Legal provision of EC development cooperation
The European Union can act only within the limits of the powers conferred to it by its Treaties and Declarations, to which the Member States have given their agreement through the ratification process, either by referendum or by parliamentary vote.
The 'European Consensus on Development'
For the first time in 50 years the European Consensus on Development sets out a common vision for development to guide both Member States' bilateral efforts and EU activity in the field of development aid. The Consensus was endorsed by 25 Heads of State and the European Commission in December 2005.
Since the Consensus is both a European Community and a Member State responsibility, both can be held to account for the commitments contained in it.
The Consensus prioritises:
- The eradication of poverty
- Least developed countries, with a special focus on Africa
- More effective delivery of aid
- Better coherence among EU policies
- Areas of EC comparative advantage
Treaties and development cooperation
The Treaty of the European Union, signed in Maastricht in 1992, established a formal legal basis for the Community's development cooperation. Article 3 states that "the activities of the Community shall include...a policy in the sphere of development co-operation."
The Treaty of Amsterdam, which entered into force in May 1999, amended the Treaty of the European Union significantly. Article 177 sets out the following principles on EC development cooperation:
- Community policy in the sphere of development cooperation, which shall be complementary to the policies pursued by the Member States, shall foster: the sustainable economic and social development of the developing countries, and more particularly the most disadvantaged among them; the smooth and gradual integration of the developing countries into the world economy; the campaign against poverty in the developing countries.
- Community policy in this area shall contribute to the general objective of developing and consolidating democracy and the rule of law, and to that of respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.
- The Community and the Member States shall comply with the commitments and take account of the objectives they have approved in the context of the United Nations and other competent international organisations.
Article 178 further states that "the Community shall take account of the objectives referred to in Article 177 in the policies that it implements which are likely to affect developing countries."
With reference to policy coordination Article 180 states "The Community and the Member States shall coordinate their policies on development cooperation and shall consult each other on their aid programmes, including in international organisations and during international conferences. They may undertake joint action. Member States shall contribute if necessary to the implementation of Community aid programmes. "
The Treaty of Nice, entered into force on 1 February 2003, made no changes to the articles on development co-operation.
The European Union is now in the process of developing a new treaty, the Lisbon Treaty, to implement further institutional reforms.
From a development point of view it is vital that, whatever direction the EU decides to take on future institutional reforms, poverty eradication stays the primary objective of European Development Policy and coherence is ensured between the EU external affairs and development objectives as stated in the European Consensus on Development, to avoid subordinating development instruments to a narrowly defined foreign policy agenda or Europe's commercial objectives.
