I think, it is to be welcomed that the draft Constitution increases the visibility and continuity of the key representatives of the EU. A new elected President of the European Council and a strong EU Foreign Minister will help to put faces to decisions. I also support the extension of qualified majority voting. The EU may not necessarily acquire new competencies.
As Mr. Otieno noted, the HIPC and MDRI debt relief initiatives had brought down external public debt levels substantially by the mid-2000s in those African countries which had access to debt relief. At that time, the recipients of external debt relief agreed to curtail future external borrowing, especially on non-concessional terms, usually under the auspices of an IMF programme.