New European consensus on development. Will it be fit for purpose?

The EPRS published a Briefing in April 2017 regarding the progress on a proposal regarding a new European Consensus on Development.

The proposal - adopted in the form of a declaration - was put forward in the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It was published by the European Commission in November 2016.

Adopted in the form of a joint declaration, the European consensus on development, more than a common banner, is a necessary precondition to the complementarity and coordination of European development policies envisaged in the EU Treaties. The redefinition of development policy in times of internal crisis and global transformation is high-stakes – while integrating the new and ambitious vision presented in Agenda 2030 is a recognised necessity, there are inherent risks to the exercise. A surfeit of priorities may undermine the strategic character of this framework document, while exacerbating challenges of coherence and coordination. The political focus on the migration crisis may, some fear, subordinate development aid to cooperation on migration management, marking the end of values-based EU development policy.

As the interinstitutional negotiations progress, the European Parliament advocates for poverty eradication to remain the main goal of development policy. Parliament defends need- and efficiency-based criteria for the allocation of development aid. It also proposes a strong reinforcement of legal tools and institutional mechanisms to implement EU-wide coordination and policy coherence for development (PCD), without which the EU contribution to Agenda 2030 implementation may be jeopardised by its internal inconsistencies.

Author: Marta Latek

EPRS: Keysource, 20.04.17: The New European Consensus on Development https://epthinktank.eu/2017/04/20/the-new-european-consensus-on-development/

---