Press Releases

Plassnik: Partnership and responsibility the principles underlying our cooperation

Meeting of Foreign Ministers EU Troika with ECOWAS in Vienna

"We support the regional integration efforts on the African continent. With its long experience of integration, the European Union has something to offer the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), particularly in the area of conflict prevention and peace-keeping", Foreign Minister Plassnik commented after the meeting with the Foreign Minister of Niger and chair of ECOWAS, Aïchatou Mindaoudou, the Foreign Minister of Ghana, Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, the Executive Secretary of ECOWAS, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, and the Finnish State Secretary Pertti Torstila.

According to Minister Plassnik, ECOWAS with its 15 member countries "is one of the most active and most dynamic African regional organisations. It is in our interest to support ECOWAS in its efforts to secure stability and economic development. In the area of trade, we want to place our relations on a new basis with the economic partnership agreements that are to be negotiated by the end of 2007."

Following the ministerial meeting with the African Union, the continuation of the Euro-African dialogue with ECOWAS was, she said, a tangible sign of Europe’s growing interest in Africa. "Among the greatest challenges facing Africa are peace and security, governance and regional integration, as well as important development issues such as migration and health. Africa will not be left to deal on its own with these challenges, which affect us all. Partnership and responsibility for one’s own affairs are the principles underlying our cooperation", she declared.

Plassnik said the EU and Africa were continually developing their partnership. "The EU’s December 2005 Strategy for Africa is particularly significant. Two weeks ago in Vienna, we agreed with the African Union a joint work programme with specific goals and measures to implement this strategy."

"Our talks today also concerned the continuing migration flows from West African countries, which pose a major challenge both to Europe and Africa. It is important to arrive at a common understanding of this issue in the countries in which the flows originate, in the transit countries and in the countries of destination. There is no easy answer; we must raise awareness of the complexity of the issue and of the underlying causes", Plassnik concluded, referring in this connection to the importance of development cooperation and humanitarian cooperation.