Events

Following the UN General Assembly in New York at which the French presidency of the European Union called for revamping world governance and collective management of crises, European development ministers will be meeting in Bordeaux on Monday and Tuesday, September 29 and 30.

Alain Joyandet, Secretary of State for Cooperation and Francophony, will chair the meeting which is being held to discuss the main lines of EU development policy for food security, health and adaptation to climate change.

The discussions will also focus on implementing the recommendations adopted at the Accra conference on aid effectiveness and preparation for the Doha conference on development finance.

The meeting will consider three main subjects.

  Food Security In close collaboration with the European Commission, the French presidency will propose to member states that the EU response be based on the three pillars of the “international partnership for agriculture and food” proposed by President Sarkozy in Rome.

In line with the conclusions of the European council in June and the Commission’s proposal, the presidency will work to mobilize financial resources to support agriculture in developing countries. Experts in agriculture in Africa and financing this sector and European legislators will be invited to contribute to ministers’ discussions, bearing in mind the decisions the Council till take before the end of the year.

  Health

Bernard Kouchner will be present when this question is discussed. The presidency, with the European Commission’s support, will pursue the discussions begun at the international conference on May 7, 2008 on access to care and long-term financing of health systems through the use of tools suited to the conditions in each developing country. Foreign Affairs Minister Kouchner will take part in this working session.

  Aid effectiveness

Three weeks after the Accra High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, ministers will discuss European aid structure: How to better coordinate actors and instruments to meet global challenges. How to better address the needs of aid recipients by adapting the range of tools, taking account of aid orphan countries and putting forward solutions adapted to situations of fragility. How to take into account the consequences of the global financial crisis for developing countries.

Lastly, ministers will be preparing the Doha international conference on financing for development. The French presidency will endeavor to define and enhance the EU position on the basis of the ambitious mandate defined by the council in May 2008. Aside from aid financed through ODA, the Doha conference provides an opportunity to address the question of better global economic and financial governance, which President Sarkozy said in New York was essential. It will also allow discussion to continue on other forms of finance, innovating financing, migrants’ remittances as well as progress in mobilizing the national resources of recipient countries to support shared growth.

• Watch the provisional programme (pdf)

• More information on the French EU presidency website