Diplomacy & Defense Think Tank News

The vision of a united Africa and the rejection of the arbitrary borders created by European colonial powers have for decades been at the heart of pan-African endeavours. Achieving the free movement of persons on the continent was a key aim of the 1991 Abuja Treaty, which established the African Economic Community (AEC). And in the ensuing decades, this goal was under¬scored in agreements on African economic integration and in the African Union (AU)’s Agenda 2063. In January 2018, the member states of the AU finally agreed on the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment.
The continental agendas state that the process of implementing free movement must begin with Africa’s sub-regions. This is not least due to historical reasons. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was a pioneer in this regard, with its Free Movement Protocol dating back to 1979. The years that followed saw the free movement of persons integrated into other African regionalisation processes as well. The East African Community (EAC), for instance, has agreed, at least in part, on far-reaching steps; other sub-regions (such as the North African Intergovernmental Authority on Develop¬ment (IGAD)) are currently working towards relevant accords.
The present analysis of ECOWAS (West Africa) and IGAD (North-East Africa) shows that both regional organisa¬tions face difficulties with their free movement policies, though the respective challenges emerge in different phases of the political process. In the IGAD region, member states have so far been unable to agree on any free movement treaty, while the ECOWAS region is experiencing delays in the national and subnational implementation of established legislation. These differences can primarily be explained by historic path dependencies, divergent degrees of legalisa¬tion, and differing interests on the part of subregional powers. Finally, regional free movement is being hampered in both regions by internal capacity issues and growing external influences on intra-African migration management and border control.
From the perspective of development policy, it is expedient to support free movement at subregional level in Africa. The following recommendations arose from the analysis:

• Promote regional capacities: Personnel and financial support should be provided to regional organisations to assist them with formulating free movement standards and implementing them at national and subnational level.
• Harmonise security and free-movement policies: European initiatives on border control and migration management must provide greater support for free movement rather than inhibit intraregional migration and free movement policies.
• Offer cross-sectoral incentives: The German Government and the European Union should encourage progress with the regionalisation of free movement regimes in related areas of cooperation.

In order to effectively implement the recommendations, it is also important to recognise and flesh out the role of regional organisations at global level as well.

Dans les trois précédents articles (partie 1, partie 2, …

Pour le 45e président des Etats-Unis, l'année 2019 s'annonce difficile. Mais dans le camp démocrate, trouver le meilleur candidat pour l'élection de 2020 ne sera pas simple pour autant.

L'année 2019 s'annonce difficile pour l'Europe, avec des partis populistes qui pourraient sortir renforcés des élections européennes de mai, sans oublier une…

Stefan Stahlberg 2019-01-08T07:46:00Z

Despite the United Kingdom never having adopted the euro, the upcoming Brexit will have consequences not only for the European Union as a whole but also for monetary integration. The UK’s withdrawal from the EU will heighten fears among the ‘euro-outs’, the eight Member States that have not adopted the euro, that their influence over the Union’s decision-making processes will diminish in the future. Their concern has led to the formation of a new coalition of states uniting the interests of the north­ern euro members and some countries outside the eurozone. Although the debate over enlarging the eurozone is now subsiding, the ‘Brexit moment’ could trigger a new dynamic and act as a driver for expanding the eurozone or strengthening some non-euro states’ links to the banking union.

Stefan Stahlberg 2019-01-07T13:42:00Z

Saskia Gamradt 2019-01-07T12:55:00Z

Rien n’y fait. Ni les concessions effectuées par le Président Macron le 10 décembre dernier, près de 10 milliards d’euros de mesures sociales diverses, ce qui creuse le déficit public et entame la crédibilité de la France au sein de la zone euro. Ni la période des fêtes de fin d’année, supposée apporter de la sérénité et de l’apaisement. Ni les niveaux…

La COP24, Conférence de Katowice de 2018 sur le climat, s’est tenue du 2 au 15 décembre 2018. Cette conférence est la 24ème des conférences annuelles programmées par l’ONU, dans le cadre de la convention-cadre sur les changements climatiques. Organisée en Pologne, un pays fortement consommateur de charbon, cette COP avait pour objectif d’adopter les règles d’application de l’Accord de Paris, approuvé en 2015. Que retenir de…

Saskia Gamradt 2019-01-05T05:00:00Z

Assaillis d’informations de toutes parts, notamment sur l’Europe (Brexit), les Etats-Unis (Donald Trump), le Moyen-Orient parfois, et la France souvent (situations politique, sécuritaire, économique et sociale), les Français n’en sont pas moins en train d’intégrer le phénomène de la montée en puissance de la Chine. Le sujet s’impose depuis quelques années, au fil d’une médiatisation démultipliée. Rarement les médias auront autant parlé de la Chine, pays fascinant…

Quelques jours avant Noël, le président Donald Trump annonçait, par un tweet laconique, qu’il avait décidé de retirer les forces américaines du Nord-Est de la Syrie, où elles appuyaient les Kurdes du PYD dans le combat contre Daesh. La raison invoquée était simple : l’organisation terroriste était vaincue, et Donald Trump avait toujours dit que seule la guerre contre le terrorisme pouvait justifier une présence militaire dans ce pays.

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A European Security Council (ESC) would – so the German government has suggested – make the European Union (EU) better prepared for making decisions about inter­national politics and thus better able to act. It believes that if the EU and its member states do not manage to take and implement coherent decisions more quickly, their ability to (further) enforce European rules and strengthen multilateral formats will be weakened. The EU-27’s diplomatic, financial and military resources should there­fore be supplemented by a format for more effective intergovernmental cooperation. However, this idea can only take shape if the German government can demonstrate the added value of such a body, and if it shows more willingness itself to shape for­eign policy within the EU framework.

Saskia Gamradt 2019-01-03T15:14:00Z

Das Jahr 2018 endete unruhig in Washington. Die Suche nach einem neuen Stabschef im Weißen Haus gestaltete sich schwierig, Verteidigungsminister James Mattis schied im Zorn über die unkoordinierte America-First-Politik von Donald Trump aus dem Amt, Teile der Regierung mussten schließen, da ihnen das Geld ausging. In dieser schwierigen Lage nimmt der neue, 116. Kongress seine Arbeit auf.

Saskia Gamradt 2019-01-03T09:05:00Z

The EU is currently negotiating a successor to its Cotonou Agreement of year 2000 with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states. The political and economic con­text has changed enormously over the past two decades, with trade relations between the EU and the more developed ACP countries now largely regulated by bilateral and regional Economic Partnership Agreements. Since 2015, in line with international sustainability targets, social and environmental aspects must be taken into account in international treaties, while in 2018 the African Union (AU) agreed to establish an African Continental Free Trade Area. A successor to Cotonou offers an opportunity to modernise the rules on issues including investment, services and migration. This could also generate greater interest in the talks in Germany and the EU. But the cooperation need to be placed on a new foundation and the African states will have to decide whether they want to negotiate together, as a continent.

04.01.1919    vor 100 Jahren
Januaraufstand/Spartakusaufstand

07.01.1944   
75. Geburtstag Ursula Männle

09.01.1899   
120. Geburtstag Paul Strenkert

10.01.1969   
50. Todestag Max Zwicknagl

11.01.1949    vor 70 Jahren
Mit einem Festakt zieht der Bayerische Landtag ins Maximilianeum ein. Das alte Landtagsgebäude an der Prannerstraße war im Krieg zerstört worden.

13.01.1939   
80. Geburtstag Norbert Geis

16.01.1999    vor 20 Jahren
Ein Sonderparteitag der CSU wählt Ministerpräsident Edmund Stoiber mit 93,4% der Stimmen zum neuen Parteivorsitzenden und verabschiedet Theo Waigel (seit 1988) aus diesem Amt.

19.01.1989    vor 30 Jahren
Erich Honecker beschwört in einer Rede das Bestehen der Berliner Mauer noch in hundert Jahren.

21.01.1939   
80. Geburtstag Engelbert Kupka

23.01.1994   
25. Todestag Anton Jaumann

23.01.1944   
75. Geburtstag Manfred Weiß

Saskia Gamradt 2018-12-27T15:00:00Z

Saskia Gamradt 2018-12-27T07:00:00Z