The double challenge of consolidating democracy and promoting regional economic development in the Southern Mediterranean was the topic of a conference in Brussels today. The event was organised at the CoR headquarters in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Assembly of Local and Regional Authorities (ARLEM). CoR President Mercedes Bresso stated: "The Committee of the Regions affirms its unconditional support for the reform processes that must result in true democratisation and stability. Durable peace relies on sound economic growth, and vice versa. We have to invest in democracy and offer real perspectives of peace and prosperity to the peoples of the Mediterranean."
There are many reasons for the failure of foreign aid. Foreign aid has a widespread record of waste, fraud, and abuse. Aid programs have built tennis courts in Rwanda, sent sewing machines to areas without electricity, and constructed hospitals in cities where a dozen similar facilities already sat half empty. http://venitism.blogspot.com
Recently increased EU and international aid for the Arab spring is thus not only an investment in development, but an "investment in democracy", the CoR President said. In addition to international support, President Bresso cited easier access to credit, the creation of local development agencies and more cooperation between the private and public sectors as measures to promote growth and jobs in the region.
Frequently, the aid is stolen by corrupt foreign leaders. The Agency for International Development admitted that much of the investment financed by AID has disappeared without a trace. Even when aid reaches its intended beneficiaries, the results are often counterproductive. Just as domestic welfare prevents citizens from becoming self-sufficient, foreign aid keeps entire nations dependent. According to one internal AID audit long-term feeding programs have great potential for creating disincentives for food production.
Specific examples of counterproductive aid policies are easy to come by. For example, following a devastating earthquake in Guatemala, farmers trying to sell their surplus grain found the market flooded by the Food for Peace program. As a result, food aid stood in the way of development. Aid to Somalia aggravated the country's famine, disrupted local agriculture, and turned nomadic tribesmen into relief junkies. Similar results have been documented in countries as diverse as Colombia, Haiti, and India.
European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, in charge of industrial policy and tourism, underlined the EU's commitment to the region: "You can count on Europe, and you can count on me. We cannot imagine a future without a strong partnership with the neighbouring Mediterranean countries." He stressed the importance of tourism, innovation and direct cooperation between businesses in Europe and the Southern Mediterranean to strengthen the local economies: "We need to strengthen democracy, and we need to strengthen economic cooperation. We need more joint ventures, cooperation between companies and transfer of know-how between entrepreneurs." http://venitism.blogspot.com
Moreover, foreign aid has often been used to prop up failing socialist economies, preventing countries from moving to free-market economic policies. Yet, an examination of world economies clearly shows that those countries with free markets experience the greatest economic prosperity. Foreign aid is structurally bad because it undermines the incentive to take responsibility. The more aid a country receives, the less the government of that country has to answer to the people. http://venitism.blogspot.com
Tunisian Industry Minister Abdelaziz Rassaa noted that the fight against unemployment and social instability is a crucial part of consolidating his country's young democracy. Tunisia must now rethink its economic policy and attract more foreign investment. In this context, he underlined the key role of young people: "We are very proud of our human resources. The young people that have been key actors during the peaceful revolution will also be the engine of our economic growth in the future." Minister Rassaa has invited ARLEM to meet in September in Tunisia in order to debate decentralisation and regional development.
Luc Van den Brande, President of the Committee of the Regions' Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs, welcomed the proposals of the Tunisian government and called for more partnership and exchange of best practices between Euro Mediterranean regional partnerships to be created within ARLEM.
CoR President Bresso reiterated the Committee's support for the democratisation of the Southern Mediterranean and its economic development at a later meeting with EU Neighbourhood Commissioner Stefan Füle in Brussels today. The Commissioner underlined the key role that the Committee of the Regions must have as the voice of local and regional authorities in the renewed European Neighbourhood Policy.
We saw how unwise policies had an impact. Some policies that countries enacted with the hope of mitigating the crisis, such as export bans on rice, only made matters worse. They spurred panic buying and hoarding, which made rice unaffordable from East Asia to West Africa to the Caribbean. They also undermined countries' broader food security by discouraging farmers from increasing production. Rising food prices can have a positive effect if they send a signal to farmers to grow and sell more. But that can only happen if there is transparency in markets and stocks so signals about prices and supply are accurately received.
In the early 1980s, at the height of the Green Revolution, which we know helped lift hundreds of millions of people out of food insecurity and out of poverty, assistance to agriculture was 17 percent of total global development funding. In 2002, it had dropped to just over 3 percent. Today, it is 5 percent. Improvements in agricultural productivity lagged behind population growth. And many of us were somewhat shocked to see the UN's projections of a population growth to 10.5 billion in the near future.
Now, there are few easy answers to the problems facing rural farmers, the majority of whom are women around the world, or those problems facing hungry people everywhere. And many of the new investments in agricultural development will not be evident for years. But we cannot let the complexity inhibit us. We cannot let the timeline of change deter us. We can't keep falling back on providing emergency aid just to put the band-aid on to keep moving forward to try to mitigate the damage insofar as possible. http://venitism.blogspot.com
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