Summary: March 18, 2005: European Commission welcomes G8 commitment to put Africa and Development high on its agenda (Brussels)
The European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, welcomed today the clear commitment of the G8 members to put Africa high on its agenda and to coordinate its efforts to increase the international support for development. Louis Michel took part in the G8 Environment and Development Ministerial meeting in Derbyshire, UK.
Commissioner Michel stressed that "more should be done for and by Africa. I welcome the priority given to Africa by the UK's Presidency of the G8 and looks forward to build on this commitment during the UK's Presidency of the European Union in the second semester of 2005".
The European Commission welcomed the report of the Commission for Africa as an important contribution in what is a key year for development. The EC shares its emphasis on the role that trade can play as a driver of growth for Africa's development. The EU "Everything But Arms" scheme fully opens the EU market to least developed countries.
Commissioner Michel will come forward in April with a package of proposals on the future orientation of EU development policy, including an ambitious initiative on Africa, which will be developed in connection with the updated development policy statement.
A public consultation is talking place at:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/body/theme/consultation/index_fr.htm.
Illegal logging: more efforts needed
Louis Michel was pleased that the UK placed illegal logging on the agenda of the G8, as the practice is responsible for vast environmental damage in developing countries and impoverishes rural communities which depend on forest products for a living. It is estimated illegal logging costs governments in developing countries of an estimated €10-15bn every year in lost revenue. It is also closely associated with corruption, and serves to fuel the cycle of bribery and graft which does so much to
curtail growth and prosperity in the developing world.
However, Commissioner Michel expressed disappointment at the lack of new concrete outcomes.
To build on a commitment taken at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, in May 2003 the Commission published an EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT). The Action Plan sets out a new and innovative approach to tackling illegal logging, which links the push for good governance in developing countries with the legal instruments and leverage offered by the EU's own internal market.
The core components of the Action Plan are support for improved governance in wood-producing countries, and a licensing scheme to ensure only legal timber enters the EU. This licensing scheme will initially be implemented on a voluntary (but binding) basis, through a series of partnerships with wood-producing countries.
Other areas where the Commission proposes action include co-operation with other major consumer markets to stop the trade illegally-harvested timber; and efforts to ensure on legally-harvested timber is sourced through public procurement contracts in the EU.
For more information please go to:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/body/theme/forest/initiative/index_en.htm
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