The second European Union / African Union Summit will be held in Lisbon on 8 – December 2007.

In the words of the European Commission this Summit should sanction the transition from a "European strategy in Africa" towards a "Euro-African strategy" based on real partnership. On the program (although the final agenda has not yet been revealed): climate change and energy issues, governance and human rights, and migrations, mobility and employment. So far as Africa is concerned, the main priorities for discussion are agriculture and food sovereignty.

The issue of the Economic Partnership Agreements, initially swept under the carpet by the Portuguese Presidency which did not want such a sensitive question to endanger the success of "its" Summit, has recently become come to the fore and will, in fact, be a core stake of the debates. Given the contentious course of the negotiations, in particular the disintegration of the regional blocks, Lisbon could well be the theatre of disruptive discussions.

Words face to face with a cruel reality

EPAs directly threaten the survival of the majority of the African populations and are provoking an unprecedented opposition throughout the continent ; at the same time, the "fortress – Europe" does not unveil any alternative and intensifies its violation of fundamental rights.

Treated as a reservoir of raw materials and/or a market of new potential consumers, the African continent’s wealth is coveted by international economic actors, its local markets are under attack by foreign exporters and its populations are relegated to the position of recipients of miserly international assistance which perpetuates their dependence.

Far from shouldering Europe’s responsibility to develop real solidarity with Africa, the European Union’s policies regarding Africa are all inspired by a strategy which directly threatens the economic, social, environmental and cultural rights of the African populations. Underwritten by the European transnational firms in perpetual search for new markets, the EU strategy in Africa weaves together aggressive trade agreements with facilities for exploitation of revenue for European companies and increasing restrictions on the movement of the people, to the detriment of ecosystems and equitable redistribution of local resources.

What can Europe propose to its African partners in alternative to the so-called "pro-development" trade agreements? How to formulate a migration policy which respects the international human rights conventions and provides meaningful support for development processes in Africa?

It is to communicate these concerns and propose responses to them that European and African international solidarity organizations, social movements NGOs, farmers’ organizations and trade unions will gather together in Lisbon on 8 to 9 December.

PROGRAM

Friday 7th December
 15h00 Press Conference
 19h-22h00 Cultural events in various sites of Lisbon

Saturday 8th December
 09h00 Opening of the meeting: Welcome and plenary session
 10h30-13h30 Discussions in parallel sessions

• Theme 1- Ecology, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Food Sovereignty
• Theme 2 - Migrations

 14h30–17h30 Discussions in parallel sessions

• Theme 3 - Economic Development and Trade
• Theme 4 - Human Rights

 17h30 – 19h30 Self-organized workshops

Sunday, 9th December
 10h00 – 12h00 Joint Strategy Meeting: Campaigns and common struggles
 12h00 – 13h00 Final Plenary and Final Joint Statement
 Afternoon: Demonstration

Venue Address: Faculdade de Belas Artes - Largo da Academia Nacional de Belas Artes - Lisbon - By underground, please take the blue or red line and exit in Baixa-Chiado

More Info: http://africa-europa-alternativas.blogspot.com