Making EU aid a global benchmark for quality

Source: CIDSE Advocacy Newsletter 38, February 2008

Since the Paris Declaration in 2005, the European Union has adopted important measures providing for greater complementarity and harmonization through the adoption of an EU code of conduct on division of labour, as well as more predictability and support for partner country systems with its new form of budget support called “MDG contracts.” If the EU is serious about proving its credibility as a major actor within the international donor community at the OECD 3rd High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra next September, it has to go beyond the reforms it is undertaking to fix the efficiency of its aid delivery system and adopt measures that will improve the actual pro-poor impact of its development assistance.

The recently issued CONCORD position paper entitled "Delivering better aid: An opportunity for European Union leadership in the fight against global poverty", to which CIDSE and Caritas Europa contributed on the basis of their joint advocacy report "EU’s Footprint in the South", calls on the member states and the European institutions to grasp the opportunity for leadership that 2008 provides them with, and agree to a set of concrete EU targets to improve aid from member states and European institutions. The paper underlines the fact that “efforts made so far are essential, but won’t dramatically influence aid effectiveness if they aren’t followed by concrete actions at field level and accompanied by the decisive steps in favour of democratic ownership, accountability and better aid quality.”

Important dates:

• 2-3 April: OECD DAC Working Party on Aid Effectiveness
  
• 8-9 April: Release of EC Communication on Aid Effectiveness
  
• 21 May: OECD DAC High Level meeting
  
• 28-29 May: EU GAERC meeting
  

To know more, contact Melis Alguadis

See also Euforic's newsfeed and dossier on aid effectiveness