This evening, German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul will be opening the Informal Meeting of EU Development Ministers at the Petersberg near Bonn. The development agenda of the German EU Presidency focuses on the Economic Partnership Agreements with ACP countries (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific), access to energy for Africa and support for renewable energy, improved complementarity within the European Union, and the Congo and Great Lakes peace process. Participants in the meeting include World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, German entrepreneur Dr Michael Otto, and some 30 Ministers from ACP countries.
Prior to the opening of the Informal Meeting of Development Ministers, the Minister attended a conference of German and European nongovernmental organizations this morning in Bonn. She had been invited by two umbrella associations of development organizations, VENRO (Association of German Development NGOs) and CONCORD (Confédération européenne des ONG d'urgence et de développement). Following the meeting, the Minister stated: "Development policy would be inconceivable without the committed work of civil society. It was therefore with pleasure that I accepted the invitation of the development associations VENRO and CONCORD. European development policy stands to benefit from the critical dialogue with nongovernmental organizations."
At the meeting, the Minister underlined that the envisaged Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and ACP countries offer an opportunity for combining trade and development issues in a beneficial way. "The timeframe for the conclusion of the EPAs by the end of 2007 is tight, but we should make use of it." The Minister agreed with the NGOs that trade liberalization does not automatically lead to progress on development and noted that it was vital now to integrate the envisaged trade agreements into longer-term development strategies and to design them in such a way that they deliver developmental benefits. "In the interest of the developing countries in particular, we must not squander this opportunity."
Please find further information about the Informal Meeting of EU Development Ministers on this website.
