Cotonou tools

In the context of the new financial framework 2007-2013 and as part of its efforts towards simplifying external actions instruments, the Council and the European parliament have adopted a package of six new instruments for the implementation of external assistance, among which are the 10th EDF and the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI).

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05/09/2007

The 'Non-State Actors and Local Authority in Development' thematic programme is intended to be the successor of both the current NGO co-financing and decentralised cooperation programmes. It is “actor-oriented” instead of “sector-oriented”. It will support initiatives from civil society organisations, active in development and local authorities in order to promote participatory approaches to development. The programme will intervene in particular when geographical programmes are not the appropriate instrument and complement the support that other thematic programmes - in particular the programme on Democracy and Human Rights - can provide to the same actors.

02/02/2006

The Cotonou Agreement is a global and exemplary Agreement, introducing radical changes and ambitious objectives while preserving the 'acquis' of 25 years of ACP-EU cooperation. It is based on five interdependent pillars with the underlying objective of the fight against poverty: an enhanced political dimension, increased participation, a more strategic approach to cooperation focusing on poverty reduction, new economic and trade partnerships and improved financial cooperation.

The Cotonou Agreement provides for a revision clause which foresees that the Agreement is adapted every five years. In accordance with this clause, negotiations to revise the Agreement were launched in May 2004 and concluded on 23rd February 2005. The overriding objective of revision process was to enhance the effectiveness and quality of the ACP-EU partnership.

26/02/2007

On 15-16 December 2005 the European Council, gathering Heads of States and Governments, endorsed the ‘European Consensus on Development’. It is a joint statement by the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission. It provides, for the first time, a common vision that guides the action of the EU, both at its MemberStates and Community levels, in development co-operation. This common vision is the subject of the first part of the Statement; the second part sets out the European Community Development Policy to guide implementation of this vision at the Community level and further specifies priorities for concrete action at the Community level.

This “European Consensus” defines the new development policy of the European Union. The policy aims at reducing poverty in line with the Millennium Development Goals. The EU’s Development Policy will cover all developing countries, and for the first time in 50 years, this will be done within a single framework of principles for the 25 MemberStates and the Commission.

02/02/2006

The European Development Fund (EDF) is the main instrument for Community aid for development cooperation in the ACP countries and the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT). Articles 131 and 136 of the 1957 Treaty of Rome provided for its creation with a view to granting technical and financial assistance to African countries that were still colonised at that time and with which certain countries had historical links.

Although, following a request by the European Parliament, a heading has been reserved for the Fund in the Community budget since 1993, the EDF does not come under the general Community budget. It is funded by the Member States, covered by its own financial rules and managed by a specific committee. The Member States set the EDF budget in the Council via agreements that are subsequently ratified by the national parliament of each MemberState. The European Commission and other institutions established under the partnership play a key role in the day-to-day management of the Fund. However, the aid allocated to OCTs will be integrated into the Community general budget from 1st January 2008 on, while the aid granted to the ACP countries will continue to be financed under the EDF (10th) at least for the period 2008-2013.

01/02/2006

The Directorate General for Development (DG DEV) works on policy formulation at global and sectoral level. DG Development formulates the development policy applicable to all developing countries and conducts forward studies to this end. The main thematic and sectoral areas covered (sub-activities) are those on which the development policy focuses: linking trade with development, regional integration and co-operation, support for macro-economic policies and promoting equitable access to social services in coherence with the macro-economic framework, supporting transport, promoting food security and sustainable rural development and support for institutional capacity building.

Cross-cutting concerns comprising the promotion of human rights, the equality between men and women, children's rights and the environmental dimension are both activities in their own right and are also issues to be mainstreamed in the other focal activities. As part of this activity, both policy orientations and implementation guidelines are prepared for those sectors.

01/02/2006

As part of its efforts to reform the management of external aid the Commission formally set up the EuropeAid Co-operation Office on 1 January 2001. EuropeAid Co-operation Office's mission is to implement the external aid instruments of the European Commissionwhich are funded by theEuropean Community budget and the European Development Fund. It does not deal with pre-accession aid programmes (Phare, Ispa and Sapard), humanitarian activities, macro-financial assistance, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) or the Rapid Reaction Facility.

01/02/2006

There are 118 Delegations in third countries and 5 Delegations (in Geneva, New York, Paris, Rome and Vienna) at centres of international organisations (OECD, OSCE, UN and WTO). The role of Delegations includes:

• presenting, explaining and implementing EU policy;

• analysing and reporting on the policies and developments of the countries to which they are accredited ; and

• conducting negotiations in accordance with a given mandate.

01/02/2006

In December 2005, the Heads of State and Government of the EU adopted a new Strategy for Africa, with the title "The EU and Africa: Towards a Strategic Partnership". This new Strategy has been drawn up on the basis of a proposal from the Commission, which was presented in October the same year.

The purpose of this Strategy is to give the EU a comprehensive, integrated and long-term framework for its relations with the African continent. It designed to guide interaction between the whole of Europe and Africa at all levels: pan-African institutions such as the African Union, regional organisations and African countries.

Every two years, starting in December 2006, the highest political body in the EU, the European Council, will consider the progress in implementing the Strategy.

02/02/2006

At the beginning of 2007, for the first time, the African Union and the European Union have decided to develop a ‘Joint Strategy’ which reflects the needs and aspirations of the peoples of both Africa and Europe. The purpose of this joint strategy is to develop a common political vision for the future partnership between the EU and Africa, based on mutual respect, common interests and the principle of ownership. The joint Strategy should be adopted at the planned EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon, in late 2007. The new Strategic Partnership between the two continents will be developed in the framework of the positive development on the African continent since the first EU-Africa summit was held in Cairo in 2000 and in particular following the establishment of the African Union in 2002.

Various broad-based public debates were organised throughout the two continents that generated ideas and suggestions from a large diversity of state and non-state actors. The joint strategy that emerges from this process should therefore not just be a strategy for and by officials, but also one to which all stakeholders on both continents can relate, contribute and support in their own work.

04/09/2007