8 Declaration on EU Development Policy
| (26737)
11413/05
+ ADD 1
COM(05) 311
| Commission Communication: "Proposal for a Joint Declaration by the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission on the European Union Development Policy"
|
| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 13 July 2005
|
| Deposited in Parliament | 26 July 2005
|
| Department | International Development
|
| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 28 November 2005
|
| Previous Committee Report | HC 34-v (2005-06), para 3 (12 October 2005)
|
| Discussed in Council | 22 November GAERC
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Debated in European Standing Committee on 17 November 2005
|
Background
8.1 Along with Article 177 of the Treaty establishing the European
Community, the framework for the Community's development policy
is provided by the Declaration adopted by the Council and the
Commission in November 2000 (the 2000 EC Development Policy Statement,
or DPS); together they determine the main thrust of policy and
lay down the basic principles underlying the Community's approach
to development cooperation. A series of changes since 2000 both
within the Union and on the international scene, discussed in
greater detail in the Commission Communication, made it necessary
to revise the 2000 DPS. The review covered the role of EU development
policy and the way EU policies relate to the policies pursued
by Member States and partner countries, and also took stock of
the Commission's resources and competencies.
The Commission Communication
8.2 The proposed Joint Declaration by the Council, the European
Parliament and the Commission on European Union Development Policy
set out "for the first time in fifty years of cooperation,
the framework of common principles under which the EU and its
twenty-five Member States will implement their development policies
in a spirit of complementarity. This common framework is the subject
of the first part of the Statement proposed in the Communication;
the second part sets out guidelines for the implementation of
this common framework at the level of Community policy".
It is summarised in paragraph 3 of the report of our 12 October
meeting.[16]
8.3 We found much to commend in the Commission's
analysis and approach which, though inevitably ambitious, seemed
nonetheless commensurate with Europe's responsibilities and role
in the development process. We also agreed with the Secretary
of State for International Development (Hilary Benn) regarding
the over-arching objective of poverty eradication and the need
for flexibility concerning Member States' activities, and noted
that there also appeared to be a consensus among Member States
around all the other important considerations. However, when he
talked about the importance of establishing the right "balance"
as between principles and implementation guidelines, broad themes
versus focal sectors, and poverty reduction and ensuring that
other external action policies support development objectives,
it suggested that he shared our feeling that the Commission had
yet to achieve it. We therefore recommended it for debate in the
European Standing Committee, prior to the 21-22 November General
Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC), at which he hoped
agreement would be reached.
8.4 By the time that the debate took place, on 17
November, the DPS had been overtaken by events. The Secretary
of State wrote to us on 14 November 2005 to say that, although
broadly welcomed, the proposal had elicited a range of Member
State comments and concerns, as a result of which the Presidency
had been asked to produce a draft of Part 1 (the EU common vision)
that addressed these concerns and which all three parties (Council,
Commission and the European Parliament) felt they could adopt.
The Presidency had also proposed changes to Part 2 (the EC Development
Policy) to reflect Member States' and European Parliament views.
That Presidency draft would form the basis of the future tripartite
Development Policy Statement, which he continued to hope would
be agreed at the 21-22 November GAERC. He noted that the Committee
indicated that they shared the UK view that the Communication
did not adequately address: i) the balance between EU Common principles
versus EC implementation guidelines; ii) Broad themes versus focal
sectors for EC assistance; and iii) Retaining clear focus on poverty
reduction whilst ensuring other external action policies support
development objectives. He looked forward to the debate affording
the opportunity to set out why these issues were important and
to explain how the Presidency compromise text responded to these
concerns in the light of Member States' views. He stressed that,
with discussions ongoing on this particular version, the Presidency
draft text might be revised further prior to the 17 November debate.
It was nonetheless formed part of the documentation provided for
the debate.
The Minister's letter
8.5 In his further letter of 28 November 2005, the
Secretary of State writes with the outcome of the Council discussions,
outlining the main differences between the adopted Statement and
the Communication. He says that on 22 November 2005, the GAERC
adopted the Joint Statement: "The European Consensus on Development",
which he encloses with his letter and which he says the European
Parliament, "which has been involved throughout the negotiation
process", is expected to agree before the end of the year.
He goes on to say:
"This was a good outcome for a number of reasons:
poverty eradication is established as the overarching objective
for EU official development assistance in all developing countries;
the least developed and low-income countries will be given priority
in terms of overall resource allocations; and there is renewed
attention to promoting policy coherence for development.
"The European Consensus on Development replaces
the 2000 European Community Development Policy Statement. The
main differences between the adopted Statement and the Communication
are outlined below.
"First, the Commission communication advocated
a strategy for managing equitable globalisation, setting development
in the context of globalisation and other EU external actions.
In response to concerns from Member States that the focus on poverty
and priority to low-income countries of the 2000 Statement had
been lost, the adopted Statement clarifies that the overarching
objective for EU Official Development Assistance (ODA) is poverty
eradication, and reinstates that the least developed and low-income
countries should be given priority in terms of overall resource
allocation. Member States recognised the importance of other policies
for achieving the MDGs, therefore the Declaration highlights the
need to promote Policy Coherence for Development (PCD), to ensure
that development objectives shall be taken into account in other
Community policies that affect developing countries.
"Second, the Commission Communication proposed
a single EU Development Policy with a substantive EU part and
with the EC part (guidelines for implementation) attached as an
Annex. Most Member States wanted to be clear that as development
is a shared competence this was not a single EU Policy.
The adopted Statement therefore clarifies the status of the two
parts: Part 1 sets out a common, EU vision on development as a
guide for Community and the Member States development action;
and Part 2 is a renewed European Community Development Policy.
Both Parts apply to all Official Development Assistance (ODA)
in all developing countries, as defined by the OECD DAC.
"Third, the Commission Communication proposed
establishing EU common policy guidelines, based on a EU-centric
thematic framework and EU-led suggestions on in-country cooperation
that went beyond existing agreements. These proposals did not
find support amongst the majority of Member States, and were dropped
in the adopted Statement.
"Finally, the Commission proposed moving from
the six focal sectors set out in the 2000 EC Development Policy
Statement to nine broad areas for Community activity. The adopted
Statement recognises that the Commission should engage in a broader
range of areas in response to the needs of partner countries,
and that within these areas, the Community will be guided by the
principle of concentration in a limited number of sectors in country.
In a number of these areas, the Community will be considered to
have a comparative advantage. Our expectation is that Commission
expertise will be focused in such areas."
Conclusion
8.6 We agree with and welcome the Secretary of
State's assessment, which we are reporting to the House because
of the widespread interest in development issues and the importance
of the Joint Statement in the context of development activity
by Member States and the European Community, who together account
for 55% of world Official Development Assistance.
16 See headnote. Back
| 
