© Foundation for Worldwide Cooperation
Romano Prodi. A Road Map to increase African Integration
After holding the role of Prime Minister of Italy twice, as well as President of the European Commission, what international position does a politician aspire to next? Having overseen two fundamental European projects – the single currency and the fifth enlargement of the EU (the sixth enlargement came under the Barroso presidency) – Romano Prodi has now decided to turn his attention to Africa.
In September 2008, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon selected Prodi as President of the African Union-UN Peacekeeping Panel, the aim of which was to make relationships between the UN and the AU closer and more profitable.
In addition to giving courses at prestigious universities, he has created the Foundation for Worldwide Cooperation, which addresses social, cultural, economic and political problems with the aim of promoting new proposals for collaboration in the international context.
The Courier met him at the first big event organised by his foundation, the ‘Africa, 53 Countries, One Continent’ convention, held on 21 May 2010 in Bologna. Participants at the convention included Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal, Thabo Mbeki, former President of South Africa, Asha Rose Mgiro, UN Deputy Secretary-General and Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Development.
What is your view about the role of the AU in peace keeping?
I believe that it is important to increase the participation of the AU in the decision-making process and in the execution of peace operations on the African continent, and to bolster its ‘peacekeeping capacity’ through financing. This thesis is still under discussion, and has not been agreed upon by everyone. Those who oppose the idea of a strong AU are those who favour bilateral relations with those African countries with which old ties exist. But multilateral cooperation with and between African countries is vital to their future, and anyway, history has condemned bilateral relations.
For a while now, there has been much discussion about the impact of China on Africa. What should Europe’s position be?
It would be useful for the EU, China and the USA to come together, in order to avoid a situation in which Africa ends up as a pawn in a game between vying powerful countries. The EU has gained a great advantage: unifying so many different countries and therefore asserting itself as a model, and as a body which is capable of exercising strong coordination. But we must be realistic: the idea of working without China or the USA is unthinkable in Africa today. Rather, we should try to work with them to find a common policy towards the continent, aiming to strengthen the role of the AU and to define long-term strategies at the continental level, which are respectful of all local realities.
Development policies are at the basis of the history of EU, but do you think that they could be endangered as a result of the fear and selfishness that seem to dominate public opinion?
I had the privilege of being President in better economic times. We were able to carry out important work, such as starting up finance to enable the AU to play an active role in peace keeping. Despite some worries from public opinion, cooperation has remained a constant for the EU (the EU gives over half of worldwide public aid to development) and I hope it stays this way.