Annexes to COM(2014)501 - 2014 Annual Report on the EU's development and external assistance policies and their implementation in 2013 - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2014)501 - 2014 Annual Report on the EU's development and external assistance policies and their implementation in 2013. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2014)501  |
| date | August 13, 2014 |
Relations with Ukraine in 2013 were focused on helping the country meet the conditions to allow the signature of an Association Agreement including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (AA/DCFTA). The Ukrainian government announced its decision to suspend the signature of the AA/DCFTA at the end of November. However, progress in the course of the year was considerable. Disbursements on budget support programmes, which had been on hold because of concerns relating to public finance management, were finally released reflecting the positive steps taken by the Ukrainian authorities. The EU is committed to support Ukraine’s economic and financial stabilisation, notably in supporting civil society and private sector development.
With the new European Neighbourhood Instrument an incentive-based approach, which is one of the key aspects of the renewed neighbourhood policy, will allow the EU to increase its support for partner countries who are genuinely implementing deep and sustainable democracy, including respect for human rights, and agreed reform objectives.
MDGs and beyond – A Decent Life for All, Everywhere
2013 turned out to be a key year in shaping the global discussions on a post-2015 framework. The European Union and its Member States continued to play a pivotal role in the discussions on the development framework which will succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) after 2015. In February 2013 the Commission published its pioneering communication on ‘A Decent Life for All’[8], outlining a proposed EU vision for a post-2015 framework, namely eliminating extreme poverty by 2030 while ensuring a sustainable development for the planet, and put forward a roadmap for achieving this.
This vision laid the groundwork for the EU’s position on post-2015 and fed into the discussions at the European Parliament. Moreover, in the United Nations context, it was reflected in the report by the UN High-Level Panel, of which Commissioner Piebalgs was a member, and in the outcome document from the Special Event on the MDGs at the UN General Assembly in New York in September. This document, endorsed by all heads of state and government, illustrated the global agreement on the need for a single and unified path towards poverty eradication and sustainable development.
On 23 September the Commission published new results showing the EU’s contribution to the global fight against poverty[9] between 2004 and 2012. They make for impressive reading. The fact is that EU funding has helped reduce global poverty and support the MDGs, improving the lives of millions of people in the process. For example, EU external development aid since 2004 has given access to improved drinking water to more than 70 million people (more than the population of France), 14 million children have been able to attend primary school and more than 46 million people have received help to ensure their food security.
The EU MDG Initiative
Globally, huge advances had been made on the MDGs by 2010. However, ten years after they were agreed, many countries are still far away from achieving some MDGs. The EU therefore created a new MDG Initiative in 2010 making available needs-based and performance-based funding, worth EUR 1 billion. Of this EUR 700 million has targeted the most off-track MDGs, such as hunger, maternal health, and child mortality, while EUR 300 million was awarded to countries with a good track record in implementing aid. To date the EU MDG Initiative has funded 70 projects in 46 countries.
Also as part of the MDG efforts and the global fight against poverty, huge progress has been made in the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. It is estimated that by the end of 2013, grants to more than 140 countries from the Global Fund to fight these three diseases had provided antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for AIDS to more than 6.1 million people, 11.2 million people with new cases of infectious tuberculosis had been detected and treated, and more than 360 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets had been provided to families to prevent malaria. But millions are still at risk of infection. In response, at the end of 2013 the EU announced that it would increase its contributions to the Global Fund to EUR 370 million for the 2014-2016 period.
European Development Days
The post-2015 framework and ‘A Decent Life for All’ Communication were also the main topic of the 2013 European Development Days (EDDs) in Brussels in November 2013. This annual event continues to bring policymakers, civil society, research organisations and the private sector from developed and developing countries together to discuss the most pressing development issues of the day. The 2013 event was no exception, attracting a record turnout of more than 5 500.
EU citizens: helping developing countries helps us too
In a special Eurobarometer survey undertaken for the European Development Days in Brussels on 26 and 27 November 66% of EU citizens agreed that tackling poverty in developing countries should be one of the EU’s main priorities. Almost seven out of ten people (69%) believed that helping developing countries is also good for the EU and its citizens.
Looking ahead
In 2014, the EU will further advance the implementation of the Agenda for Change and increase the impact of the EU's development cooperation.
The key principles of the Agenda for Change will continue to inform the programming process for our external action instruments and the European Development Fund. The call in the Agenda for Change for a stronger role for the private sector in achieving inclusive and sustainable growth will be turned into practical proposals in the form of a Commission Communication to be presented in the first half of 2014.
In addition, the Agenda for Change calls for the EU to move to a rights-based approach, so that human rights and governance are taken into account as enabling conditions for progress, development and people’s empowerment. Accordingly, the Commission will work to systematically integrate human rights principles and standards and their achievement into the whole development process.
Work in 2014 will continue to aim at increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of development cooperation through improved coordination, coherence of polices and accountability. In this regard, the development of an EU results framework will be finalised, and the EU joint programming process will be moved forward.
The European Union and its Member States will continue to push to achieve all the MDGs before their 2015 target date and pursue the constructive role we have been playing in the global process of shaping a post-2015 framework to take us forward.
All in all, 2015 promises to be a crucial year for development. Recognising this, at the end of 2013 the Parliament and Council were close to a decision on designating 2015 the ‘European Year of Development’. This would be an ideal opportunity for the European Union to inform its citizens about the added value of EU development cooperation and to demonstrate the results that the EU has already achieved. It can also highlight the unique ability of the EU to draw on the combined strengths of its Member States, in terms of fighting poverty and championing development, peace and prosperity all across the world and achieving even more in the future.
[1] COM(2011) 637 final, 13.10.2011
[2] Special Eurobarometer 405 “EU Development Aid and the Millennium Goals”
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_405_en.pdf
[3] http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-1134_en.htm
[4] COM/2013/0292
[5] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/131181.pdf
[6] JOIN(2013) 30 final, 11.12.2013
[7] SWD(2013) 227 final, 19.6.2013
[8] COM(2013) 92 final, 27.2.2013
[9] http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-852_en.htm