EN    EN EN 
 
EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 17.10.2008 
SEC(2008) 2603 final 
  
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
 
accompanying the 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE CO MMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 
 
ONE YEAR AFTER LISBON: THE AFRICA-EU PARTNERSHIP AT WORK  
   
Commission contributions to the implementation of the  
EU-Africa Action Plan  
 
(2008-2010)  
{COM(2008) 617} 
 
EN 2   EN I. AIM AND PURPOSE OF THIS WORKING DOCUMENT  
(1) The Commission Communication COM (2008)  617 "One year after Lisbon – the 
Africa-EU partnership at work" aims to asse ss the first year of the Joint Strategy and 
its first Action Plan (2008-2010) , to outline the main cha llenges ahead, and to provide 
inputs for the next joint progress repor t. The Communication reviews the initial 
progress made on the overall political objectives of the Joint Strategy and on the 
implementation of the 8 thematic partnerships.  
(2) The present staff working document co mplements the above Communication by 
providing a first indicative ov erview of concrete short-  and mid-term deliverables 
proposed by the Commission for this strategi c partnership. Based on the results of the 
College-to-College meeting of 01 Octobe r 2008 between the European Commission 
and the African Union Commission (AUC),  preliminary discussions in the EU 
Implementation Teams, and a series of internal inter-service consultations, this working document identifies ongoing or pla nned activities through which the EU, and 
in particular the European Commission, could contribute the eight thematic 
partnerships of the Action Plan. However,  the successful implementation of this 
strategic partnership relies both on the shar ed responsibility between African and the 
EU side. Within the EU, success depends on  effective burden sharing, division of 
labour and coherence between Member States  and the Commission. In order to meet 
the ambition of the Joint Strategy, the Co mmission's inputs have therefore to be 
matched by activities of Member States . While the present working document 
concentrates on the European Commission contributions to necessarily broader European, and Euro-African, implementation efforts, the forthcoming joint progress 
reports of November 2008 will provide a more comprehensive overview. 
(3) Within the Commission, too, this first Staff working document will be further 
developed in order to re flect in greater detail the substantive roadmaps, 
implementation timelines, actors and financial instruments available for the European Commission contribution to the identified cooperation activities. The Directorate 
General for Development and Relations w ith ACP States (DG DEV), in cooperation 
with DG RELEX as far as the North African  dimension is concerned, has the overall 
responsibility for policy steering, guidance and coordination of the implementation 
process. DG DEV and RELEX will also contri bute to the implementation of the eight 
thematic partnerships through the programmi ng of their respectiv e geographic and/or 
thematic financial instruments, such as the European Developm ent Fund (EDF) , the 
Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI), the European Instrument for Democracy 
and Human Rights (EIDHR), the Eu ropean Neighbourhood and Partnership 
Instrument (ENPI), the Instrument for Stability (IfS). DG AIDCO will remain 
systematically involved, notably at the operational implementation level of each 
thematic partnership. But in addition to this group, other line-DGs, too, in particular 
those in charge of internal policies with an external dimension rele vant for Africa, will 
have to continue and step up their participa tion in this collective effort, including with 
dedicated human resources and financial instruments under their management. These 
DGs include, inter alia, AGRI, EAC, EMPL, ENV, INFSO, JLS, REGIO, RTD, SANCO, TAXUD, TRADE, TREN, as well as the JRC (Joint Research Centre) and 
the internal Commission DGs and services  under the coordination of DG ADMIN. In 
this context, a distinct section of the present working document lists the additional 
 
EN 3   EN initiatives undertaken in the field of administrative and technical cooperation to 
strengthen the capacities of the African Union Commission (AUC) in areas such as 
strategic planning, administrative and fi nancial management, human resources 
development, and multilingualism, and to develop exchanges and information on topics of mutual interest. In these area s, too, various Commission DGs, including DGs 
ADMIN, BUDG, DGT, EUROSTAT, IAS, DG  COMM, SCIC, the Legal Service and 
the Secretariat General, will contribute to further cooperation activities. Finally, and in 
order to address the financing of the working arrangements and institutional 
architecture agreed in Lisbon, the Eur opean Commission suggests to set aside 
resources from the 55MEuro AU capacity  building programme – managed by the 
AUC - to further support the part icipation of th e African side. 
II.
 SHORT - AND MID TERM COMMISSION DELIVERABLES FOR THE EIGHT THEMATIC 
PARTNERSHIPS  
(4) Within the framework of the Peace and Security partnership , the Commission will 
contribute in the following way to achieving  results in each of the three priority 
actions1 : 
(a) In the framework of an enhanced dialogue on challenges to peace and security , 
the Commission will participate in polit ical dialogue meetings such as AU 
PSC-EU PSC meeting (30.09.2008), EU- AU Defence Ministers Troika 
(20.11.2008) and Foreign Ministers Tr oika (21.11.2008). The services (DG 
DEV and RELEX) will also participate in joint assessment missions, in 
particular in view of monitoring  APF-funded Peace Support Operations 
(PSOs). The Sahel region has been identified for a first informal joint assessment in the field of collective s ecurity and preventive diplomacy with a 
view to anticipating security challenges there. The cooperation with the Centre 
Africain d'Etudes et de Recherche sur le Terrorisme  (CAERT) in the field of 
counter-terrorism will be reinforced. The current funding (1 MEuros under MEDA, the EC's main financial instrument for the implementation of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership) will be co mplemented by a first action under the 
Instrument for Stability (IfS) to st art before the end of 2008, and will be 
followed by a programme for 2009-2011 in support of the Sahel Region. 
Finally, in the area of fighting the illicit  trafficking of small arms and light 
weapons (SALW), work with African  mandated organizations/regional 
mechanisms will continue to support the implementation of regional conventions and strategies; initial f unding should start before end of 2008 
Another programme with a wide re gional scope in support of African 
countries’ capacities to fight organised cr ime/ terrorism is foreseen under the 
action programme for 2009-2011.  
(b) The Commission will continue to support the full operationalization of the 
African Peace and Secur ity Architecture (APSA) . An envelop of €65M focused 
mainly on this objective will be proposed under the second African Peace Facility (2008-2010). The ongoing assistance to AU political-military 
                                                
 
1 Under this partnership, actions are essentially  managed by DG DEV and DG RELEX, in cooperation 
with the General Secret ariat of the Council. 
 
EN 4   EN structures (Peace and Security Depart ment, Peace and Security Operations 
Department, and Strategic Planning  Management Unit (SPMU) and the 
recruitment of AU planners and experts will be further financed through the 
APF and the IfS, as well as through a possible CFSP Joint Action. In response 
to the European’s Commission concerns , the AU Commission confirmed that it 
will address as a matter of priority the issue of speeding up the recruitment of 
African planners under the IfS‘s pr ogramme in support of the SPMU. The 
ongoing co-operation to strengthen the African Continental Early Warning System (CEWS) will be further reinfo rced both through the support under the 
APF, at the continental and regional  level, and through a follow-up project 
focusing on information and communicati ons equipment, training, exchanges 
of expertise, and exchanges of official s(which has started in the Summer of 
2008). Support will also be provided to th e work of the Panel of the Wise on 
crisis-prone elections. S upport for the training and exercises of the African 
Stand–by Force (ASF) will continue, a nd a programme focussed on African 
Training Centres will be launched under th e APF. In the field of strengthening 
African military capabilities, the Eu ro-RECAMP / AMANI-Africa Initiative 
will be launched (20.11.2008), and a Contributors Conference, training courses, a Pol-Mil seminar (2009), a nd the Command-Post  Exercise (2010) 
will also take place. In the field of Civilian crisis management, the planned 
mapping and needs assessments will develop and operationalise civilian training and police aspects.  Possible funding will be  provided through existing 
instruments. Last, but certainly no t least, ongoing APF funding to AU-led 
Peace Support Operations will continue, complemented by possible additional contributions form EU Member  States and the CFSP Budget. 
(c) In the third priority  area, predictable f unding for Africa-led PSOs
, the 
Commission will put in place the second African Peace Facility with an 
allocation of 300MEuro for the period 2008-2010, plus a reserve of another 300 MEuro for the period 2011-2013. The Commission will also provide its support to the AU/UN Panel on African peace-keeping, in particular through 
sharing experiences/lessons -learned from the support provided to African 
peace operations under the APF and through expert advice.  
(5) In the partnership on Democratic Governance and Human Rights, the Commission
2 
will contribute to launching the Governan ce Platform by 2009, and will involve the 
AU in the preparation of the European Ch arter of cooperation on Local Governance. 
In the field of AU Capacity building, the use of available EC support will be 
maximized by reviewing actions so far and id entifying shared priorities by the end of 
2008, in order to ensure adequate suppor t to the various components of the AU 
Democratic Governance and Hu man Rights architecture. In the area of Human Rights, 
the European Commission will support a first joint civil society meeting back to back with the forthcoming session of the EU -AU Human Rights Dial ogue in 2009, and will 
identify by early 2009 themes and format for jo int initiative at the UN. With regard to 
election observations, the European Commissi on will promote closer consultations in 
the field between the EU and AU observation missions in the same African countries, 
in particular with regard to international standards and code of conduct. The European 
                                                
 
2 DG DEV and RELEX 
 
EN 5   EN Commission stands ready to support and pr omote EU Member States in exchange 
programmes for election observers, which could include the invitation of AU 
observers to elections in the EU, starting with the next elections for the European 
Parliament, and launch a pilot project in support to AU election observation activities 
with a view to consolidating the AU’ s good practices. Fina lly, the European 
Commission will step up support for the tr aining of AU election observers, including 
dedicated training, seminars or internships. 
(6) In the partnership on trade and regional in tegration, the Commission will continue to 
provide support to the implementation of the following priority actions : 
(a) In the domain of supporting the African integration agenda, the Commission3 
will use its Communication on regional integration as a vehicle for an enhanced dialogue on regional integrat ion between EU institutions, Member 
States and African continental and regional organisations. The political and technical dialogue on key issues to ma ke Economic Partnership Agreements 
(EPAs) a tool in support of regional in tegration for development will continue. 
The Commission will cooperate with EU Member States in the framework of 
the EU's commitment to increasing its trade-related assistance to EUR 2 billion annually by 2010, and will in particular pursu e its initiative for the joint design 
(by Commission and Member States) of regional "aid for trade" packages. 
(b) A series of priority actions in the field of rules and standards
 will be launched, 
too. In the area of sanitary and phyt osanitary standards (SPS), the Commission4 
will contribute to provide Africa-wide trainings on SPS (Better Training for Safer Food initiative), and strengthen the capacity of the AUC officers on SPS 
issues through intensive trainings (e .g. on harmonisation issues) and exchange 
programmes. Other activities will comprise  the creation of a platform to share 
information and to enhance participation of African countries in EU standard 
setting process, initiativ es to improve knowledge on food and feed inspection 
services, and first discussions on the rehabilitation and modernisation of 
laboratories for plant and animal testi ng and certification on  products such as 
fisheries or leather. The Commission will initiate discussions on a support 
programme to develop the capacities of  firms and agencies in the field of 
industrial standards and normalisation. Th ese actions will take into account 
ongoing programmes at the regional levels. 
(c) Further steps will be taken to implement the Infrastructure partnership.
 The 
Infrastructure Trust Fund has so far received 146 MEuro in grants 
(contributions from 11 EU Member States and from the 9th EDF), and the 
European Commission i is proposing futu re substantial allocations, notably 
under the 10th EDF's intra-ACP line. 8 major infrastructure projects have been 
approved by the Executive Committee, and the 2nd meeting of the Steering 
Committee should take place in November 2008 in Addis Ababa. The start-up 
phase of the Partnership is supported through a 10 MEuro allocation , and some 
of the planned initial activities are al ready under way. The reinforcement of the 
                                                 
3 Notably DG DEV and TRADE 
4 Notably DG SANCO and TRADE 
 
EN 6   EN AUC Department of Infrastructure is foreseen for early 2009. The AU 
Programme of Infrastructure Developmen t in Africa (PIDA) will be supported 
with 2 MEuro from the 55MEuro AU Ca pacity building programme, and the 
original allocation for sectoral masters plans will be consolidated to finance the PIDA. The European Commission will also promote triangular cooperation with China and Libya in the area of Af rican infrastructure development, and 
will invite the AUC to participate in events on Trans-European Networks. Finally, the EU-Africa Aviation Summit in Windhoek on 01.12.2008 will lay 
the foundation for enhanced cooperati on on civil aviation, and develop a 
roadmap for possible concrete cooperation activities.
  
(d) Supplementary activities in the area of  customs, statistical harmonization and 
regional and cross-border cooperation will  provide additional substance to the 
implementation of this partnership: 
– In the area of customs , the Commission5 will launch studies to assess 
the needs and potential for harmonisation of customs procedures and rules of origin at African level, and will provide support to customs reforms through information seminars on the basis of the EC "customs blueprints".  
– The Commission
6 will also expand the exchange of experience and best 
practice on regional integrat ion in the fields of statistical harmonisation , 
including through the tran sfer of Eurostat's know-how in co-ordinating 
continent-wide statistical activitie s and the provision of harmonised 
high quality statistics to support policy initiatives. Eurostat will 
contribute to capacity building initia tives for pan-African organisations 
in the field of statistics, inter alia through by st udy visits and 
participation by African officials in Eurostat training courses. 
– In the domain of regional and cross-border cooperation , the 
Commission7 will support Africa-wide capac ity building in territorial 
planning, regional policy techniques, cross-bor der co-operation and 
multi level governance through visits, high level conferences and exchange programmes with the AUC and other African regional groupings, in collaboration with  FOGAR (Forum of Global 
Associations of Regions), CRPM (Conference of Peripheral Maritime 
Regions) and other European regional  associations. The AUC and other 
regional groupings will be  invited to the high-l evel conference on 
'Regional Governance in a Global context' (Brussels, 11-12.05.2009). 
(7) Within the MDG Partnership , the Commission will, as a pa rt of the EU Agenda for 
Action on MDGs, contribute to the prio rity actions in the following way : 
                                                
 
5 Notably DG TAXUD 
6 EUROSTAT 
7 Notably DG REGIO 
 
EN 7   EN (a) With regard to accelerating the achieveme nt of the MDG food security targets , 
the Commission8 will work together with the AUC on reinforcing the strategic 
link between the EC instru ments and the African Framework for Food Security 
outlined in the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme 
(CAADP) Pillar 3, in particular in the fields of agricultural research, food 
security information systems, improve d food security risk management, and 
support to regional and con tinental farmers' organi zations platforms. The 
European Commission will work to facili tate a coordinated EU action in this 
framework. The European Commission will  also work to allow proper support 
to AU capacity with a view to prioritizing agriculture in African policies, 
namely through the implementation of the monitoring and evaluation framework of CAADP (targets of the Ma puto declaration) a nd the support to 
CAADP national processes. Finally, th e Commission will explore areas and 
themes for exchange of expertise be tween AUC and European Commission in 
selected fields of agricultural policie s, such as quality policy and organic 
farming. 
(b) With regard to the MDG Health targets
, the Commission9 will pursue, together 
with the relevant key stakeholders, severa l lines of work as a part of broader 
EU efforts : 
– Human Resources for Health (HRH) : in  follow up to the conclusions of 
the Kampala forum on HRH, continue to work for progress in the implementation of the EU Programme for Action (PfA) to tackle the critical shortage of human resource s in health, scheduled for adoption 
by the Council in November 2008.  
– Access to essential medicines : Consultations will identify concrete 
initiatives to facilita te technology transfer  for the production of 
medicines in Africa, as well as  triangular cooperation. Support for 
research in the field of new medici nes adapted to African pathologies 
and conditions of use is also envisaged. 
– Social protection in health and financing of health systems: The EC will 
stimulate development of a common EU position in this area and identify how the EU can support Af rican countries in addressing the 
issue of fair financing of healt syst ems, elimination of fees for basic 
health care and development or exte nsion of mechanisms for social 
protection in health through EU acti on at country, regional and global 
levels 
– Sexual and reproductive health and ri ghts : In cooperation with the AU 
and UNFPA, contribute to review pr ogress made in the implementation 
of the Maputo Plan of Action.  
– International Health Partnership : cooperate closely with African 
partners to establish agreed plans, budgets-costing scenarios and 
                                                 
8 Notably DG AGRI  
9 Notably DG SANCO 
 
EN 8   EN monitoring frameworks in relation to country compacts starting with 
Ethiopia and Mozambique.  
– International Health Law : together with the AUC look in to possibilities 
for enhanced cooperation to encour age ratification and diffuse best 
practices on the Intern ational Health Regulations (IHR) such as the 
Framework Convention on T obacco Control (FCTC).  
(c) In the domain of the MDG education targets , the European Commission10 will, 
together with the relevant key stakehol ders, contribute to the EU-AU exchange 
of expertise and promoti on of best practices.  
(d) work to complement African countries in  their efforts to attain MDG 2 through 
follow up to the MDG Agenda for Action which highlights issu es of education 
financing, teacher shortages, support to  sector planning, girls education and 
support to education in countries in situations of fragility.  
(e) support a study on teacher shortage and teacher education, as well as follow-up 
experts workshop / conference bringing t ogether African Policy makers with 
experts in the field from both Africa a nd Europe to work on a draft plan of 
action for addressing this challenge.  
(f) In the context of addressing gender as  cross-cutting issue, the European 
Commission will, together with the releva nt key stakeholders, explore with the 
AUC possibilities to develop the capacity of the " Centre International pour 
l’Education des Filles et des Femmes en Afrique " (CIEFFA).  
(8) In the context of the Energy partnership , several high-profile initiatives of the 
European Commission11 have been instrumental to kick-start the implementation. 
These include the joint energy mission of Commissioners Piebalgs  and Michel to 
Africa (visits to Ethiopia, Nigeria and Burkina Faso), the first EC-AUC high level 
dialogue on energy in Addis Ababa on 8 Sept ember (including the signing of the Joint 
Statement on the main priorities and govern ance setup for the implementation of the 
Partnership), and the endorsement of the Joint Statement by the European and the AU 
Commissions at their College-to-Co llege meeting on 01.10.2008. The European 
Commission will continue to play an active role in the forthcoming first Joint Experts Working Group meeting (15-16.10.2008 in Addi s Ababa), in the first High-Level 
Africa-EU Meeting on Energy in 2009, and in the Energy Partnership Forum which 
will take place back-to-back with the High-Level Meeting and will include the 
participation of civil society and of the private sector. On th e operational side, the 
replenishment of the Energy Facility (200 MEuro, aiming at increasing access to 
energy services using renewable energy sour ces) and contribution to the EU-Africa 
Infrastructure Partnership and its Trust Fund ca n be considered to c over, inter alia, the 
Energy sector. The European Commission will cooperate with the AUC on the elaboration of an Electricity Master-Plan for Africa and on the definition of a Capacity Building Programme to support the African  Power Pools and AFUR (10 MEuro, 
covered by the first Energy Facility). The European Commission will assist in the 
                                                
 
10 Notably DG EAC 
11 Notably DG TREN 
 
EN 9   EN promotion of energy interconnections in Af rica and between Africa and Europe, with 
recourse to funding through inter-alia the Af rica-EU Infrastructure Partnership and its 
Trust Fund, National and Regional Indica tive Programmes under the EDF, ENPI 
funds, as well as through the preparatio n of a Programme of Infrastructure 
Development in Africa (PIDA) including en ergy. The promotion of renewable energy 
and energy efficiency will be funded throug h the Energy Facility and the thematic 
programme on Environment, Sustainable Ma nagement of Natural Resources including 
Energy (ENRTP). ENRTP also supports the establishment of the policy dialogue 
under the Africa-EU Energy Partnership, work to establish enabling legal, fiscal and 
regulatory environments to promote investment  in the energy sector as well as on rural 
electrification in Africa, a nd contributes to Global Energy  Efficiency and Renewable 
Energy Fund GEEREF as well as to the World Bank's Gas Flaring Reduction 
Partnership and the Extractive Industrie s Transparency Initiative (EITI).  
(9) In the Partnership on Climate Change , the Commission12 will contribute to the 
drafting of an ambitious Joint AU-EU Declar ation on Climate Change to be adopted at 
the next AU-EU Ministerial Troika ( 20-21.11.2008). This process will take place 
within the agreed AU-EU enhanced coopera tion framework and will be linked to the 
negotiations for a global and comprehensive post 2012 agreement, to be discussed at 
the Poznan conference in December 2008 and concluded at the UN climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009. On th e operational side, G CCA Pilot country 
support actions will start soon in Tanzania , to be followed soon in several other 
African countries. In this context, th e ongoing dialogue with Madagascar, Mali, 
Mauritius, Mozambique, Senegal and Seyche lles will be enhan ced for finalising 
countries' selection and identification of ac tivities that will benefit from forthcoming 
support under the GCCA. Furthermore, the European Commission in close 
cooperation with EU Member States and other involved stakeholders will be 
considering possible forms of support to the Africa Climate Information for Development (ClimDev) Programme on th e basis of the revised framework 
Programme Document and to ot her African relevant initiati ves addressing the capacity 
building dimension of climate change. Other environmental priority activities include 
(a) a scoping study for the Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative, with a view to identifying the most promising av enues for implementation and appropriate 
institutional and funding mechanisms (first quarter 2009); (b) initia tives to strengthen 
the capacity of the AUC environmental se ction (human resources development and 
training, supported by 55 MEuro capacity bu ilding programme); (c) in collaboration 
with UN Environment Programme, the installa tion in early 2009 of the "MEA African 
Regional Hub" within the AUC; this project aims at promoting environmental sustainability in the ACP count ries within the context of the Millennium Development 
Goals (MDGs), and will enhance African capaciti es to take part in and to comply with 
Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) ; (d) an enhanced dialogue on disaster 
risk reduction as an essent ial element of climate cha nge adaptation, building on the 
2004 Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction and the forthcoming EU 
Strategy for supporting disaster risk  reduction in developing countries
, and  (e) 
continued dialogue with African countries on sustainable forest management through 
processes such as Forest Law Enfor cement Governance and Trade (FLEGT). 
                                                 
12 Notably DG ENV 
 
EN 10   EN (10) The Commission will also pr ovide continued support to the implementation of the 
three priority action of the Partnership on Migration, Mobility and Employment.   
(a) In the area of migration and mobility,  the Commission13 will contribute to the 
creation of a network of migration obs ervatories to collect, analyse and 
disseminate date on migration flows. With a view to facilitate safer, faster and 
cheaper remittances, the European Commission is ready cooperate with Member States to support the establishm ent of an African Remittances Institute 
under the leadership of th e African Union and in c ooperation with the World 
Bank. In order to further improve joint action on fighting illegal immigration, 
human smuggling and human trafficking, the Commission will, in the context 
of wider EU efforts, promote regi onal collaboration and dialogue on the 
management of migration flows along th e Western African migration route. In 
this context, the Paris Conference on Mi gration in November 2008 is seen as a 
major landmark. Assistance will be provide d to African governments to set up 
Migration Information and Management  Centres, such as the Moroccan 
National Agency for Employment and Skills (ANAPEC
) and the recently 
inaugurated Centre d'Information et de Gestion des Migrations (CIGEM) in 
Mali. The Commission also aims to  enhance cooperation with Diaspora 
organisations; it organised in c ooperation with the UN Development 
Programme a conference with African Diaspora organisations in June 2008 as 
a first step towards a more structured dialogue at the European level with the 
Diaspora. 
(b) In the field of employment , the Commission14 will continue to promote the 
decent work agenda. The project "Inve sting in People" will support Labour 
market information systems exchange of good practice and peer review. In the framework of the continued dialogue on social protection, the Commission will 
participate in the AU Conference of Social Development Ministers (27-
31.10.2008 in Namibia). With a view to  capacity building and awareness 
raising, the Commission will promote th e participation of the AUC in the 
regional seminar on Decent Work which will take place in June 2009. In the 
area of higher education, the Commission
15 will continue to support the design 
of a management framework for the Nyerere programme. A study will be prepared and an expertise transfer workshop will be organised. The Erasmus Mundus higher education mobility programme will be further promoted to increase participation of qualified Af rican students in the programme and 
strengthen links between European and African higher educa tion institutions. 
The conference to be organised in December 2008 on EU-Africa co-operation on mobility in higher education will help  identify strengths and weaknesses of 
the cooperation between European and Af rican higher educa tion institutions 
within the framework of the Er asmus Mundus programme. The TEMPUS 
programme will continue to support the modernisation of higher education in 
northern African countries. Study visits as  well as possible staff exchanges and 
secondment from the AUC will allow to share experience and best practices on 
                                                
 
13 DG DEV, JLS and RELEX 
14 Notably DG EMPL 
15 Notably DG EAC 
 
EN 11   EN European Commission higher education mobility programmes for the Nyerere 
programme. Staff-to-staff discussi on on the concept of Pan African 
Universities will also be pursued. The Youth in Action Programme will 
continue to support Euro-African m obility among young people and capacity-
building of youth workers and structures. 
(c) Finally, the European Commission will promote the exchange of expertise and 
best practices between EU and AU in  the framework of the AU Education 
Observatory and EU statistics and monitoring tools. 
(11) In the field of the Action Plan's eighth partnership on science, information society 
and space , the Commission will again play a proa ctive role in all three priority 
actions.  
(a) In the domain of Science and Technology  (S&T), the Commission16 after 
thorough consultation with the AUC a nd taking into account high level 
international expertise, will support the flagship project of African research 
grants with the establishment of a framework programme to promote 
sustainable S&T research for Africa' s technical, economic and social 
development, and will assist the AUC's HRST Department to coordinate the implementation of this programme. The Commission
17 will also support a 
second flagship project on Water and F ood Security in Africa which aims to 
strengthen Africa's capacity  in science and technology in order to cope with 
food security problems while promoting sustainable management of land and 
water resources. In this context, research  and demonstration activities in one or 
more African river basins will consolid ate the relevant knowledge and assure 
its concrete impact.  
(b) In the domain of information society , the Commission18 will promote ICT 
capacity-building through support to the African Regional Action Plan for the 
Knowledge Economy (ARAPKE). The AXIS flagship project will support the 
deployment of an African regional intern et infrastructure through national and 
sub-regional internet exchange points.  The Africa-Connect flagship Project 
will support the development of regional research and education networks and 
their interconnection with the GEANT 2, the advanced pan- European backbone 
network that interconnects all Nationa l Research and Education Networks 
(NRENs) across Europe. The bilateral EC-AUC dialogue on the Information Society will be reinforced through a nnual meetings to review cooperation 
activities and to promote synergies between the relevant thematic Partnerships. This dialogue will also address related policy and regulatory developments at regional and international levels, and pr omote the exchange of best practices 
related to ICT for development. 
(c) In the domain of space
, the Commission19 will pursue the implementation of 
the Lisbon Process on “Global Monito ring for Environment and Security 
                                                 
16 Notably DG DEV 
17 Notably DG RDT 
18 Notably DG INFSO 
19 Notably DG ENTR and JRC,  in cooperation with ESA 
 
EN 12   EN GMES (Kopernikus) and Africa, and w ill in particular cooperate on the 
establishment of a joint Action Plan to be submitted to the next Africa-EU Summit in 2010. Additional efforts will also be made to strengthen AUC 
capacities in the field of geospatial sc iences and to implement the EC-ESA-
WHO telemedicine project. 
(12) The Commission will also continue to address cross-cutting issues  of the Joint 
Strategy and the Action Plan, su ch as gender and communication. 
(a) In the field of gender
, the Commission will explore concrete proposals in each 
thematic partnership. More specificall y, in the context of the African Peace 
Facility, opportunities will be sought to link the work  of both Commissions on 
Resolution 1325, to support the French Presidency review on Women in 
Conflict situations, and to cooperate with the AUC on the implementation of 
the AU solemn declaration on Gender Equality in Africa. The Commission will also support effective ne tworking between African a nd European civil society 
organisations working on gender issues. 
(b) In the area of communication
, the Commission will (a) contribute to further 
building up the joint AU-EU web site , launched on 1 October, by updating it 
and feeding it regularly with content, observing a fair AU-EU balance, and 
involving on an interactive basis all stakeholders concerned by the AU-EU 
Strategic Partnership; (b) follow-up on the three priority actions agreed upon 
during the Media and Developmen t Forum in Ouagadougou (11-13.09.2008), 
in particular in the framework of the next European Development Days 
(Strasbourg, 15-17.11.2008). EU-Africa i ssues do not yet receive enough 
coverage by the media, and the European  press in particular. The Commission's 
information briefings and seminars for j ournalists are an esse ntial part of the 
EU's press policy, enabling journalis ts to deepen their knowledge about 
European affairs. EU-Africa issues coul d in that framework be given special 
consideration. Similarly, greater coverage  of such issues could be produced by 
the EURANET network, a consortium of 23 international radio stations 
supported by the European Commissi on, representing 13 countries which 
broadcast worldwide daily programmes de voted to EU policies and activities.  
(13) Last, but not least, the Commission20 will intensify its bilatera l activities with the AUC 
in the field of institutional capacity building and administrative cooperation . 
(a) In the area of staff exchanges and training , the Commission will include in the 
funding support specific training programmes on general financial 
management, accounting and budgeting. Tailo r-made training and exchange of 
experience will be made available for se nior AUC management in the areas of 
financial management, administration, auditing, and conference service, and information and training seminars on the organisation and functioning of the 
EU and AU institutions will be organized.  
(b) In the area of contract and financing,
 the European Commission will support 
the provision of backsto pping measure (recruitment of local accountants by the 
                                                 
20 DG ADMIN, BUDG, SCIC, DG COMM, DGT and internal services 
 
EN 13   EN AUC) for the finalisation of 2008 fina ncial reporting (i.e. pre-IMIS) and 
organize short term missions for se nior management on multi-annual budget 
preparation and elaboration as we ll as budget structur e, as well as 
benchmarking missions on financial rule s and regulations. The European 
Commission will also support training on the SAP/IMIS system, and organise a joint session with AUC involving key de partments (internal audit, financing, 
strategic planning, audit and lega l council, peace and security and 
administration, representative from th e bureau of the chairperson and the 
deputy chairperson) on each agreement so as to ensure that the AUC carries out 
the programmes as per agreement requirement. 
(c) In the area of audit
, too, the Commission will or ganize short-term mission for 
senior management on internal audit, audit monitoring and management tools, 
policy and method in the area of ethics , and anti-fraud and anti-corruption 
policy. The European Commission will invi te AUC counterparts to participate 
in conferences on fraud and anti-co rruption, and will share experience and 
provide training to internal audit department on risk management.  
(d) In the field of multilingualism , a series of concrete actions have been or will be 
proposed by the competent European Commission services (DG SCIC and DGT) to the AUC-CSD, including exchanges of experience, know-how and best practice in areas such as IT work ing environment, IT applications and 
databases, assistance and software for the creation of a terminology database, 
planning and programming operations fo r meetings, documentalist working 
methods, planning / translation and document management- and workflow 
tools, as well as the overall improveme nt of the working environment. In 
addition, DGT and DG SCIC have already sent, and will continue to provide, 
to the CSD the essential documentati on (internal proce dures, technical 
specifications, manuals and forms, reco mmendations, links to international 
databases, etc.) that are relevant for the daily work and organization methods.  
(e) Last, but not least, an Action plan will be developed to implement the 
Addendum to the Memora ndum of Understanding  between the European 
Commission and the AUC to promote twining and exchange. 
III. CONCLUSION AND WAY AHEAD  
(14) Over the coming months, the Commission will  identify in greater detail the inputs 
from services which hold primary responsibility for the implementation of the thematic partnerships, as well as the financial instruments and resources that will be used. The DGs involved include, inter alia, AIDCO, AGRI, COMM, DEV, EAC, 
EMPL, ENV, INFSO, JLS, REGIO, R ELEX, RTD, SANCO, TAXUD, TRADE, 
TREN, as well as the JRC (Joint Research  Centre) and the internal Commission DGs 
and services under the coordination of DG ADMIN. Regular inter-service 
consultations will review the present paper as a 'living document'. 
(15) Such an updated tableau de bord  will allow Commissi oners and the Senior 
Management to provide the impetus for wide r EU and euro-African efforts, and to 
exercise the necessary guidance and ma nagerial oversight over the Commission-
 
EN 14   EN internal implementation process. This shoul d in particular improve the monitoring of 
progress, the addressing of possible shortf alls, and the allocation of the necessary 
financial and human resources to underpin  the implementation architecture and -
process.  
(16) A regularly updated review will also facili tate the compilation of consolidated EU 
inputs, bringing together Member States' and Commission initiatives, as contribution 
to future joint (EU African) progress reports.  
(17) A review of the present working document w ill therefore be established in time before 
the first Ministerial EU-Africa Troika in  2009. Based on feedback from concerned 
European and African stakeholders, this revi sion should also address the financing of 
the working arrangements and institutional architecture agreed in Lisbon, including 
the possible use by the AU of the 55MEuro  capacity building programme – managed 
by the AUC - to further support the pa rticipation of the African side. 
 
EN 15   EN GLOSSARY 
Directorates General / Services 
ADMIN Directorate General fo r Personnel and Administration 
AGRI Directorate General for Agri culture and Rural Development 
AIDCO EuropeAid Co-Operation Office COMM Directorate General for Communication DEV Directorate General for Developmen t and Relations with ACP Countries 
DGT Directorate General for Translation EAC Directorate General for Education and Culture 
ECFIN Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs 
EMPL Directorate General for Employment , Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities 
ENTR Directorate General fo r Enterprise and Industry 
ENV Directorate General for Environment ESTAT Eurostat INFSO Directorate General for Information Society and Media 
IAS Internal Audit Service JLS Directorate General for Ju stice, Freedom and Security 
JRC Joint Research Centre OLAF European Anti-Fraud Office REGIO Directorate General for Regional Policy RELEX Directorate General for External Relations 
RTD Directorate General for Research SANCO Directorate General for Health and Consumers SCIC Directorate General for Translation SG Secretariat General TAXUD Directorate General fo r Taxation and Customs Union 
TRADE Directorate General for Trade TREN Directorate General for Energy and Transport