EU to extend negotiation process, EU-Africa Summit
11 Dec '07
2 min read
The EU-Africa Summit held in Lisbon on 8 and 9 December failed to put the creation of decent work at the heart of the relationships between these two continents.
While the ITUC welcomes the desire to move away from the traditional donor/beneficiary relationship toward a partnership of equals, it deplores the fact that labour issues have not received the attention they deserve.
“Decent work is the legitimate aspiration of both peoples from Europe and Africa and it is regrettable that the EU – Africa Summit did not prioritize it. Despite an average economic growth of 7% throughout the African Continent, the creation of decent and formal work in Africa remains extremely limited.
This clearly calls for a stronger political will and the implementation of more pro-active labour policies” says Guy Ryder, ITUC General Secretary.
Maria-Helena André, the ETUC deputy General Secretary, while presenting the Trade Union Statement to the Summit called upon the EU-Africa Strategy to recognize and promote the social dialogue as source of democratic governance and social progress. Unfortunately this recommendation is not well reflected in the agreed Strategic Partnerships and Action Plans.
Despite the official determination expressed by African and European Leaders to work together in the global arena on current key political challenges, such as energy and climate change, migration or gender issues, two issues of serious divergence hung over the Summit.
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