Joint Statement - 10th anniversary of the Special Partnership between the EU and Cabo Verde
Joint Statement
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the conclusion of the
Special Partnership between the European Union and the Republic of Cabo Verde
1. The 9th political dialogue meeting at ministerial level between the European Union and the Republic of Cabo Verde in the framework of the EU-Cabo Verde Special Partnership, was held in Brussels on 10 July 2017, under the co-chairing of His Excellency, Mr. S. Mikser, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia, on behalf of Her Excellency, Ms F. Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and His Excellency Mr L. Tavares, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Communities of the Republic of Cabo Verde.
2. Ten years ago, the European Union and the Republic of Cabo Verde entered into a Special Partnership with the wish of giving adequate expression to the particularly strong and close historical relations between the two sides, and of providing an enlarged, ambitious framework within which to develop this relationship. The Special Partnership brings together in a unique way a regular political dialogue and the promotion of policy convergence with our well-established cooperation for sustainable development – now largely implemented through EU direct budget support in line with priorities set by Cabo Verde. In this respect, the excellent performance that Cabo Verde has demonstrated in the implementation of EU financial support, which has already yielded important results in fields such as governance, security or the fight against poverty, has to be recognized.
2. Our Special Partnership is firmly based on close human and cultural links, shared political values as well as common interests. It provides a framework for close cooperation under six pillars:
- Good governance;
- Security and stability,
- Regional integration;
- Convergence of technical and standards policies;
- Knowledge-based society;
- Fight against poverty and the promotion of sustainable development.
Today, we note with great satisfaction that the Special Partnership has been successful in meeting its objectives. Under all its pillars, solid progress has been made over the past ten years through various cooperation activities between Cabo Verde, the EU and its Member States. Cabo Verde and the EU are close and reliable partners in many multilateral fora and on many issues on the international agenda.
3. Cabo Verde is a well-functioning, firmly established multi-party democracy respecting human rights and a lower-middle income economy that continues to make good progress in its economic and social development despite the natural and geographical challenges it faces. In this respect, Cabo Verde's excellent track record on democracy, human rights and good governance can be an inspirational model for many countries in Europe, Africa and around the world. This is the solid basis for the notable progress Cabo Verde has made over the last 15 years in all of the Millennium Development Goals and it should also serve well with regard to the progress needed to attain the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
The 10th anniversary of the Special Partnership is thus an occasion to positively assess our relations and to enhance them as appropriate in light of new priorities and the evolving international political, economic and security context. It also offers an opportunity to reflect on possibilities to strengthen joint efforts in implementing the Agenda 2030.
Deepening the CV-EU Special Partnership: The way forward
4. Following a joint reflection process, our Ministerial Meeting today confirmed our common interest to strengthen and enhance, within the framework of the Special Partnership, our successful cooperation in the following areas:
4.1. Governance remains a continuing challenge, including for democratic countries whose citizens rightfully expect the highest standards to be met. In this area we have identified issues pertaining to the quality and capacity of public services at national and local level on which we can further focus our joint efforts. Our shared values unite us in closer cooperation on gender equality and women empowerment. We welcome the progress made by Cabo Verde in providing social services to its population, and encourage Cabo Verde, the EU and EU Member States to continue our crucial cooperation in the health and education sectors.
4.2. Security, where our cooperation has been promoted under the Security and Stability Action Plan of Cabo Verde, developed jointly with the EU and its Member States. Cabo Verde is an important partner for the EU when it comes to maritime security, in particular in the fight against drug trafficking, and against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in West Africa, areas in which Cabo Verde's efforts are commendable. Cabo Verde is also a key partner for the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Gulf of Guinea and its Action Plan. In this context, Cabo Verde's recent offer to host one of the multinational coordination centres foreseen in the maritime security architecture under the Yaoundé Process, namely for Zone G, is a very positive development that the EU will actively support. We also underlined the need to step up joint work on cyber security and cybercrime in all its dimensions due to the increase of cyber-attacks worldwide. Conscious of the importance in combating cybercrime, Cabo Verde has adopted national legislation to converge with international law (such as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime) and foster international cooperation, including within the Council of Europe. In sum, this is a pillar where we see strong potential for further joint work to address both regional security threats as well as domestic security challenges for Cabo Verde, including drug-related and ordinary criminality.
4.3. Regional integration, where we welcome the good progress made in integration in Macaronesia and where we note with satisfaction the wish of the EU´s outermost regions in the North Atlantic – Madeira, Azores and Canary Islands – to further develop cooperation and promote contacts with Cabo Verde, under the cross-border cooperation programme Spain-Portugal (Madeira, Azores, Canaries) co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The EU and Cabo Verde furthermore acknowledge the efforts regarding regional integration in West Africa, and the role of ECOWAS in taking those forward. We commit to further support such efforts to address the political and security challenges of the region, and to ensure the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa and in Europe.
4.4. Ocean governance, Maritime Spatial Planning, Blue Economy, and maritime affairs in general, have de facto been part of our bilateral cooperation since the outset, and have become increasingly important for the EU also in its external action. Due to its unique geographical position and experience, Cabo Verde is a most valuable partner and holds great potential in this area. On the basis of the existing Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements and other ongoing activities that the EU and its Member States already undertake with Cabo Verde, we look forward to further deepening our joint cooperation in this area. For a Small Island Developing State such as Cabo Verde, the development of the Blue Economy and the Ocean Governance is becoming increasingly important for the sustainable and economic growth of the country.
4.5. In the context of fisheries, we look forward to a sustainable and predictable solution to current issues with rules of origin, for which a more attractive business climate and an improved fiscal and legal environment will be essential. In this regard, we look forward to promote further cooperation among economic operators in the field of fisheries. The next Protocol to the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the EU and Cape Verde, to be negotiated in 2018, could therefore have a more integrated approach, to also include blue economy issues as well as the promotion of investments in the fisheries sector.
4.6. On trade, we acknowledge Cabo Verde´s active and constructive contribution to the negotiations of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and West Africa. We encourage those African partners who have not yet signed and ratified the agreement to swiftly do so, in order to enable its entry into force. In the meantime, the EU is willing to examine ways to address the negative impact of the EPA´s delayed entry into force for Cabo Verde, in particular on its key export goods such as fishery products. The EU side also welcomes Cabo Verde's commitment to the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance, better known as "GSP+", and to the further improvement of reporting as stipulated in the GSP Regulation.
4.7 The stimulation of economic growth, investment and job-creation, cornerstones for poverty alleviation and sustainable development, is a joint priority both in the EU and in Cabo Verde. We agree in our assessment that there is much potential for improving the business climate in Cabo Verde, where investors from the EU play a very prominent role. We intend to focus our joint efforts on improving the conditions for attracting foreign investment to Cabo Verde, notably in the tourism sector, and for the diversification of the country’s economy including through further development of its Blue Economy, aiming to use the opportunities offered by the European External Investment Plan.
4.8. We acknowledge and fully appreciate our valuable ongoing cooperation under the pillars of Knowledge-based Society, and Technical and Regulatory Convergence, and encourage all involved actors to continue, deepen and widen this cooperation for mutual benefit. We take note of the positive role of Science, Technology and Innovation towards a knowledge-based society and we welcome the good cooperation between Cabo Verde and the EU in this field, including through the previous FP7 and the current Horizon 2020 programme. In the same spirit, we acknowledge the importance of working further together at regional level, as partners in the EU-Africa High Level Policy Dialogue on Science, Technology and Innovation.
We welcome and further encourage Cabo Verde's involvement in the exchange of university students, staff and researchers within the context of the Erasmus+ programme and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and the efforts to improve the quality and relevance of higher education through the Joint Africa-EU Harmonization of higher education initiatives. Bearing in mind the importance of quality education and the brain circulation, we also welcome and encourage bilateral cooperation between Cabo Verde and the EU Member States.
4.9. Migration and mobility issues have acquired renewed urgency and prominence. As a country with a wide diaspora, Cabo Verde is an inspiring example of a democratic African country with sound border and migration management, and very constructive contributions to the Summit in La Valletta and to the Rabat Process. In the regional context, we acknowledge the recent measures initiated by Cabo Verde in adopting relevant legislation and for taking concrete steps to combat illegal migration as well to secure its internal borders. We also welcome in particular the effective functioning of the EU-Cabo Verde Mobility Partnership and the good implementation of the Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements. The Common Visa Application Centre in Praia (CCV Praia), which celebrated its 7th anniversary last May and now brings together 17 Schengen countries, is one of the flagship initiatives of the Mobility Partnership and contributes to improve in a concrete manner the mobility of Cabo Verdean citizens to the EU in a transparent and regulated way. It is crucial to continue to encourage the development of the CCV, and we look forward to further developing joint cooperation on migration and mobility, among others on issues like border management including document security at airports. On the basis of this successful Mobility Partnership, the future development of this process may also include a consideration of further mobility facilitations.