I will present the partnership between the EU and Africa on migration management. My perspective will be broader than suggested by the title of this presentation, in that I will not limit myself to our dialogue with the African Union,, but will also touch upon the other dimension of our partnership with Africa on migration management.
 
The EC's partnership with Africa dates back from the 1964 Yaoundé Convention. Then, there was the Lomé Conventions and the Cotonou Convention. The migration dimension is not really new. In art.13 of the Cotonou Convention, the possibility of such a partnership is often mentioned. We should bear in mind that this article is very broad.
 
The EC communication concerning development and migration is not only directed to Africa. However, many of the issues addressed in this document have a particular relevance for Africa, for example the high cost of transferring remittances to migrants' countries of origin.
It should be clear that the whole EU development policy is linked closely to improving opportunities in developing countries. Such opportunities can act as alternatives to emigration.
Of courses, crises like the Ceuta and Melilla crisis have accelerated the development of the EU-Africa partnership on migration.
Our approach is comprehensive, as migration is a very complex issue: safety, security, environment development etc. play an important role in the management of the migration flux..
 
I want to refer to the Conclusions of the European Council of last December that mainly sets out the framework for the migration partnership network.
 
At the bilateral level, we are trying to initiate a dialogue based upon art.13 of the Cotonou agreement.
This is open to all African countries, but we have identified a number of priority countries. The priority countries are not only the countries of origin, but also transit countries. We want to develop a whole range of thematic issues: action against illegal migration and trafficking in human beings, treatment of people, the possibilities for legal migration, addressing ‘brain drain’ issues, enhancing refugee protection …. Also, the theme of asylum is important. We are helping countries that are willing to accept a large number of refugees. There is a pilot project with Tanzania.
 
The other level is the regional level. I want to focus on two dimensions.
 
First, there is the dialogue with the regional communities with which the EU wants to enhance cooperation. For example, ECOWAS – also supported by the IOM - made great progress in Western Africa. The theme of migration has been discussed at the last ministerial troika a couple of months ago.
 
A second initiative is the European –African conference in Rabat that will take place in July. The EU is very interested in this dialogue which it actively supports. All the countries involved will be invited at the table: EU-countries, ECOWAS countries and CEMAC-countries. The objective is to identify concrete actions, to address the challenges related to migration, to improve living conditions…
 
The other dimension is the continental dimension. The dialogue with the AU, an important partner for the EU, is part of a broader dialogue with different dimensions. It is worth noting that the AU is devoting more and more attention to migration flow issues. It is not just the South-North dimension that is important in Africa, but also the South-South dimension.
 
The AU has already prepared a draft policy document on migration issues. A project of an Action Plan against human trafficking was adopted in 2002 in Ouagadougou. We hope that it will be finalised very soon. A broad dialogue between the EU and the AU is going on. The objective in the medium term is to have a conference of ministers of the two organisations. The AU still needs to finalize its position at its next Summit in July in Gambia before discussions can start, leading to the Ministerial Conference. The goal is to make progress on common principles. Such principles can then be implemented by specific projects on a subregional level.
 
Another kind of cooperation would be the exchange of best practices on different topics linked to migration.
 
The AU process and the process of the Rabat meeting are complementary. The AU’s goal is to work out principles and ideas, while the Rabat meeting’s goal is to find concrete answers to specific challenges related to migration flows.
 
The partnership the EU tries to work out with Africa is also on a more general level. The EU and Africa can contribute to prove that you can avoid confrontational approaches through partnership and come up with adequate solutions that benefit all parties.
 
 
Thank you.