Suchergebnisse

Welche Tradition hat das Nachdenken über die ökologische Frage in der Sozialen Demokratie? Was sind die entscheidenden Etappen, Erfolge und Konfliktfelder sozialdemokratischer Umweltpolitik? Wie können die natürlichen Lebensgrundlagen erhalten, der Klimawandel bekämpft und die Transformation sozial gerecht gestaltet werden?

The number of jobseekers will continue to rise sharply in the coming decades. Worryingly, developments since 2000 tend to offer less hope for improvements in the labour market. Almost all indicators point to a deterioration of the current situation. 2. The previous growth model of jobless growth and growth with increasing informality is exacerbating the situation on the labour markets. It is time to reverse the trend towards greater inequality and worsening employment for the overwhelming majority of Africans. 3. The climate crisis is exacerbating employment problems on the continent. Measures to combat the consequences of climate change must therefore be set in motion, especially in combination with steps to tackle the job situation. It is time to reverse the trend towards rising inequality and declining employment for the overwhelming majority of Africans. The drivers of hope - foreign direct investment (FDI), Chinese involvement, open trade, digitalisation, the green revolution, more education and further urbanisation have not proven to be sustainable. Not least because FDI in the commodity sectors and industry is capital intensive and has little impact on employment. However, in most countries, this solution is strongly favoured by African governments and the power elites, who benefit from FDI as a source of tax revenue and income for their administrations. There is a critical need for reform. What matters most is that FDI and value chains increasingly integrate local entrepreneurship. There must be a focus on endogenous development: promoting local industry can lead to higher productivity growth and create more productive and better-paid jobs. To harness the employment potential of agriculture, it needs to move towards market-oriented and integrated food systems. Local demand for jobs can be increased by companies increasing their exports abroad and successfully replacing imports of simple consumer goods. This study emphasises the need for an accelerated and climate-friendly economic transformation in SSA to create more and better jobs.

The European Union's (EU) relations with the African continent are facing a distinct set of challenges. Contrary to the expectations of both African and European governments, the pending negotiations between the partners are now being put to the test like never before. The global spread of Covid-19 has led to economic crises throughout the world - and the African continent is no exception. International organisations, the EU, and African institutions alike consider the economic and health crisis to be more serious than the 2008/2009 global financial crisis. This new economic crisis also impacts Europe's relations with Africa. The EU-African Union Summit, originally scheduled for October 2020 but now postponed until 2021, will be overshadowed by the global coronavirus crisis. There is a significant risk that Africa-Europe relations will not attract as much interest as other global developments, with the USA, Europe and China too busy dealing with their own challenges. The crisis has shown that the prevailing asymmetry is no longer acceptable as we move into the future. Now is the time for both sides to work together on finalising the much-needed reform packages and to recalibrate Europe's cooperation with Africa. To pave the way for these reforms, the EU Commission's plans for negotiations on future cooperation must be overhauled, particularly in relation to trade and economic relations, value chain integration, and the focus on job creation and poverty alleviation. Last but not least, cooperation on the issue of sustainability must be adjusted, especially against the backdrop of the climate catastrophe, which, besides hindering growth and causing job losses, poses a threat to agriculture and food supply on the African continent. The concepts presented by the EU in March 2020 do not adequately address the challenges on the African continent and are not in Europe's strategic interest. Instead, what in fact needs to happen is for the EU to anticipate the developments on the African continent and recognise just how urgent it is to change course. Whether or not the German (and Portuguese) EU Council Presidency along with the other Member States and the EU Commission will be able to give this discussion the requisite impetus will only become clear in the coming months leading up to the EU-Africa Summit.

Der vorliegende Beitrag beschreibt in Kapitel 1 die wirtschaftlichen Beziehungen der EU mit Afrika, die seit Längerem durch einen Verlust an Intensität gekennzeichnet sind. Die Auswirkungen der CoViD19-Pandemie werden in Kapitel 2 beschrieben. Kapitel 3 widmet sich der Kooperationsagenda und legt einen Schwerpunkt auf die neue umfassende EUAfrika-Strategie "Towards a Comprehensive Strategy with Africa" (CSA). In Kapitel 4 geht es um die Hauptaspekte einer strategischen Zusammenarbeit zwischen Europa und Afrika.