European Union
Development cooperation is one of the most important areas of the European Union (EU) external relations and one of the oldest Community policies.
The main and central goal of EU development cooperation is the eradication of poverty in the context of sustainable development, including the pursuit of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015.
The EU, together with its Member States, is the largest Official Development Assistance (ODA) donor in the world[1]. In 2019, the Community funded more than 55% of its aid globally. The general budget and the European Development Fund (EDF) provide funding for approx. 20% of EU development aid expenditure. The remainder is Member States’ initiatives under national aid schemes.
About Polish activities within the EU
The accession to the EU in 2004 meant that Poland would start to pursue its own development policy while influencing EU activities in this field. Currently, on the basis of the priorities set out in the Multiannual Development Cooperation Programme, the representatives of Poland are shaping the EU development policy, working out, within the framework of the work of the EU Council bodies, political documents outlining the directions of the Community’s activities in relation to developing countries. Embassies and the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs participate in the creation of programming documents on EU support for partner countries or regions. Poland is also involved in joint programming and joint implementation of assistance activities.
EU development cooperation in the Treaties
Provisions for promoting the economic and social development of the OCTs and for deepening economic relations between them and the Community were already included in the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community in 1957.
An implementing convention was attached to the Treaty establishing a special fund for the development of the Overseas Countries and Territories funded by the EEC Member States. The Fund became operational in 1959 and has served as a vehicle for the provision of technical and financial assistance to the countries and territories associated with the Community.
Community development policy was enshrined in the Maastricht Treaty of 1991. It complemented Member States’ policies to foster the economic and social development of developing countries, their integration into the world economy and the eradication of poverty in these countries. The EU was obliged to act to ensure coherence between other Community policies and the Policy Coherence for Development (PCD).
The European Consensus on Development was adopted in December 2005. This document, for the first time in the history of European integration, set out a common framework, principles and goals for the development policy of the EU and the Member States.
Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, maintained the shared nature of EU and its Member States’ development cooperation competences. The EU and its Member States are obliged to coordinate their policies in the area of development cooperation and to consult their aid programmes both bilaterally and through international organisations. Similar principles apply to cooperation in the field of EU humanitarian aid.
Adopted in June 2017, a new European Consensus on Development is the joint response of the EU and its Member States to the external agenda for sustainable development. Development cooperation, which continues to aim at poverty eradication and sustainable development in its three dimensions: social, economic and environmental, is aligned with the priorities for EU external action outlined in the EU Global Foreign and Security Policy Strategy. The new Consensus also provides for enhanced cooperation between the EU institutions and Member States through joint programming of assistance activities and their joint implementation.
EU institutions and bodies in the development cooperation system:
- Development Committee (DEVE)
- The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy[2]
- European Commissioner for International Partnerships
- European Commissioner for Crisis Management
- Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development – EuropeAid (DG DEVCO)
- Directorate-General for Humanitarian Affairs (DG ECHO)
- Foreign Affairs Council (Development) (FAC DEV):
- EU Council Working Party on Development Cooperation (CODEV)
- African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Working Party
[1] According to the methodology of the OECD Development Assistance Committee, all expenditure from public funds directed to developing countries and countries in transition whose primary goal is to support their development is eligible as Official Development Assistance (ODA). They must be non-refundable (grants/donations) or preferential (e.g. loans that contain at least 25% of the donation). Development aid also includes making contributions to international organisations, programmes and funds undertaking aid activities. For many international institutions, all or part of the contributions are qualified as development aid by the OECD Development Assistance Committee.
[2] The main task of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is to represent and coordinate the EU in external relations, including development policy, and to chair the Foreign Affairs Council.
