DRAFT MINUTES
11th meeting of the SA-EU Joint Cooperation Council
Pretoria, 15 September 2010
1. Opening remarks
Dr. Ntsaluba welcomed the delegations to the new DIRCO building and thanked all participants for their hard work over the course of the year and in the run up to the JCC. He noted the significant achievements made in South Africa and the EU’s bilateral relations since the early days of its inception, and highlighted that the EU remains South Africa’s largest trading and FDI partner. The tremendous work and contribution made by EU Ambassador Lodewyk Briët to this achievement was highlighted. Dr. Ntsaluba also emphasized the importance of the African Agenda in SA-EU relations, and that the fate and future of South Africa and the Continent are inextricably linked. He welcomed the timing of the JCC on the eve of the approaching 3rd SA-EU Summit in Brussels on 28 September 2010, and the forthcoming Africa-EU Summit in Libya in November 2010. He stressed the importance of these meetings in addressing issues of poverty, durable peace, democracy, human rights and good governance.
Mr. Leffler thanked Dr. Ntsaluba for the warm welcome. South Africa is a key partner for the EU, both bilaterally and in multilateral fora and this is best illustrated by the TDCA and Strategic Partnership. He emphasized the wide-range of important bilateral dialogues and cooperation that has been developed and highlighted the importance of the Joint Cooperation Council to pave the way for the forthcoming South Africa-EU Summit. The next Summit will be the more significant as it will be the first since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.
2. Adoption of the draft agenda
The draft agenda was adopted (see Annex A).
3. Adoption of minutes of the 10th meeting of the JCC
The minutes of the 10th JCC were adopted with no amendments.
4. Consideration of progress and reports on SA-EU cooperation
i. Development
Mr. Leffler and Ambassador Briet presented the Joint Report on Development Cooperation (see Annex B), and senior officials took note of progress made in well established areas of cooperation. The Development Cooperation partnership has been considerably enhanced and a 2010 mid-term review of the SA Country Strategy Paper (CSP) found the programme to be effective and well aligned to the SA Government priorities. The bulk of the development aid has been committed under the current MIP (€980million). There is however still scope for improvement in terms of more timely payments in the context of the South African budget cycle.
The implementation of the EIB’s mandate is proceeding in line with strategic objectives, both in terms of lending volumes and sector distribution. Some 78% of its €900 million mandate for the period 2007-2013 has already been committed, while much of the remaining funds are in the commitment pipeline for 2010 and 2011. Following the conclusions of the review, a proposal has been made by the EU to activate a €2 billion additional envelope for the EIB external financing, a portion of which is expected to be allocated to South Africa. The proposal foresees that this additional envelope will be dedicated notably to projects that address issues of climate change.
Mr. Toli responded by acknowledging the good relationship between South Africa and the EU on development cooperation. He highlighted a concern around the focus of support from development partners on topical issues such as climate change and the environment, and the type of support that SA receives in relation to its developmental stage compared to that of developed countries. In regard to the Regional programme and also trilateral cooperation, Mr. Toli and Dr. Ntsaluba expressed the hope that progress will be made soon.
ii. Trade
Mr. Mashabela mentioned that both parties agree that trade flows between South Africa and the EU have been positive and expanding, aside from the reversal of trends in 2009 and during the first quarter of 2010 due to the impact of the Global Economic Crisis. It was also agreed that the guidelines of the TDCA are being met and that the two sides are cooperating well on issues related to fisheries, as well as sanitary and phyto-sanitary issues. Mr. Mashabela noted that whilst exports of primary products from South Africa to the EU have continued to grow, the increase of new supply of higher-valued products from the transport sector is very pleasing (see Annex M for Joint Trade Report)
Both parties expressed a commitment to concluding the EPA discussions by the end of 2010. It was also agreed that both parties will cooperate towards addressing the differences between their respective trade statistics. A conclusive WTO Doha Development Agenda remains a priority for both parties.
iii. Customs
Mr. Nyalinga presented the Joint Report on Customs cooperation (see Annex C). The South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the European Commission (TAXUD) have an ongoing dialogue on customs matters. Both parties are committed to customs cooperation with a view to facilitating legitimate trade and combating illicit trade activities between the two parties
The implementation of the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade was identified by both sides as a priority area of cooperation. SARS and TAXUD have agreed to start with the launching of a bilateral project to be funded from the TDCA Facility, paving the way for enhanced customs cooperation. The project will aim at sharing best practices on a wide range of issues, including on the implementation of the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards.
SARS and TAXUD have also confirmed their agreement on the scope of the project, which could include exchanges of experiences on other customs issues, such as risk management, relations with the trade, border controls, post clearance controls, use of information technology, legislation and operational policy, or fighting fraud and non-compliance schemes.
The Project will run for twelve (12) months, from 15 November 2010 to 15 November 2011.
iv. Science and Technology
Mr. Muofhe presented the Joint Report on Science and Technology cooperation (see Annex D). He stated that cooperation in Science and Technology (S&T) is one of the major successes of the SA-EU Strategic Partnership, with an ongoing policy dialogue between the EC and South African Department of Science and Technology through the Joint Science and Technology Cooperation Committee (JSTCC). S&T cooperation covers numerous domains, such as climate change, hunger and disease. The dialogue involves sharing of expertise, pooling of resources and allowing South Africa to successfully participate in the EU’s 7th Framework Programmes for research. S&T capacity-building and human capital development in South Africa has been strongly supported through a Sector Budget Support programme which was launched in 2008 under the EU Development Cooperation Instrument, amounting to €30 million.
South Africa has also consistently been one of the most successful participants outside of Europe in the EU Framework Programmes for Research, which has resulted in more than 400 South African participations. FP7 has seen a direct EU investment of more than €25 million in South African research organisations. The parties are also working together to build S&T partnership in the continent, specifically owing to SA's success in the FP7. A number of programmes are already underway between the EU and DST, some of which are already showing positive results.
It was also reported that new areas of cooperation are on the rise, such as Energy. Both parties also cooperate on the multilateral level, mainly at the OECD's Global Science Forum, the Group on Earth Observation, as well as ACP science and technology programmes. On the margins of the forthcoming Summit, S&T successes in the fields of sports science and biodiversity will be celebrated through five side events.
v. Space
Mr. Leffler presented the Joint Report on Space cooperation (see Annex E) and reported that a strong partnership has been established in the area of Space cooperation following the approval of the terms of Reference for the Dialogue in October 2008. The key opportunities for cooperation were highlighted as space applications (Earth Observation) for sustainable growth and development, the development of ground segments for the European Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) and GALILEO, the extension of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS) in southern Africa and the exchange of Earth Observation Data.
Mr Muhofe further highlighted that the dialogue will gain more traction due to the fact that representatives of the South African Space Agency and the European Space Agency (ESA) had agreed to work towards a memorandum of agreement on specific initiatives at the 2nd meeting of the Space Dialogue in July 2010.
Both parties agreed that there has been good progress in GMES and GEOSS-related cooperation under FP7, under which several proposals are being funded and two South African proposals have been selected for negotiation – water monitoring and management and space-based observations for managing malaria. Both the EU and South Africa are strongly committed to cooperation under different multilateral platforms, which will strengthen innovation and capacity building both in the European Research Area and in Africa.
Both parties have agreed on accessing the TDCA Facility to finance upcoming workshops aimed at building on current gains. The EU also called for South Africa to participate in defining a new vision for space exploration and also wants both sides to agree on possibilities such as the use of European launchers for future South African satellites.
vi. ICT
Mr. Leffler presented the Joint Report on ICT cooperation (see Annex F) and informed the JCC that a meeting between DG INFSO and the DoC was held in Durban in May 2010 in the margin of the IST-Africa 2010 Conference. On this occasion and based upon the priorities of the agreed Terms of Reference, the DoC provided a list of detailed topics and objectives to work on during 2010-2011. The objective is now to review these subjects and the potential for cooperation during the next Information Society Dialogue (ISD) meeting to be held in Brussels on 29 September 2010, in the margin of the 3rd EU-South Africa Summit and the ICT-2010 event organized by DG INFSO. The objective of this meeting will also be to identify concrete cooperation actions, which could be financed under the TDCA- Facility.
The JCC also welcomed an agrement to strengthen ICT cooperation at regional level, regarding notably implementation of the Africa-EU Partnership on Science, Information Society and Space. Both parties agreed notably that South Africa joins the AfricaConnect project, one of the Partnership flagship project aimed at supporting the deployment of regional research and education networks in Sub-Saharan Africa.
On the issue of Digital Terrestrial TV standards, the EU expressed its concern at South Africa’s apparent consideration to migrate to a Japanese standard. Mr. Themba Phiri and Dr. Ntsaluba indicated to the EU that South Africa is at this stage merely taking stock of all options and that it is also engaging within a SADC context in this regard. Currently South Africa continued to adhere to the European Standard, and the parties agreed to continue exchanging information in this regard and the issue will feature on the agenda of the next ISD meeting on 29 September 2010.
vii. Environmental Cooperation and Climate Change
Mr Leffler welcomed new developments in the cooperation on environment and climate change as reflected in the intensity of exchanges in the broader environment dialogue, including with the planned Dialogue Forum and High Level meeting in Pretoria in November. He also highlighted the agreement to increase focus of future development cooperation on "green jobs".
On Climate change, Mr Leffler underlined that South Africa, as host of COP17 in 2011, can play a critical role in the climate change negotiations. In this regard, he emphasized the need for support by South Africa to help integrate the substance of the Copenhagen Accord into the various negotiating texts, and on a pragmatic step-wise approach for Cancun. Mr Leffler pointed out that it is unlikely that a legally binding agreement can be achieved by Cancun, therefore success in Cancun would be a balanced set of action-oriented decisions. This set of decisions must be balanced by covering a broad range of issues important to developing and developed countries – including adaptation and financing, but also carbon markets, and monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV). Mr Leffler explained that the EU is on track to comply with its fast-start commitment: the EU will contribute to the fast-start funding effort with EUR 2.4 billion on average annually for the years 2010 to 2012, in the framework of the implementation of the Copenhagen Accord. Mr Leffler underlined that the implementation of fast-start funding is crucial to address the real needs of developing countries and to build trust among Parties. Many developing countries show that they are willing to take action and we need to support them.
Mr. Gislev presented the joint report on Environmental Cooperation (see Annex G). He stated that the next meeting of the Forum on Environment and Sustainable Development is scheduled to take place in November 2010, in South Africa. The main themes of the meeting would be climate change, green growth and biodiversity.
The year 2010 has been designated as the United Nation’s Year of biodiversity, with the crucial conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity taking place in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010. Further bilateral consultations were expected in the run-up to the conference.