Monthly Highlights from ECDPM's Talking Points Blog, GREAT insights, Volume 3, Issue 3 (March 2014)
Regional programming for the 11th European Development Fund. Talking Points, Florian Kraetke, 21 February 2014
Does RIPs spell ‘Regional Integration Promise’ or ‘Rest In Peace’? The mood at the 2013 African Economic Conference was clear – progress on regional integration in Africa has been slow. The EU is an obvious candidate to support African regional organisations’ (ROs) to drive the regional integration agenda, given its historic experience and diplomatic presence in the ROs’ member states. Yet the EU did not have a strong showing at the conference. Political issues continue to hamper the effective use of EU funds to promote regional integration. Despite the insistence that “we are the regions”, (…)
The European Commission, Civil Society Organisations and the private sector – when talking the same language isn’t quite enough. Talking Points, Bruce Byiers, 14 February 2014
The Economist magazine has an amusing article that does the rounds from time to time that translates what a native english speaker says (e.g. “that’s not bad”), what the listener understands (“that’s good or very good”) and what the speaker meant (“that’s poor or mediocre”). This was brought to mind while moderating a recent EC consultation with CSOs and the private sector. This was an important opportunity for both private sector representatives and civil society to provide concrete inputs into the EC’s forthcoming communication that will guide how they, and to a certain degree EU (…)
Taxes and fragile states – how political can it get? Talking Points, Frauke de Weijer, 14 February 2014
Taxes and fragile states – how political can it get? The 2014 OECD report on Domestic Resource Mobilization in Fragile States is an interesting – and paradoxical – example of the current debate on statebuilding. Linking domestic resource mobilisation and fragile states is a very welcome approach, and the political thinking driving it is just what is needed in development debates. But by relying on assumptions about fragile states that are optimistic at the best of times, means this report falls short of expectation. Taxation was once considered a mainly technical issue – but effective (…)
The elusive win-win balance in mining. Part 1 – ‘A very complex puzzle…’, Talking Points, San Bilal, 12 February 2014
Mining companies, African governments and civil society organisations seem to live in parallel worlds that rarely meet. When they do, as in African Mining Indaba last week, it is mostly in the margins, and what is said often seems lost in translation. They will all be worse off by missing out the big picture, which is that the extractive sector should play a pivotal role in the industrialisation and economic transformation of Africa for more inclusive and sustainable growth. This was confirmed once more at the 20th annual Investing in Africa Mining Indaba gathering of (…)
GREAT Insights, Volume 3, Issue 3 (March 2014)
