Development Committee (DEVE) and the European Think Tanks Group (bringing together five think tanks) are organising a public debate on the future of development and innovation in Europe, in the European Parliament in Brussels. Federica MOGHERINI, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the EC, and Bill GATES, Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation co-chair, join one of the panels.

Brussels

debate

meeting

MOGHERINI, Federica (IT, EC)

GATES, Bill (US)

development and international cooperation (T)

The future of EU International cooperation: extracts from the debate with Bill GATES, Co-Chair of BMG Foundation on Europe’s role in International Development

Arrival and photo opportunity with Bill GATES, Co-Chair, BMG Foundation on Europe&rsquo;s role in International Development, Federica MOGHERINI, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the EC and Linda McAVAN (S&amp;D, UK), Chair of the Committee on Development (5 shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Federica MOGHERINI, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the EC, The starting point for us is to change the way we work first of all as the EU. Normally, you point fingers at others. We start reflecting on how do we do our own work. With this objective in mind, we have agreed on a European consensus on development, inspired by the Agenda 2030. Thus, all European Member States and all EU institutions to coordinate their action on the ground.

SOUNDBITE (English), Federica MOGHERINI, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the EC, Together with the UN, is our cooperation EU-UN-African Union. We have realised that we share the same interests. The most rational thing to do is to join forces, is a partnership that started around the need to manage migration jointly, in a humane and respectful manner. And then, it is now moving to other sectors, such as development, humanitarian and also security. The potential of our common work with the African Union is immemse. I believe this is the key partnership for the EU for the future.

SOUNDBITE (English), Federica MOGHERINI, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the EC, If there is to invest in a certain area is too high, is to put our money to provide a guarantee for the investment. The plan is only in its early days but we are well on track to achieve our objective which is to mobilise &euro;44 billion in investments by 2020, which is again a massive amount of money. Second, and here I finish, we are also exploring a new kind of partnership with tech companies, through an initiative called Global Tech Panel, Microsoft is closely involved in this work. One of the first projects that we are working on aims at providing digital skills to all Tunisian youth.

SOUNDBITE (English), Bill GATES, Co-Chair, BMG Foundation, By 2025 90% of the people extreme poverty will live in Sub-Saharan Africa, that is a testament of how all the other continents including Asia have done, with all the large countries in Asia have had significant economic development. If we look in 2040 is not just Africa but is the poorest parts of Africa, so Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo will have 40% of the people in extreme poverty.[...] The good news is that if invest in human capital, meaning the health and education of the young generation, that can be an asset for Africa.

SOUNDBITE (English), Bill GATES, Co-Chair, BMG Foundation, Climate change is there, it is a huge challenge. The amount of innovation involved to avoid the green-house gas emissions and to make sure that the subsistence of farms in Africa who will be by far the greatest suffering caused by climate change because they will have one out of five years without good crops. There is a lot to be done in both adaption and medication. Your leadership on these issues allows me to go to all the other countries, including the United States and maintaining commitment to these things. You should be proud of the generosity you had provided and I hope you will consider with the next 7-year framework to bring that to a new level.

SOUNDBITE (English), Bill GATES, Co-Chair, BMG Foundation, When I look to in Africa in a world they use digital technology, to have digital banking so even the poorest can save money with extremely low fees. We are also using digital to improve governance performance to make sure workers are showing up, to track the budget, if money is allocated to build a school, take a photo, does that look like a school? If not you got responsibility. It is an incredible tool for improving the quality of governance, which is a necessary condition for Africa to take the generosity and overtime, become self-sufficient as we all expect.