(1)

On 6 December 2007, the Council adopted Joint Action 2007/805/CFSP (1) appointing Mr Koen VERVAEKE as European Union Special Representative (hereinafter the EUSR) to the African Union (AU).

(2)

On 1 December 2008, the Council adopted Joint Action 2008/898/CFSP (2) extending the mandate of the EUSR until 28 February 2010.

(3)

On 25 February 2010, the Council adopted Decision 2010/119/CFSP (3) amending the mandate of the EUSR and extending it until 31 August 2010.

(4)

The mandate of the EUSR should be extended until 31 August 2011. However, the mandate of the EUSR may be terminated earlier, if the Council so decides, on a proposal of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (hereinafter the HR) following the entry into force of the Decision establishing the European External Action Service.

(5)

The EUSR is to implement his mandate in the context of a situation which may deteriorate and could harm the objectives of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, as set out in Article 21 of the Treaty,

(a)

enhancing the EU’s political dialogue and broader relationship with the AU;

(b)

strengthening the EU-AU partnership in all areas outlined in the EU Africa Strategy, contributing to the development and implementation of the EU Africa Strategy in partnership with the AU, respecting the principle of African ownership and working more closely with African representatives in multilateral forums in coordination with multilateral partners;

(c)

working with, and providing support to the AU by supporting institutional development and strengthening the relationship between EU and AU Institutions, including through development assistance, to promote:

—   peace and security: predict, prevent, manage, mediate and resolve conflict, support efforts to promote peace and stability, support post-conflict reconstruction,

—   human rights and governance: promote and protect human rights; promote fundamental freedoms and respect for the rule of law; support, through political dialogue and financial and technical assistance, African efforts to monitor and improve governance; support growth of participatory democracy and accountability; support the fight against corruption and organised crime and further promote efforts to address the issue of children and armed conflict in all its aspects,

—   sustainable growth, regional integration and trade: support efforts towards interconnectivity and facilitate people’s access to water and sanitation, energy and information technology; promote a stable, efficient and harmonised legal business framework; assist to integrate Africa into the world trade system, assist African countries to comply with EU rules and standards; support Africa in countering the effects of climate change,

—   investment in people: support efforts in the fields of gender, health, food security and education, promote exchange programmes, networks of universities and centres of excellence, address the root causes of migration.

(a)

strengthen the overall EU influence in, and coordination of, the Addis Ababa-based dialogue with the AU and its Commission, on the whole range of CFSP/ESDP issues covered by the EU-AU relationship;

(b)

ensure an appropriate level of political representation, reflecting the importance of the EU as a political, financial and institutional partner of the AU, and the step-change in that partnership necessitated by the growing political profile of the AU on the world stage;

(c)

represent, should the Council so decide, EU positions and policies, when the AU plays a major role in a crisis situation for which no EUSR has been appointed;

(d)

help achieve better coherence, consistency and coordination of EU policies and actions towards the AU, and contribute to enhance coordination of the broader partner group and its relation with the AU;

(e)

follow closely, and report on, all relevant developments at AU level;

(f)

maintain close contact with the AU Commission, other AU organs, missions of African sub-regional organisations to the AU and the missions of the AU Member States to the AU;

(g)

facilitate the relations and cooperation between the AU and African sub-regional organisations, especially in those areas where the EU is providing support;

(h)

offer advice and provide support to the AU upon request in the areas outlined in the EU Africa Strategy;

(i)

offer advice and provide support to the building up of the AU’s crisis management capabilities;

(j)

on the basis of a clear division of tasks, coordinate with, and support, the actions of EUSRs with mandates in AU Member States/regions; and

(k)

maintain close contacts and promote coordination with key international partners of the AU present in Addis Ababa, especially the United Nations, but also with non-State actors on the whole range of the CFSP/ESDP issues covered by the EU-AU relationship.

(a)

establishing a mission-specific security plan based on guidance from the General Secretariat of the Council, providing for mission-specific physical, organisational and procedural security measures, governing the management of the secure movement of personnel to, and within, the mission area, and the management of security incidents, and providing for a contingency plan and a mission evacuation plan;

(b)

ensuring that all personnel deployed outside the Union are covered by high risk insurance as required by the conditions in the mission area;

(c)

ensuring that all members of his team to be deployed outside the Union, including locally contracted personnel, have received appropriate security training before or upon arriving in the mission area, based on the risk ratings assigned to the mission area by the General Secretariat of the Council;

(d)

ensuring that all agreed recommendations made following regular security assessments are implemented and providing the HR, the Council and the Commission with written reports on their implementation and on other security issues within the framework of the mid-term and mandate implementation reports.