newsletter lettre...

Editor ial Apr i l 2011 - I ssue 52

Délégation de l’Union européenne en République de Maurice, Union

des Comores et République des Seychelles

Newsletter - Lettre d’information

In this issue

Dans cette édition

Regional Coopera-

tion

Update on ongoing pro-

jects

Support to the Regional

Multi-disciplinary Cen-

tre of Excellence

(RMCE)

Mauritius

World Food Day Rodri-

gues

Second envelope of EUR

139.6 million under

sugar accompanying

measures

Second disbursement of

EUR 17 million under

current GBS projects

Seychelles

EUR 3 million to sup-

port fight against piracy

EU support to capacity

building and good gov-

ernance

EU support for Climate

Change actions

Comores

Déclaration de la porte-

parole de Catherine

Ashton sur la situation

politique aux Comores

L'aide à l'éducation

ISSN: 1831-1830

This issue of the newsletter gives an overview of activities and events that

took place in the last quarter of 2010. REG

ION

AL C

OO

PER

AT

ION

The 20th meeting of the Inter-Regional Co-

ordination Committee (the IRCC) was opened on

November 11, 2010 under the chairmanship of the

Indian Ocean Commission (IOC). The committee

brings together the four partner organisations of the

EU's programme for regional integration in the East-

ern and Southern Africa-Indian Ocean region, the

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa

(COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), the

Inter-Government Authority on Development (IGAD),

IOC as well as Southern African Development Com-

munity (SADC).

The overall budget agreed for the Regional Indica-

tive programme of the ESA-IO region is significant

(for the period 2008 – 2013 — EUR 645 million) re-

flecting the EU's strong commitment to regional in-

tegration in Africa.

The EU supports regional integration through various

activities in economic, managerial and political

fields. As far as the implementation of programmes

is concerned, the EU strategy in the region strongly

encourages the lead and therefore the ownership of

the regional organisations.

The EU, as a model of successful regional integra-

tion, is well situated to evaluate the importance of

regional integration, its benefits and also its chal-

lenges. Therefore the European Union is pleased to

contribute to the functioning of the IRCC which will

enhance the dynamic of the regional integration us-

ing the resources made available by the EU.

R

EG

ION

AL C

OO

PER

AT

ION

In the coming months a significant progress is ex-

pected in reaching the common objective of im-

proving the regional infrastructure. Moreover, the

EU will assist the regional organisations and coun-

tries in developing national policy measures which

allow more efficient and effective transposition

and application of regional rules and regulations.

The main programmes that are being imple-

mented include:

The Regional Integration Support Mechanism II

(RISP II, a EUR 50 million programme financed un-

der the 10th European Development Fund) focuses on consolidating existing Free Trade Areas and Customs

Unions and deepening regional integration by moving toward common markets and monetary unions. The

programme is jointly implemented by COMESA, EAC, IGAD and IOC for a period of three years starting July

2010 to June 2013. COMESA and EAC are engaged, together with the Southern African Development Commu-

nity (SADC), in the Tripartite Process, which aims at establishing a single market encompassing all their

twenty-six Member Countries by 2012. RISP II support will be used to facilitate the negotiating process for

the establishment of the Tripartite Free Trade Area. The IOC will use the programme to implement its Aid

for Trade Strategy adopted in 2009 and to support its Member States regional integration while taking into

account their specificities as small islands states.

The Regional Integration Mechanism Support (RISM, EUR 78 million financed under the 9th EDF) aims at sup-

porting member countries in participating fully in the COMESA and EAC Free Trade Areas and Customs Un-

ions with minimum disruption to public expenditure commitments, as well as enabling them to implement

economic reform programmes in the context of regional integration or in the framework of the EPA or Doha

negotiations. Agreement was reached in 2010 to broaden the scope of the programme to allow it to address

the economic and social dimension of regional integration.

Moreover, the EU has four programmes with the IOC for a total amount of EUR 55 million:

Newsletter 52 of the Delegation of the European Union — 2

The Regional Programme for the Sustainable Management of the Coastal Zones of the Countries of the In-

dian Ocean (ReCoMaP), a five-year programme aimed at improving the management of coastal zones of the

countries of the Indian Ocean which will be implemented until the end of 2011.

Two programmes funded under the 10th EDF that have been signed in March 2010: the Implementation of a

Regional Fisheries Strategy (IRFS, EUR 21 million from 2010-2013) to contribute to an increased level of so-

cial, economic and environmental development and deeper regional integration in the ESA-IO through sus-

tainable exploitation of fisheries resources; and the Support to the Implementation of the Mauritius Strat-

egy on Small Islands Developing States (SIDS, EUR 10 million from 2010-2013) which will contribute to an

increased level of social, economic and environmental development and deeper regional integration in the

ESA-IO region through sustainable development of SIDS. Both programmes build on the lessons learnt from

other programmes in the region as well as on the complementarities with other programmes of the EU and

International Cooperation Partners.

A programme to Support the IMF Regional Technical Assistance Centres (AFRITACs) of the ESA-IO region

(EUR 15 million over 5 years). The programme aims at improving the design, implementation, and monitor-

ing of sound macroeconomic policies, and enhanced regional harmonisation and integration, in ESA-IO Mem-

ber States and Regional Organisations.

World Food Day Rodrigues

Ambassador Alessandro Mariani attended the celebrations of the World

Food Day in Rodrigues in October 2010.

The World Food Day event provided the opportunity to highlight EU poli-cies related to food security. The Decentralised Cooperation Programme enhances, inter alia, the Commission's for Agriculture capacity to improve delivery of services while addressing the core issue of food security in

Rodrigues.

In the context of the World Food Day a forum/debate on "Women in Agri-culture" took place. The EU encourages women-farmers to group into Women Associations in order to benefit from economies of scale and to professionalise their activities through agro-processing and agri-business

also by exploiting the regional markets.

A number of micro-projects are funded under the DCP. These include fishermen trainings for off-lagoon fishing, establishment of marine reserves, water resource management, literacy and

numeracy projects for women head of families, etc.

The assistance provided by the DCP in fighting poverty both di-rectly through micro-projects as well as indirectly through the component on natural resources management is very positively perceived by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly, the civil society

organisations and the beneficiaries in general.

Products produced by women-farmers


More information about the Decentralised Cooperation Programme can be found under the

following link: www.dcp.mu

MA

UR

ITIU

S

EU assistance to Rodrigues started 25 years ago with a road construction project aiming at improving access to agricultural lands as well as the instal-

lation of a pumping station at Mourouk.

Cooperation continued under the 8th and 9th EDF through the implementa-tion of a number of programmes, namely the Anti-Erosion programme, the post-Kalunde rehabilitation pro-gramme, the Regional Programme for Coastal Management (ReCoMaP) and the Decentralised Cooperation Pro-

gramme (DCP).

BACKGROUND

Off-lagoon fishing project

EUR 3 million to support fight against piracy

The EU granted an additional EUR 3 million to Seychelles through its European Development Fund (EDF) to support the fight against piracy

and to promote maritime security.

The agreement on the budget support grant was signed on December 16 at the State House by Ambassador Alessandro Mariani and by principal secretary for foreign affairs Maurice Loustau-

Lalanne.

This supplementary grant will be injected into

Seychelles’ treasury and used for development ori-

ented programmes in the social sectors.

Indirect costs related to piracy such as increase of in-surance premiums, increased costs of patrolling na-tional waters, supporting the judiciary, prosecution and law enforcement services, could affect the

valuable and successful economic reforms going on in the country.

Mr Loustau-Lalanne said the grant was the confirmation of EU's appreciation of the active role Sey-chelles is playing to tackle piracy both at national and regional front. The regional strategy and the ac-

tion plan which was developed by the countries in the region will be pivotal.

Seychelles government said it was aware that that these issues can not be overcome overnight and

hailed the dynamic cooperation with the EU to fight piracy.


“The scourge of piracy in the Indian Ocean has affected maritime tourism, shipping and fisheries, which are the ma-jor sources of income for Seychelles,”

Ambassador Mariani said.

SEY

CH

ELLES

Disruption of a pirate whaler by the EUNAVFOR

MA

UR

ITIU

S The EU granted Mauritius EUR 139.6 million in support of economic reforms over

the next three years. This new grant represents a substantial increase on an an-

nual basis over the previous allocation and amounts to the largest share among

all the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) former Sugar Protocol countries.

The funds will continue to assist the Government of Mauritius to implement its

ambitious economic reform programme. The grant will be disbursed as general

budget support.

This new grant comes in recognition of the good progress made by Mauritius in

its economic reform programme, which also includes the restructuring of the

sugar sector into a sugarcane cluster, and the good dialogue amongst all stake-

holders in the country, including the private sector and civil society. It is also

meant to be a further support to on-going reforms which the country has em-

barked upon to be more and more competitive in the global economy.

Second envelope of EUR 139.6 million under sugar accompanying measures

Priority areas:

Restructuring of the su-

gar indusztry into sugar-

cane cluster

Maurice Ile Durable ini-

tiative encompassing sus-

tainable development

and renewable energy

Socio-economic empo-

werment

Education

EU support to capacity building and good governance


The EU has signed a Contribution Agreement of EUR 579.940 with UNDP for the implementation of the

"Seychelles Governance Capacity Building" programme. The programme is funded under the 10th EDF National

Indicative Programme and is a follow-up to work started under the 9th EDF National Capacity Building pro-

gramme for State and Non State Actors managed by the UNDP from 2006 to 2009.

The new programme has been developed in close consultation with a wide

range of stakeholders and aims at supporting the efforts of State and Non

State Actors in Seychelles to continue improving and strengthening gov-

ernance capacity, with particular emphasis on the area of human rights

and gender.

In parallel, the EU supports Non State Actors and local authorities in Sey-

chelles with an envelope of EUR 250.000, financed under the EU thematic

budget to be implemented under the form of a Call for Proposals. Coop-

eration with the local communities and the most vulnerable groups aims

at promoting an inclusive and empowered society.

SEY

CH

ELLES

Déclaration de la porte-parole de Catherine Ashton, Haute Repré-sentante de l'UE, sur la situation politique aux Comores

La Haute Représentante prend note des résultats définitifs des élections procla-més par la Cour Constitutionnelle de l'Union des Comores qui, comme le prévoit son mandat, s'est prononcée après avoir examiné les recours présentés par les différents candidats. Elle prend note que la Cour Constitutionnelle a annulé les résultats de plusieurs bureaux de vote, notamment à Anjouan, pour cause d ir-

régularités et dysfonctionnements.

Elle exhorte les parties signataires de l'Accord du 16 juin 2010, à procéder comme prévu à la passation du pouvoir au nouveau Président élu, Monsieur Ikililou Dhoinine, et aux gouverneurs élus, Monsieur Mo-hamed Ali Said, Gouverneur de l’Ile Autonome de Mwali, Monsieur Anissi Chamsidine, Gouverneur de l’Ile

Autonome d’Anjouan, Monsieur Mouigni Baraka Said Soilihi, Gouverneur de l’Ile Autonome de Ngazidja.

La Haute Représentante réitère l’engagement de l’UE à soutenir l'Union des Comores dans ses efforts visant au développement durable du pays, dans le cadre du partenariat établi par l'Accord de Cotonou. Elle rappelle que le soutien au processus de démocratisation, la promotion des droits de l'Homme, la consolidation de l'Etat de droit et la bonne gestion des affaires publiques sont parmi les éléments essen-

tiels de ce partenariat.

La porte-parole de Catherine Ashton, Haute Représentante de l'Union euro-péenne pour les affaires étrangères et la politique de sécurité et vice-présidente de la Commission, a fait la déclaration suivante le 24 janvier

2011:

CO

MO

RES

More information can be found under the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/documents/

aap/2009/af_aap_2009_syc.pdf

Objectives of the programme:

Benefit populations out of reach of

mainstream services and resources

and excluded from policy making

processes

Strengthen the capacity of civil

society organisations in Seychelles

with a view to facilitating their

participation in defining and im-

plementing poverty reduction and

sustainable strategies

C. Ashton

L'aide à l'éducation

CO

MO

RES

La fin de 2010 a été témoin de progrès significatifs dans le paysage éducatif comorien, notamment en ce

qui concerne les infrastructures scolaires.

En effet, dans les trois îles de l'Union, l'accès à l'éducation s'est amélioré avec la réhabilitation et la

nouvelle construction de salles de classes au niveau primaire, secondaire et également universitaire.

Cette initiative a pu voir le jour grâce à la coopération entre l'Union des Comores et l'Union Européen-

ne qui avait retenu l'éducation comme une des priorités de développement dans le cadre du 9e FED.

Dans ce contexte, le Programme d'Appui au Secteur Education aux Comores (PASEC) avait inscrit parmi

ses objectifs l'amélioration de l'accès à l'éducation grâce à l'augmentation de la capacité d'accueil d'un

certain nombre d'écoles.

Grâce à cette initiative, le système éducatif comorien

s'est doté de près de 10,000 places additionnelles, ce

qui permet ainsi un meilleur accès a l'éducation et par

conséquent représente une contribution non négligea-

ble à la réalisation d’un des Objectifs du Millénaire

pour le Développement (OMD): assurer l'éducation pri-

maire pour tous. En effet, les statistiques démontrent

que, dans ce domaine, le pays progresse pour être au

rendez-vous en 2015. Alors qu'en 2000, le taux net de

scolarisation était de 60,2%, ce chiffre s'est élevé à 76%

en 2007 pour atteindre 77% en 2009.

60.2 %76 % 77 %

2000 2007 2009

Taux net de scolarisation aux Comores

Les Objectifs du Millénaire pour le Développement (OMD) sont huit objectifs - à atteindre en 2015 –

qui répondent aux défis les plus importants du monde. Les OMD découlent des actions et cibles conte-

nues dans la Déclaration du Millénaire, adoptées par 189 nations et signées par 147 chefs d’État pen-

dant le Sommet du Millénaire de septembre 2000.

Fixés pour l'année 2015, les OMD sont un ensemble d'objectifs qui ne pourront être atteints que si tous

les acteurs s'impliquent de manière active. Les pays pauvres se sont engagés à mieux gouverner et à in-

vestir dans leurs populations par le biais de la santé et de l'éducation, les pays riches à les appuyer en

utilisant les outils suivants: aide, allégement de la dette et commerce plus juste.

Avant et après la réhabilitation de l'école primaire de la Coulée, Grande Comore


CO

MO

RES


La Grande Comore a bénéficié d’un total de 127 salles réhabilitées/construites, 50 dans le primaire, 52

dans le secondaire, 16 pour des bibliothèques, 4 pour des laboratoires et 5 pour l’Université.

Les deux autres îles de l'Union des Comores, Anjouan et Mohéli ont également bénéficié du volet infras-

tructures du PASEC. Dans l'île d'Anjouan, un total de 130 salles ont été réhabilitées/construites dont 48

salles de classe pour le primaire, 41 pour le secondaire, 14 pour abriter des bibliothèques, 4 pour les

laboratoires et 23 au Site universitaire de Patsy. Dans l’île de Mohéli, il y a eu 20 sites d'intervention.

17 salles de classes on été nouvellement construites et 46 salles de classe réhabilitées dont 20 salles au

sein du PFDI (Pole de Formation et de Documentation Intégrée).

Avant et après la rehabilitation du college rural de la Coulée, Grande Comore

The European Union has disbursed EUR 17.59 million of grant funds into the Treasury Account of

the Government of Mauritius to assist the overall economic reform programme of Mauritius. This is

the second disbursement in 2010, thus bringing the total amount of budget support disbursed by the

EU in 2010 to EUR 47.79 million.

MA

UR

ITIU

S

Second disbursement of EUR 17 million under current GBS projects

The EU expressed appreciation as regards the progress of economic reforms in Mauritius. Alessandro Mariani, Head

of Delegation, stated that "all the objectives mutually agreed by the Government of Mauritius and the European

Union have been achieved. These objectives are related to the macro-economic performances of the country, its

reforms in terms of public finance management, raising the competitiveness of the economy with particular em-

phasis on restructuring the sugar sector, energy, enhancing economic opportunities for socially vulnerable people,

improving access to pre-primary education for children as well as protecting the environment".

The EU recognizes that additional work is needed to consolidate and further improve the role of Mauritius in the

world economy. This includes a viable action plan for the implementation of the long-term energy strategy, invest-

ment in the country's physical infrastructure to be upgraded, investment in the education system, further progress

in sugar-cane industry reforms, etc. The fight against climate change and other environmental challenges are also

essential for the country's long term development and prosperity.

The grant of EUR 17.59 million has been disbursed as direct general budget support giving the Government of Mau-

ritius the maximum flexibility to allocate the financial resources within the framework of the budget voted by the

National Assembly. This is a clear illustration of the confidence the European Union has in the development pro-

gramme of Mauritius and in the determination of its decision makers and its citizens to progress with the reform

oriented policies.

EUR 600.000 in favour of Climate Change

The European Union has distributed EUR 600.000 in

support to the National Climate Change strategy. This

sum is the first tranche under a 3 year Climate Change

Support Programme (SCCSP) financed by the EU Global

Climate Change Alliance. The overall financing agree-

ment corresponds to a total amount of 2 million euro.

The objective of the programme is to support sustain-

able development policies and the imple-

mentation of the priority areas of the Sey-

chelles National Climate Change Strategy, in a

coordinated effort with other donors.

Significant steps have been undertaken by the

government in 2010 regarding climate change.

The advancements include: the adoption of

the National Climate Change Strategy

(SNCCS), including the set up of its steering/

monitoring with the National Climate Change

Committee (NCCC), the enacting of the Sey-

chelles Energy Commission Bill; and the adop-

tion of the Seychelles Energy Policy 2010-30,

as well as progress in the preparation of the third En-

vironment Management Plan EMPS 2011-20, scheduled

to be approved in 2011.

Financial support comes in line with the EU’s recogni-

tion of all the efforts done by Seychelles in terms of

valuable sustainable development reforms. Moreover,

the EU further encourages the Seychelles Government

to sustain efforts towards implementation in 2011,

notably the preparation of a new energy framework

legislation.


SEY

CH

ELLES

The European Union is making available a grant of EUR 5.6

million through COMESA to support the activities of the Re-

gional Multi-disciplinary Centre of Excellence (RMCE) over the

next four years. The RMCE, which is based in Mauritius, will be a

regionally-owned training and advisory centre and a forum for

dialogue serving as a capacity building and expertise hub for the

COMESA, EAC, IOC, IGAD and SADC regional development initiatives. It is intended to improve Member

States’ professional capacity for addressing issues of Regional Economic Integration with a comprehen-

sive approach, and capacity needs of key stakeholders at policy as well as operational levels.

The EU support and the signature at the beginning of December 2010 of the host agreement between

the Government of Mauritius and the RMCE will allow the centre to become fully operational and man-

age all resources that cooperating partners will put at its disposal.

REG

ION

AL C

OO

PER

AT

ION

Support to the Regional Multi-disciplinary Centre of Ex-cellence (RMCE)

newsletter lettre...

Documents