Experts on EU Development Policy Meet in Helsinki on 2-3 Oct

Kehys Press Release 14.9.

The largest conference during the Finnish EU Presidency focusing on EU development policy will take place in Helsinki on 2-3 October. The 2-day event gathers up around 250 experts working with development policy and policy coherence. The conference will take place in Scandic Continental hotel in Helsinki (Mannerheimintie 46).

The conference focuses on policy coherence as one of the future’s biggest challenges to EU development policy. The sub themes include trade, environment, HIV/aids, security and migration. The aim is to promote deeper understanding of linkages between these five issues and development. KEHYS organizes the conference in cooperation with Finnish NGOs, CONCORD and with the support of the European Commission, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Development Policy Committee of Finland. This is the first time the issue of policy coherence is discussed at a meeting of this scale. The conference will also be the main event for CONCORD in 2006.

The conference will be opened by the Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paula Lehtomäki. The keynote speakers include Federico Cuello Camilo, Chairman of the ACP Committee of Ambassadors and Ambassador of the Dominican Republic, Francoise Moreau, Head of Unit on Development Policy, Coherence and Forward Studies at the DG Development of the European Commission, Eva Christina Nilsson, Vice-President of CONCORD, Paul Engel, Director, European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), Christian Egenhofer, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Alexandra Trzeciak-Duval, Head, OECD Policy Co-ordination Division, Anders Wijkman, Member of the European Parliament and Jari Vilén, Chair of Grand Committee of the Finnish Parliament.

The conference will serve as a forum for discussion for different stakeholders interested in policy coherence. The aim is to produce recommendations on how to improve policy coherence: coordination and institutional mechanisms. A joint message from the conference will be sent to the Council meeting on 16-17 October. Out of an initiative by Finland, there will also be a joint meeting with EU Trade and Development Ministers for the first time in EU history.

-Policy coherence is a big challenge to everyone involved. Development aid is not sufficient if at the same time conflicting policies weaken the position of the developing countries. For the first time in history, this conference allows different actors to gather around the same table and focus on different mechanisms and ways of coordination to address coherence issues, says Rilli Lappalainen, the Secretary General of KEHYS, the Finnish NGDO Platform to the EU.

Several presentations from the representatives of different NGOs, international organizations, the European Commission, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and from developing countries will concretise the themes of the conference. The main themes and speakers are: 1. Migration and Development: Remittances and Brain Circulation: Effects on Development Presentations by: -Jeff Crisp, Head of Unit, Evaluation and Policy Analysis, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) -Haleh Bridi, Special Representative to the EU, World Bank.

2. Environment and Development: Climate Change and its Effects in the Developing Countries Presentations by: -Sven Harmeling, Senior Advisor Climate and Development, Germanwatch -Fulai Sheng, Economic Affairs Officer, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) -Judith Neyer, Coordinator, Trade and Investment and Export Credit Agencies, The Forests and the European Union Resource Network (FERN)

3. Security and Development: Arms Trade to Developing Countries and Conflict Sensitivity Presentations by: -Pekka Haavisto, European Union Special Rapporteur in Sudan -Damien Helly, Director, Saferworld.

4. Trade and Development: Economic Partnership Agreements and the effects in the Developing Countries and Aid for Trade initiative Presentations by: -Kent Wilska, Trade Policy Adviser, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland -Karin Ulmer, Policy and Gender Officer, APRODEV -Jacques Wunenburger, Head of Unit, Unit on EPAs, Directorate General for External Trade, European Commission.

5. HIV/aids and Development: Brain Drain and its effects on the Health Care Provision of the Developing Countries and Mainstreaming of HIV/aids Presentations: -Jones Ofosu, Deputy Director, Department of Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry for Health, Ghana -Ondrej Simek, Programme for Action on HIV/AIDS, DG Development, European Commission -Ellen t’Hoen, Coordinator, The Access to Essential Medicines Campaign, Médecins Sans Frontières Information for Journalists:

Journalists are warmly welcome to participate in the conference. Registrations to: Coordinator Anne Holopainen: or +358-9-23150564.

A press conference will be held on Monday 2.10. at 12.30 at the same venue as the conference: Scandic Hotel Continental (Mannerheimintie 46). The main speakers of the conference will be available for questions.

For information, background materials, please contact Information Officer Anna Pollari: tai 09-23150563. More information on the conference