EU Development Cooperation

Sven GrimmOverseas Development

Institute

• Facts about the EU cooperation

• EU role

• EU policy trends and issues

• Choices / Future direction

EU Role

Raison d’être of the EU:Peace and reconciliation in Europe - by means of supranational institutions for (economic) cooperation

• Ext. relations as historical “spill-over” of integration• Traditional bias for partnership relations, regionalism

• Poverty reduction is but one EU goal – others are:

– integration into the world market– sustainable economic and social development– and promotion of human rights, democracy,

rule of law (Cotonou: also good governance)

TRENDS in EU aid

• Increase of aid channelled through the Commission(up to ca. 11% of all global ODA)

• ‘Benchmarking’ of bilateral aid (Monterrey commitment: at least 0.33% of GNP by 2006)

• Relative decline in EDF – in 2003, more than 2/3 of assistance was via budget

• Discussion on Financial Perspectives 2007-2013 and on EDF Budgetisation

Financial Perspective 2007-2013

• Cap on EU expenditure – with effects on external assistance?

• Proposed reduction of instruments – away from regional approach?

• ‘Stability’ instrument – foreign policy vs. development fund?

• Budgetisation of EDF – how to safeguard development funds? – What about the partnership principle?

Also discussed in development cooperation:

• Trade seen as tool in development• Effects of integration in other policies

– Agriculture, Fisheries, Consumer protection, Migration, etc.

• Common Foreign and Security Policy

• Enlargement• European Parliament gains power

Increasing Europeanisation

Reverting Europeanisation

Less Pro-poor

More Pro-poor