April 20, 2012
Posted: 14:04 PM UTC
by Niels Keijzer on April 20, 2012
Water, energy and land belong to the most under-pressure resources today. This year’s European Report on Development, to be launched in mid-May 2012, focuses on these 3 key natural resources and analyses how the ways they are managed affect development objectives. The Report examines the constraints on each, the interrelationships between them and considers how water, energy and land can be managed together to promote economic growth in the poorest developing countries – growth that is both socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable. While the Report’s layout and formal launch are being prepared, this blog post, ...
October 14, 2011
Posted: 15:09 PM UTC
by Niels Keijzer on October 14, 2011
++ SERIES: ECDPM ANALYSIS OF NEW EU DEVELOPMENT POLICY REFORM PROPOSALS ++ One year ago, the European Commission published a Green Paper titled ‘EU development policy in support of inclusive growth and sustainable development – Increasing the impact of EU development policy’. This Green Paper, the first promise of a major policy reorientation under the political leadership of Development Commissioner Piebalgs, provided a basis for a public consultation in which concerned stakeholders could share their own views on the future directions of EU development cooperation. ECDPM was one of over 230 organisations who responded to ...
July 29, 2011
Posted: 12:15 PM UTC
by Fernanda Faria on July 29, 2011
A couple of decades into a prolific debate in both academic and policy circles, including within the EU over the last few years, the concept and terminology of fragile states remains vague and controversial. However, the debate has undoubtedly had its merits. It has raised awareness to the implications of state fragility and to the complexities of state building. It has played an important role too in focusing the attention of the international community on some of the most neglected countries and populations around the world. The fragile states debate has also brought attention to ...
July 29, 2011
Posted: 12:14 PM UTC
by Melissa Julian on July 29, 2011
EU Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, discussed the development cooperation aspects of the European Commission’s (EC) Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020 with members of the European Parliament’s Development Committee on 12 July. These strongly correspond to the proposals on the future of EU development policy the EC is currently considering, and aims to table in September. ECDPM’s Jeske van Seters provided an outline of the MFF’s development provisions in a previous Talking Points blog post, so we won’t here re-summarise the Commissioner’s presentation on this, but instead highlight additional points he made in the debate with ...
July 29, 2011
Posted: 12:10 PM UTC
by Melissa Julian on July 29, 2011
At its meeting on 13 July, the European Parliament’s Development Committee held an exchange of views with EC and civil society representatives to feed into the emerging EU position for the international High Level forum on Aid Effectiveness being held in Busan in November. The committee has prepared a draft report for adoption by the Parliament in the autumn calling, inter alia, for continued support for the aid effectiveness agenda, EU leadership and a focus on democratic ownership and accountability. EC proposals will be published in the first half of September. EU Development Ministers are ...
May 13, 2011
Posted: 11:42 AM UTC
by ECDPM Editorial Team on May 13, 2011
A new development paradigm is emerging. There is increasing recognition of the complexity of development and the need for aid and other policies to address global challenges and ensure positive, sustainable development outcomes in developing countries. Emerging economies are also adding a new dynamic that can support and complement the strategies and programmes of the ‘traditional’ donors. But at the same time, donor budgets are under extreme pressure and their focus is on shorter-term, quantifiable, measurable results/impact. In November, government officials and development specialists from around the world will meet in Busan at the Fourth ...
April 29, 2011
Posted: 13:40 PM UTC
by Melissa Julian on April 29, 2011
On 12 April, EU Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, presented the priorities he plans to focus on for European development policy in 2012 to the European Parliament’s Development Committee in order to have their views on these (you can click here to watch a recording of the meeting). This Talking Points blog post provides the only detailed written summary available of discussions at this meeting. Commissioner Piebalgs said that a major focus will be the negotiations for the post-2013 EU Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) and the amounts of financing that will be made available for external ...
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 ...
