February 3, 2012
Posted: 15:53 PM UTC
by Melissa Julian on February 3, 2012
Development and poverty reduction should be a priority of European external affairs, according to the EU’s Lisbon Treaty. An indication of whether this is actually the case and what priorities are being pursued by Europe is given by how the EU plans its external aid programmes and how it allocates financial resources. Both are cornerstones of the political dialogue between the EU and its partner countries, and shape the character of cooperation. On the European side, two institutions have a say when it comes to planning aid: the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Development and Cooperation-EuropeAid ...
January 13, 2012
Posted: 13:14 PM UTC
by Andrew Sherriff on January 13, 2012
In the various analyses of the European External Action Service (EEAS) one year on, those who view the glass “half empty” (mostly independent analysts, journalists and think tanks) seem to have the upper hand on those who view it as “half full” (the official report). Key questions for assessing the EEAS’ performance in relation to Africa are: has the EEAS helped to upgrade the political dialogue between the EU and Africa, and increased the coherence of EU policies, while also furthering development commitments? Africa as a whole, like many other regions and issues, has struggled ...
November 25, 2011
Posted: 14:35 PM UTC
by Andrew Sherriff on November 25, 2011
++ SERIES: ECDPM ANALYSIS OF NEW EU DEVELOPMENT POLICY REFORM PROPOSALS ++ When it comes to violent conflict, the common mantra is that prevention is better (and cheaper) than cure. This is also illustrated by the findings of a recent evaluation of support to conflict prevention and peace building. In Georgia, for instance, the contracted amounts to be spent by the European Commission increased from €19 million in 2007 before the escalation of a conflict with Russia, to €72 million in 2008, the year of the clashes, and €116 in 2009 as a result of ...
May 29, 2011
Posted: 06:47 AM UTC
by Melissa Julian on May 29, 2011
Fokion Fotiadis, Director-General of the European Commission’s DEVCO, gave an advance copy of the new DEVCO organigramme - resulting from the merger of the former DG Development and EuropeAid following the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) - to the European Parliament’s Development Committee on 26 May. The new structure, which includes 50 units and 1,400 officials in EC Headquarters and 3,000 officials in 110 EU Delegations, enters into force on 1 June. Fotiadis explained the reasoning behind the new set-up and its key objectives. In terms of delivery of programmes, there are ...
March 25, 2011
Posted: 13:40 PM UTC
by Paul Engel on March 25, 2011
After the public consultation, high-level European debates on the future of EU Development Policy now focus on the Communication expected from the European Commission (EC) in June. The Communication will lay out a modernised European Union (EU) development policy that will propose new policy guidelines on development aimed at improving EU support to developing countries to speed up their progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and beyond. The communication will also inform EU negotiations that will be launched in June on the bloc’s post-2013 Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF). As part of the process towards formulating ...
