Sendt: 16. september 2008 12:11
Emne: Invitation: Briefing for Parliamentarians "The EU, Africa and China"
Dear Mrs. LILLELUNDBECH
I write to invite you to the briefing session for parliamentarians and policy makers entitled "The EU, Africa and China: opportunities and challenges of a trilateral cooperation", of the European Development Cooperation to 2020 (EDC2020) project, to be held in Brussels, Residence Palace, on 29 October 2008.
The world is changing and so is Europe's weight in global politics. Nowadays, challenges for Europeans are beyond their continent and beyond the European nation states. EU citizens are aware of global challenges and see a role for the Union in external relation, as polls show. But it remains contested how Europe can respond.
Challenges are particularly evident in the area of development co-operation and external relations more broadly. Through a panel of multi-stakeholder experts (please see agenda) this particular briefing session intends to explore challenges and opportunities of the trilateral relations between the EU, Africa and China with a special reference being paid to the Commission’s Communication "The EU, Africa and China: Towards trilateral dialogue and cooperation on peace, stability and sustainable development", scheduled to come out on 8 October.
The European Development Co-operation to 2020 (EDC2020) project is funded by the 7th Framework Project of the European Commission and investigating key emerging issues regarding the European development co-operation. The EDC 2020 project combines both research and communication aspects. Its aim is to encourage close collaboration between researchers, policy and decision makers and therefore does not only co-operate with reputable European Development Research Institutes such as IDS, ODI, DIE and FRIDE but also with SID as a dissemination partner in order to reach practitioners directly through various policy briefings and workshops. The project is coordinated by EADI. For more information please visit www.edc2020.eu .
I hope that you would find that this briefing session could be helpful for you and your Committee’s decision making regarding the development co-operation and external relations policy and therefore an investment worth making. If you are not able to attend the session I would kindly ask you to discuss it with other members of the Committee to see whether any other member on your Committee could come instead. To register please return the registration form to Gordana Stankovic [email protected] before 1 October 2008.
Yours sincerely,
Jos van Gennip
President
SID Netherlands and the European Programme
Society for International Development (SID)
Eisenhowerlaan 120-II
2517 KM The Hague, Netherlands
T: +31 (0)70 338 3285
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