Vienna Two parallel summits on European-Latin American/Caribbean relations are taking place in the Austrian capital, Vienna, this week. Around sixty heads of state from both regions are attending the 4th European Union-Latin America Summit to discuss trade, regional integration and other issues. Meanwhile, at the same time, representatives of civil society organisations are holding an alternative summit, "Linking Alternatives". European Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, described the new European Union (EU) strategy as one that aimed to strengthen the "partnership" with Latin America and the Caribbean. She told reporters, "We want to reinforce our mutual understanding and the existing partnership to create new dialogues and opportunities for both regions." But civil society organisations cast doubt on such statements, saying that official development aid and cooperation is at times just another channel for draining resources from Latin America to Europe. Pedro Stedile of Brazil's Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) said, "Our 15 years of experience of free-market neo-liberal policies have shown that multinational capital has taken control of our natural resources, our trees, our water, even our seeds." European non-governmental organisations are supporting the alternative summit. Gérard Karlshausen of the Belgium's Centre National de Coopération au Développement said, "In Vienna we will be calling on the EU to stop pushing for the privitisation of public services such as health, education and water." He added, "There is a lack of contact with civil society at the moment. Although we see a lot of rhetoric on this issue in the European parliament, there is little space for the people of Latin America to give their opinions." On the eve of the opening of the official summit, the president of the European Commission (EC), José Manuel Barroso, announced the allocation of more funding to assist economic development in Haiti. Barroso said that following the elections in Haiti, the EU would encourage the establishment of an inclusive government in order to encourage reconciliation and reconstruction. He said EC funding to Haiti would continue "if the process of democratic development is followed." EC Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, said he hoped that "after the elections a new period of stability will begin so that the country's economy can develop". Addressing a meeting on Haiti's development strategy at the alternative summit, Camille Chalmers, head of the Haitian Platform to Advocate for Alternative Development (PAPDA) said it was not just a question of aid being disbursed, but also one of what type of economic strategy is implemented. He said that Haiti had suffered from inappropriate neo-liberal economic policies over the last two decades. Chalmers criticised the Interim Cooperation Framework (ICF) “the short-to-medium term development strategy for Haiti drawn up by donor governments and the international finance institutions in mid-2004“ saying, "They brought international consultants to Haiti to draw up the strategy, but apart for the interim government, no Haitians were involved. Even the private sector only learnt about the meetings when the PAPDA went on the radio to denounce the lack of consultation!" Chalmers said the ICF - which allocated over US$1 billion in aid to Haiti over two years - made "next to no reference to Haitian agriculture, despite the fact that 65% of the Haitian population live in rural areas and more than 50% of the population are farmers." The PAPDA secretary-general warned that once again Haitian civil society was in danger of being left out of the development process, stating that a new economic strategy will be prepared at a donors' meeting in Brasilia, Brazil, on 23rd May. He said that the new government of Haiti headed by President-elect René Préval would be represented, but would not be in a strong position. Chalmers was particularly concerned about apparent plans to privatise the state-owned telecommunications company, Teleco, and the Banque Nationale de Crédit, the country's major source of credit for peasant farmers. More positively, Chalmers welcomed the recent improvement in the political situation in Haiti. He said that with the election of Préval and of a parliament, and in contrast to its relationship with the interim government of Prime Minister, Gérard Latortue, "the majority of the population now believes it is represented by the new government." On the issue of the United Nations mission in Haiti (MIMUSTAH), Chalmers said most of the problems with it originated with the initial mandate that deployed a peacekeeping force, even though there was no war or civil war in Haiti. He said MINUSTAH should not have been composed of soldiers because there was no fighting to be done in Haiti. Now, with the drafting a new mandate in the offing, he said it was essential to withdraw the soldiers and increase the number of UN police. He noted with approval, president-elect Préval's recent call for the MINUSTAH tanks to be replaced by bulldozers to help with infrastructure works. The improved security situation in Port-au-Prince over the last few months had little to do with MINUSTAH, Chalmers said. He criticised the UN mission for spending millions of dollars on a disarmament campaign that had resulted in the handing over of only a couple of hundred of the estimated 210,000 in circulation. He said if the MINUSTAH is to be of any use in Haiti, the new mandate must provide for an effective Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration programme. The Haiti seminar at the "Linking Alternatives" alternative summit was organised by the debt cancellation campaigning group, Jubilee South, and the British and French solidarity organisations, the Haiti Support Group and France Amérique-Latine.