Aiming for consensus on development policy

Your editorial “Finding the right role for development” (29 October-4 November) said that the current institutional debate on the new EU external relations reforms has overshadowed discussions on the role of development policy. You are right to point out that there is a lot at stake. 

While certain key issues were resolved at the summit of EU leaders on 29-30 October, those on the inside of the negotiations acknowledge that the crucial decisions will come down the line in the paper to be drafted by the new high representative for foreign policy. The paper is expected to be adopted by member states by April at the latest. The budgetary planning details are to be agreed by the end of the year.

Guarantees offered by the Lisbon treaty that the EU’s development policy will be focused on poverty reduction and eradication still need to be translated into the reality of institutional structures and day-to-day decision-making.

The role of the European commissioner for development, with the support of the European Commission’s president, will be vital in this respect. The development commissioner must be free to make budgetary decisions based on where need and the potential impact are greatest, rather than being driven by the political and strategic objectives of the Union.

When they meet in Brussels on 17 November, EU development ministers will have an opportunity to set the tone. They must send a signal that they want to see an EU focused on delivering its overseas aid commitments.

Climate financing must be over and above that. If not, rich countries are simply telling the world’s poorest countries to choose between building flood defences and building schools. If rich countries steal from aid budgets to pay their climate debt, the fight against poverty will go into reverse. Ministers must call for a proper commitment to tackling the negative impacts of the EU’s external actions, such as trade policy that restricts access to basic medicines, and to make its policies more coherent. This will require real institutional muscle, combined with true political will.

By the end of this Commission’s mandate, the deadline for the achievement of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals will be upon us. The EU’s institutional reforms are an excellent opportunity to address shortcomings of both its foreign and development policies, and not tackle one at the expense of the other.

From:

Elise Ford

Oxfam International

Brussels