ EU-Policy ]

Europe must speak with one voice

[ By Armin Laschet ]


The world has not become a safer place following the end of the East-West conflict. Poverty continues to spread, states to collapse, regional conflicts and religiously-motivated disputes to escalate. Terrorism represents a potential for violence all over the world. Globalisation means even more change: climate change doesn’t respect state borders, Aids doesn’t need a visa, the internet couldn’t care less about national regulations, and the worldwide addiction to drugs and wealth cannot be snuffed out by any law or any religion. All these factors influence European development co-operation.


1. Principles of
European development cooperation

Approximately half of the funds available for development cooperation worldwide come from the European Union. Its main goal of reducing global levels of poverty can only be achieved through lasting economic and social development. At the same time the environment should be protected and the developing countries steadily integrated into the world economy. Other integral components are the support of human rights, democracy, rule of law and the principle of good governance.

This combined approach is all the more essential, since poverty per se is not the cause of terror (the assassins of 11th September 2001 came from wealthy families), but flagrant injustices coupled with feelings of helplessness can foster violence. Or, as the sociologist Ulrich Beck once said: “If we want to dry up the wells of hatred in those billions of people, from whom new Bin Ladens will continue to emerge, we have to make the risks of globalisation predictable and distribute its freedoms and fruits more fairly.”


2. Coherence of policy

European development cooperation can no longer be viewed as a solitary field, it is becoming more a matter of blending different fields of policy. Future challenges will increasingly be cross-sectional tasks which are no longer the responsibility of one single sphere of authority. The tools of classic foreign policy (such as making funds available, diplomacy in conflict situations and deploying armed forces) will be augmented by the tools of traditionally domestic policy (such as international warrants of arrest for instance).

To face these new challenges effectively, the EU members must speak with a single voice. The civil aspects of the common foreign/security policy must be united with development policy and further integrated into community structures. If all 25 member countries agree on joint campaigns and strategies, the community will be in a position to take action. Europe’s strength lies in a united presence in foreign relationships.


3. Multilateral cooperation

The European Union must also do more to achieve policy understanding with other international organisations. US-actions and their consequences have clearly shown that no part of the world can isolate itself, none of us is safe on our own. Only by working together, in a multilateral system, can we face up to the challenges of the 21st century. This is why the European Union supports the United Nations, whose role must be reinforced. With almost 50 years experience of how successful multilateralism can be, EU member countries are credible advocates of a multilateral world order.

The UN and its Security Council are without doubt the most suitable platform for an extensive and global alliance to fight terror. However, for the UN to fulfil its core task of safeguarding world peace and international security, urgent reforms aimed at current geopolitical relationships are needed. The European Union must play its part in this process. At the same time cooperation between the EU and the UN should be developed. This process must be transparent, coherent and visible to all.

The report on relationships between the EU and UN, adopted by the European Parliament in January, describes the perspectives of future cooperation after a European constitution comes into effect. The Parliament confirms its support for strengthening the partnership. It urges the EU to take a more active part in conflict prevention and non-military crisis-resolution, as well as in the areas of development and humanitarian aid.

For many years now a good development policy cooperation has grown up between the European Union and the United Nations. However, despite the fact that the EU member states provide over 60 percent of the UN development budget, the European Union does not have the corresponding political weight in the United Nations. One of the tasks confronting the EU will be to design a joint concept and to support this at the UN through a unified presence of its member states. This can only occur through a future European constitution, which will give the Union its own legal identity. The next logical step in an effort to better reflect the current world situation will be to expand the UN Security Council by a permanent seat for the European Union, and a seat each for Africa, Asia and Latin America.


4. Observation and conflict prevention

Security is the most important precondition for development. Where conflicts simmer, investors stay away, infrastructure is destroyed and crime intensifies. In the future, climate change is likely to cause disputes over natural resources, particularly water. An important task for the EU will therefore be to observe centres of conflict closely and to prevent escalation.

UN General Secretary Kofi Annan has proclaimed the years 2005-2015 as the international decade of “Water for Life”. The EU reacted to increasing problems with water back in 2002 when it launched the “EU Water Initiative” (EUWI) in Johannesburg. It is designed to coordinate the activities of the EU and its partners in the water sector in line with the UN target of halving by 2015 the proportion of the population without access to safe and affordable water.

The key region as far as water supply is concerned is quite rightly the African continent because of the disastrous situation it is in. However, the European Union is setting its sights on other regions, too. Lack of clean water and inadequate sanitation are threatening to become a huge problem for the central Asian states. Energy reserves, among other things, make the stability of Central Asia a matter of great importance to the EU. Moreover, the rule of law, human rights and democracy are vital because of the threat posed by international terrorism. Therefore a pilot project should be drawn up with the aim of improving the water supply in the greater region of Central Asia. Various actors such as the UNDP, the EU and member states aid agencies should all play their part in this.


5. EDF integration in the EU budget

EU budgetary policy must itself bow to demands for transparency and accountability. So far the European Development Fund (EDF), which funds cooperation with the countries of the Cotonou Agreement (77 Asian, Caribbean and Pacific states), and European development cooperation have themselves been funded from different sources. While resources for the latter come out of the EU budget, the EDF is financed by voluntary contributions from the member states. For a long time the European Parliament has been demanding that EDF resources should be incorporated in the EU budget, which would make European development cooperation in general more coherent. Integrating the EDF in the EU budget would not only mean more clarity, but would also make the EDF subject to parliamentary controls.


Conclusion: a better world is possible

For the EU, European development cooperation is a cornerstone of future global security. After more than 50 years successful history of European integration, Europe bears some responsibility for peace, freedom and justice in the world. At the beginning of the integration process the great European Jean Monnet said: “Europe is a contribution to a better world.“ Fifty years later Kofi Annan stated: “Despite our differences – one thing I know that we all share, and we all want, is a better world, and a better world for all our peoples.“ Today more than ever Europeans are being challenged to put this theory to the test. An efficient European development cooperation, which works multilaterally with the United Nations, is an important step towards making a genuine contribution to a better world.