EU AID (7066/06, 7067/06, 7068/06)
Letter from the Chairman to Rt Hon Hilary
Benn MP, Secretary of State, Department for International Development
Thank you for the three Explanatory Memorandums
dated 14 March 2006 which Sub-Committee C considered at its meeting
on 23 March. The Sub-Committee agreed to clear the first two documents
from scrutiny, but to hold the third document "Increasing
the impact of EU aid (7068/06)" under scrutiny.
We recognise that the UK has a high level of
expertise in the delivery of aid to third countries. However,
we also believe that this expertise should be fully utilised through
better coordination with the EU and other Member States and consider
that the Commission's overarching aim to improve coordination
is sound.
We note that in paragraph nine of the explanatory
memorandum you state that you are looking for a framework "that
recognises the leading role of partner governments, encourages
alignment of donor programming cycles to those of the partner
country, builds on ongoing joint strategy work in country, draws
on existing analysis and encourages a mutual accountability relationship
where both donor and partners are judged on their performance."
We fully agree with the focus on these elements, but feel that
the UK, as a major donor of aid to developing countries, in conjunction
with the Commission, should be taking a leading role in the development
of such a framework.
We are pleased to see that you are involved
in intensive discussions in Brussels with the Commission and other
donors to resolve these issues and look forward to seeing your
proposals for so doing.
The Sub-Committee will be meeting again on 30
March and hope to be able to consider your response at that meeting,
prior to the 11 April GAERC at which Council conclusions on this
document will be adopted. We wish in particular to know what Conclusions
you would wish to see adopted at that meeting, and hope that you
will be able to agree with our belief in the importance of improved
coordination.
23 March 2006
Letter from Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP to the
Chairman
Thank you for your letter of 23 March regarding
the above Communication. Your Committee did not clear the document
from scrutiny and asked for further information.
The common EU framework reflects the growing
recognition amongst many donors, not just the EU, of the importance
of improving how we work together and with governments in developing
countries. The UK has been committed to developing joint assistance
strategies and frameworks wherever possible.
Working with a range of donor partners (eg other
donors, including outside the EU, World Bank, Regional Development
Banks), we have developed or are developing joint strategies in
Tanzania, Cambodia, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Uganda, and Mozambique;
in South Africa we have been working with the Commission. In many
countries, we are also working with a range of donor partners
in specific sectors.
The results so far have been encouraging. The
common characteristics of these programmes are their responsiveness
to the situation in country, the strength of the partner country
leadership, the size and number of donors present; and the ability
of donors to be flexible and participate in cost and resource
sharing arrangements.
The development of an EU framework needs to
be able to address these issues and join up with whatever processes
have already begun in the countries where we are already engaged
in joint strategy development. We have therefore sought to negotiate
a framework that would not only encourage all EU Member States
and the Commission to express their development programmes in
a common framework, but also encourage other donors, such as the
World Bank, into joint arrangements with us.
In the process leading up to the April General
Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC), we have led the
development of a common statement with Denmark, Finland, Ireland,
the Netherlands and Sweden that set text for the Council Conclusions
on the common framework (text attached). We have also offered
key drafting inputs to the Nordic+ Donor Group statement of principles
for common frameworks and joint multi annual programming, which
have been adopted as introductory key principles in the revised
text for the EU paper.
29 March 2006
Annex A
INCREASING THE IMPACT OF EU AID: A COMMON
FRAMEWORK FOR DRAFTING COUNTRY STRATEGY PAPERS AND JOINT MULTI
ANNUAL PROGRAMMING
Joint Submission from Denmark, Finland,
Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden and UK
TEXT PROPOSAL
FOR COUNCIL
CONCLUSIONS:
The Council:
— Reaffirms its commitments to the
Paris Declaration and recognises the importance of reflecting
the principles of ownership, harmonisation, alignment, managing
for results and mutual accountability in the development of a
common framework for country strategies and joint multi annual
programming.
— Reconfirms that the EU will support
partner countries to be the leading force in the preparation,
coordination and monitoring of joint multi-annual programming
of all donor support to the country. Preparation and coordination
should be based on, and aligned with, the partner country's Poverty
Reduction Strategy or similar strategy and budget cycle. Member
states should, within their respective competences, ensure flexibility
in their own procedures to meet alignment principles.
— Recalls that joint multi-annual programming
will pave the way for coordination, harmonisation of procedures
and opportunities and decisions relating to complementarity. Notes
in this context with interest the ongoing work of many Member
States on developing and applying complementarity principles
— Underlines that the Member States
and the Commission should under the leadership of the partner
country support and participate in existing donor-wide country-level
initiatives that are often already supported by different Member
States or other donors. Where joint initiatives do not exist the
Commission and Member States should encourage the partner government
to start a joint donor wide initiative.
— Recognises the current draft CFCSP
should be applied to Community aid in all regions for the ongoing
and forthcoming programming cycles.
— Recommends further development of
the current draft CFCSP framework in close consultation between
the Commission and the Member States in adherence to these principles
to give a concise strategy for a new EU joint multi annual programming
framework, for gradual adoption across the EU and fully cognisant
of individual partner country contexts.
Letter from the Chairman to Rt Hon Hilary
Benn MP
Thank you for your letter dated 29 March which
Sub-Committee C considered at its meeting on 30 March. The Sub-Committee
has agreed to clear the document from scrutiny.
We thank you in particular for attaching the
joint submission from Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands,
Sweden and UK containing proposals for Council Conclusions. We
note that this states that the draft common framework for drafting
country strategy papers should be further developed to give a
concise strategy for a new EU joint multi-annual programming framework,
for gradual adoption across the EU.
We accept that further development of the Commission's
proposals would be beneficial. However, we urge you to cooperate
fully with the Commission in producing a revised strategy and
consider that any such strategy should be fully acceptable to
all Member States and be adopted across the EU. We recommend that
a new text should be ready for consideration at the 16-17 October
Development GAERC and be deposited for scrutiny prior to this
meeting.
30 March 2006
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