Plenary session of 11th EDF told-- EU to invest one billion euros in grant aid for the Caribbean

Written by Clifford Stanley, Thursday, 19 September 2013 22:39, Source - Guyana Chronicle

UNDER the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), the European Union will invest one billion euros in grants for the Caribbean region.

President Donald Ramotar and Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs in talks at the end of the 11th European Development Fund Programme Seminar

This was disclosed by European Commissioner for Development within the European Union (EU), Mr Andris Piebalgs, during the plenary session of the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Programming Seminar for the Caribbean Region, which continued at the Guyana International Convention Centre yesterday.

He said, “This considerable amount demonstrates our renewed commitment to the Caribbean – a commitment reflected in a larger envelope for regional programmes and new implementation options for regional cooperation.

“Furthermore, we will scale up cooperation efforts with Haiti, which is continuing its struggle towards reconstruction and against poverty.”

The 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Programming Seminar for the Caribbean Region started on Tuesday last, and discusses the support which the EU will provide to CARIFORUM for Caribbean Regional programmes.

Bilateral discussions are also being held on national programmes with individual CARIFORUM states.

The 11th European Development Fund (EDF) runs from 2014 to 2020.

President Donald Ramotar; Secretary General of CARICOM/CARIFORUM, Mr. Irwin LaRoque; and Mr. Olive Joseph,  Chairman of the CARIFORUM Council of Ministers, made opening remarks at the plenary session prior to the announcement by Commissioner Piebalgs.

President Donald Ramotar and CARICOM Secretary General, Irwin LaRocque with European Union officials at the 11th EDF Programme Seminar

Participants at the ongoing seminar include the National Authorizing Officers (NAOs) from the 15 member states of the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM); namely, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

In opening remarks, President Donald Ramotar welcomed the new European Union (EU) approach of multi-country programming at the regional level for use of funds from the 11th EDF as further proof of the member states’ commitment to facilitate poverty alleviation and accelerated economic growth in Guyana and the Caribbean. He said the CARICOM/CARIFORUM/EU relationship was growing from strength to strength, and the regional programme would enable Guyana and the Caribbean countries to move forward in developing the agriculture and natural resources sector in a very beneficial way.

He also observed that the EU is Guyana’s largest grant resource donor. “We have been the beneficiaries of substantial funding under the LOME Convention and now under the Cotonou Agreement, which has assisted us in our development even during the global financial crisis.

“Guyana appreciates what the EU has done through the EDF at the bilateral level in support of sea defences and other aspects of the protection of our coastland; (and) in bilaterals related to energy efficiency, forestry, the support of the sugar industry, and the development of our Amerindian communities.”

He said that Guyana looks forward to continue receiving EU support for accelerated economic growth, which is very vital to making the country immune from exogenous shocks, which are most times outside of its control but which have a big impact on the lives of its people.

He also urged the meeting to review the functioning of the Economic Partnership Agreements, to determine whether these have achieved their objectives or if they can be adjusted so that they better achieve their purpose.

In his address, Commissioner Piebalgs said that although much has been achieved by the Caribbean countries, they still needed to overcome remaining development obstacles.

He said major challenges are linked to the Region’s inherent vulnerability to exogenous shocks, such as the global financial crisis, which affected the key sectors of tourism and remittances, with serious implications on the level of indebtedness, the unemployment rate, and the security situation.

Security, he said, is a particular concern, because it is a prerequisite for social and economic progress.

In addition, climate change and its related impacts – such as rising sea levels and more frequent natural disasters –continue to cast a long shadow over global development efforts, and pose a major obstacle to sustainable development here in the Caribbean.

Commissioner Piebalgs stressed: “It is with these persistent development obstacles in mind that we have to look for even more effective ways to cooperate.

“Our common objective of the EU is to provide better opportunities to millions of people here in the Caribbean Region. You have your own ideas about where you want to go; we will accompany you on that journey.”

The European Development Fund (EDF) is the main instrument for European Union (EU) aid for development cooperation in Africa, the Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP Group) countries, and the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT).

Today’s programme includes a workshop on regional implementation modalities for focal sectors, such as security, trade, environment, and energy; as well as bilateral discussions with Guyana on its Country Strategy Paper and National Indicative Programme (NIP) for the period of the 11th EDF.

The NIP maps out the sectors and areas that will receive EC aid, explains how the aid will fulfill its objectives, gives a timetable for its implementation, and specifies how non-state actors would be involved in the cooperation.

Ambasasador La Rocque disclosed that presentations on the regional programming will provide perspectives on planning implementation and management of the regional programmes.

The Regional Indicative Programmes (or RIP) provide a framework that is similar to the NIP to guide the use of resources allocated to each of the six ACP regions, namely the Caribbean, Pacific, South Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and West Africa.

Ambassador La Roque disclosed that these presentations on the Caribbean regional programme would have benefited from intensive internal discussions within the institutions of the EU.

Similarly, the CARIFORUM Council of Ministers has also had discussions on the overall approach to, and priorities for, the 11th EDF regional programmes.

These discussions, he reported, resulted in the endorsement of a concept paper based primarily on the joint EU/CARIFORUM strategy already agreed to by CARIFORUM and the EU, which should help pave the way for what finally emerges as the agreed approach to planning, implementation and management of the Regional Indicative Programmes for the 11th EDF.