REFORM OF COMMISSION'S MANAGEMENT OF EXTERNAL
ASSISTANCE
(21359)
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Commission Communication on the reform of the management of external assistance.
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| Legal base: |
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| Department: |
International Development |
| Basis of consideration:
| EM of 26 June 2000 |
| Previous Committee Report:
| None |
| To be discussed in Council:
| No date set |
| Committee's assessment:
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision:
| Cleared on the basis of information supplied by the Government, but further information sought
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The Commission Communication
16.1 We have reported in recent years on
a series of assessments and evaluations of EC external assistance
programmes, too many to enumerate, which exposed a significant
level of inefficiency and lack of impact. In this Communication,
the Commission sets out how it proposes to re-organise its management
of these external assistance programmes.
16.2 The Commission Decision to put the
changes into effect was adopted on 16 May and, according to the
Secretary of State for International Development (The Rt. Hon.
Clare Short), implementation was expected to start in June, with
the full package of reforms in place by mid-2002.
16.3 Summarising the document, of which
only an early unofficial text is available to us, the Minister
says:
"Under the new arrangements a geographical split
in the responsibilities of the Directorates General responsible
for development will remain. DG Development (Commissioner Neilson)
will continue to be responsible for strategy and country programming
for the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and for humanitarian
aid. DG External Relations (Commissioner Patten) will be responsible
for the EC programmes covering the Mediterranean, Asia, Latin
America, the Balkans and the former Soviet Union. DG Enlargement
(Commissioner Verheugen) will cover the pre-Accession countries.
However, strategy and programming documents will in future need
to be approved by the whole Group of Relex Commissioners, i.e.
the three above plus Trade (Lamy) and Economic and Monetary Affairs
(Solbes), rather than just the lead Commissioner as in the past.
"There will be a new Office, building on the
Common Service for External Relations (SCR), and with expanded
responsibilities. While Headquarters directorates will be responsible
for strategy and programming (allocation of resources and setting
criteria for programmes), the new Office will be responsible for
project and programme identification, appraisal and implementation.
Its board will have Patten (Chairman), Nielson (Chief Executive)
and other Relex Commissioners as members. Initially this Office
will be within the Commission, but the Communication suggests
that it might eventually become a separate agency.
"The new Office will be responsible for implementing
80% of EC aid. However, ECHO (reporting to Nielson) will still
administer humanitarian aid; implementation of the Phare Programme
will move from the SCR to DG Enlargement from June 2000; and implementation
of NGO programmes (Development) and CFSP and Human Rights (External
Relations) will probably stay with their DGs.
"A new Quality Support Group will be responsible
for quality control and bench-marking across all EC development
programmes. It will have a secretariat in DG Development and report
to the Relex Group of Commissioners. An evaluation service will
be independent of any one DG, and will also report to the Relex
Group.
"The Commission are proposing extensive devolution
of management and decision making to the EC's network of Delegations.
The Commission want to disband their eighty costly and poorly
accountable Technical Assistance Offices and instead use programme
funds to contract additional staff for headquarters and delegations.
Additional staff for delegations will be found by redeployment
from Brussels. There is also an intention that partner countries
themselves should 'where possible' manage programmes."
The Government's view
16.4 The Minister says that the Government
welcomes these proposals for reform. She comments:
"...Present arrangements are wasteful, poorly
managed and ineffective. It is essential for the credibility of
EC external programmes that their management should improve radically.
Many of the measures set out by the Commission have the potential
to increase efficiency, simplify procedures and increase impact.
But the extent of reform needed means that success will inevitably
be difficult to achieve.
"The re-organisation of EC aid management discussed
in this Communication is complemented by wider Commission reforms
being overseen by Commissioner Kinnock. These, together, should
lead to higher standards. But it is likely that they will take
several years to implement and it will be some time before there
is evidence of progress on the ground. There are policy as well
as management issues which affect the quality and impact of EC
Aid. These include the need to convince the Commission and some
other Member States that tackling poverty is essential to achieving
better stability in the world; to end gesture commitments; and
to get the Commission to focus on impact and quality, not just
speed of implementation."
Conclusion
16.5 We also welcome the serious intent
demonstrated in these proposals by the Commission to make radical
changes to its management of the EC's aid programmes. As the Secretary
of State says, there is no doubt that its management needs to
improve radically.
16.6 The timetable for RELEX reform in
the draft Action Plan annexed to the Communication is a reassuring
sign of this intent. We would be more reassured if it contained
commitments to inform the Council of progress, or lack of it where
targets have proved difficult to meet. We now clear the document,
but we ask the Government to tell us what reports on progress
we can expect to receive.
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