EU: Ministers from the EU member-states will discuss development issues with Bono of U2 at a working lunch in Dublin Castle today, hosted by the Minister of State for Development Co-operation, Mr Tom Kitt writes Deaglán de Bréadún.
The discussion will be part of the first gathering of development ministers from the 25 member-states since EU enlargement on May 1st.
Meanwhile, a Dutch minister told a conference in Croke Park yesterday, hosted by Dóchas, the association of non-governmental development organisations, that development must be given a proper place in the EU's overall external policy.
Ms Agnes Van Ardenne, the Netherlands' Minister for Development Co-operation, listed seven steps to be taken in this area during the forthcoming Dutch presidency.
The first priority was that there should be "no isolation but integration" of development with general EU foreign policy.
She told her audience, made up of development workers and representatives of EU governments: "We need to change our mindset."
Secondly, there should be greater policy coherence, she said. "Much more can be done to prevent us from providing aid with one hand and limiting its effectiveness with the other."
Thirdly, it was important that the new European Commission should have a fully fledged Development Commissioner.
Fourth, there should be better policy co-ordination and transparency at all levels. Step five was "less bureaucracy and more efficiency".
Step six was proper monitoring of the way developing countries were performing. Step seven: to assist new member-states in establishing their own development co-operation policies.
Mr Iain Atack, of Action from Ireland (Afri), criticised "ambiguities and flaws" in the European Security Strategy adopted at the Brussels summit last December.
"In the discussion of 'five key threats' to European security there is no acknowledgment of the extent to which these threats have their origins in the foreign policies of Western powers," he said.
Prof Ben Tonra, of University College Dublin, said it was "perverse" to view security as simply a matter of "guns and bombs and boys with toys".
He accused members of the development community of having "a really impoverished definition of security".
He urged them to "broaden out" and start to talk to people in other sectors, e.g., the military.
Suggesting a stronger role for the European Parliament in the promotion of an ethical foreign and security policy, Prof Tonra said the Parliament had "a pretty good track record on human rights issues".
Ms Lorna Gold (Dóchas) questioned the process of "mainstreaming" development policy. Would this mean that development was "everywhere and nowhere?" she asked.
She wondered if integrating development with European security strategy would mean the "securitisation" of development.
Ms Gold said that "human security", with its focus on the poorest and most vulnerable groups, had a lot to offer.