European Policy Group

The European Policy Group is a working group of Bond members set up to develop advocacy and policy initiatives on European Union (EU) development policy issues.

UK NGOs have been increasingly pooling their resources and expertise to speak out with one voice on cross-cutting EU development issues. As Bond's thinktank on EU development policy, the group is a key forum for this work, ensuring effective representation of UK development NGOs in the EU and maximum impact of Bond's work with its sister NGO platforms across the EU.

The European Policy Group believes that the EU's international role should be to deliver on international commitments to eradicate poverty, promote economic justice and fair trade, and realise universal human rights. As a first step towards these goals, the Union should make a significant contribution towards achieving and surpassing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in sustainable, inclusive and equitable ways.

For more information on Bond European work and the activities of the European Policy Group, visit the EU Policy pages of the website.

Structure and governance

Structure and governance

The Chair of the European Policy Group is Bernard Aryeetey, Government Relations Manager at Save the Children.

The group is led by a steering committee which meets on a regular basis and is made up of ten members.

The group is open to all Bond members who want to participate in joint advocacy and campaign activities.

Terms of reference

Objectives

Europe's contribution to achieving the MDGs and eradicating global poverty is maximised by the EC and EU:

delivering more and better aid
ensuring that EU internal and external policies are coherent with, and enable the achievement of, development objectives

Priorities

The EU Policy Working group is focusing on:

European Parliament Elections June 2009

Institutional reforms