European cooperation The European approach
The European Union (EU) is the world's largest donor in international development cooperation, contributing a share of around 50 per cent. As the largest single market in the world it is also an important trading partner for many developing countries and has a major influence on world trade regimes. This combination of financial, economic and political influence makes the EU one of the most influential players in international development policy.
Responsibility for development cooperation is shared between the European Community and its member states. Community policy in this field complements the policies of the individual member states.
Around 10.2 billion euros (about six percent of the total budget) are earmarked for EU external relations in the EU budget for 2020. This includes, among others, the Development Cooperation Instrument, the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument and humanitarian aid. In addition, there is the European Development Fund (EDF), which was founded in 1957. It is the main instrument for financing European development cooperation with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and European overseas territories. The EDF is not financed from the general EU budget, but directly through contributions from the member states. The volume of the current 11th EDF (duration 2014 to 2020) is 30.5 billion euros, with Germany being the largest donor with a 20.58 per cent funding share.
European consensus on development
In November 2005 the European Consensus on Development was adopted. Some fifty years after European development policy was first launched, this was the first comprehensive political declaration on the EU's development policy. It brings together the European Commission and the EU member states in the design of their respective development policies at political level, and was approved by the European Parliament.
The European Consensus on Development takes all previous agreements one step further. It extends these to incorporate the outcomes of the most recent international conferences on development (the UN Millennium Summit, Cairo, Johannesburg, Doha and Monterrey). The Consensus lays out the goals, principles and methods of European development cooperation, and identifies the priorities of the EU. In line with the principle of concentration, while maintaining flexibility at country level, nine new core areas have been specified:
Trade and regional integration
The environment and the sustainable management of natural resources
Infrastructure, communications and transport
Water and energy
Rural development, territorial planning, agriculture and food security
Governance, democracy, human rights and support for economic and institutional reforms
Conflict prevention and fragile states
Human development
Social cohesion and employment
The document also lays out cross-cutting issues including the promotion of human rights, gender equality, democracy, good governance, children's rights and indigenous peoples, environmental sustainability and the fight against HIV/AIDS.
German strategy and role
There are several ways in which Germany helps shape the development policy of the European Union. In a number of European bodies the German government actively pursues the following aims:
Gearing all activities to the overarching goal of reducing poverty
Making further efficiency gains and rendering assistance more effective
Improving consultation, coordination and the division of labour between the Commission and member states, and improving coherence with other EU policies
Promoting free and fair trade; this includes supporting developing countries within the scope of the Doha round of trade negotiations
Gearing development cooperation more to the imperatives of conflict prevention; European development policy should be seen as part of foreign and security policy, but should retain its own objectives.
The German government is also involved in every phase of implementation of EU development cooperation. All measures are prepared, implemented and monitored in consultation with member states and the pertinent Community institutions in Brussels.