October 29, 2012
The European Commission’s new proposed development strategy – Agenda for Change – puts ‘inclusive and sustainable growth for human development’ at its centre. At the 2012 European Development Days conference, the European Think-Tanks Group hosted a high-level panel debate putting the word ‘inclusive’ under the spotlight, focusing specifically on the challenge to EU development policy posed by inequality in developing countries.
Read the panel report here.
October 3, 2012
The need for greater differentiation between partner countries and the extent to which middle-income countries (MICs) should continue to receive EU aid have become contentious issues in the EU’s ongoing process of modernising EU development policy. While there is wide acknowledgement that a changing development landscape requires donor agencies to better adapt their approaches to the varying levels of development of partner countries (‘differentiation’), there seems to be less agreement on the nature of these changes and how exactly the EU should respond to them.
Svea Koch and Siân Herbert examine this dilemma in a blog.
June 12, 2012
Click here to read the EDCSP team’s monthly update for June.
May 22, 2012
Simon Maxwell and Mikaela Gavas analyse the Conclusions regarding the new EU development policy, ‘Agenda for Change’, published by the EU Foreign Affairs Council in October 2011. They ask what has been gained and lost in the process, and whether it is now possible to see what kind of settlement will be reached when the Multi-Annual Financial Framework for 2014-20 is agreed. Read their opinion here.
December 7, 2011
The European Commission has today adopted legislative proposals for its external action instruments (2014-2020), setting out the practical implications of the new proposed development strategy – ‘An Agenda for Change’. These instruments will come under increasing scrutiny over the next few months, in the lead up to the Foreign Affairs Council in May 2012.
December 6, 2011
As the European Commission is on the eve of releasing legislative proposals on the future financial instruments and regulations for external action, researchers from the European Think-Tanks Group identify six key points for Members of the European Parliament to keep an eye on.
Read more here.
Also published by EurActiv.
October 28, 2011
Following the Commission’s launch of its latest mission statement on development policy – ‘An Agenda for Change’ – the EDCSP’s Mikaela Gavas, with German Development Institute’s Svea Koch and Dr. Mark Furness, have written an article questioning is it really an Agenda for Change? Is it ambitious enough to equip the Commission to tackle global challenges such as poverty, the food crisis, the economic slump, climate change, and insecurity? And will it be able to deliver greater impact?
Read their analysis here (English) and here (German).
October 25, 2011
On 19 October, the EDCSP’s Simon Maxwell was invited to speak on the panel at Commissioner Andris Piebalgs’ launch event for the European Commission’s new development strategy – An Agenda for Change. Simon welcomed the document and the new directions it signals, noting that it is still work in progress, with seven more months of negotiations ahead. He also identified some key points of unfinished business that the strategy uncovers.
To watch the panel discussion, click here.
To watch Simon’s speech, click here.
To watch Simon’s interview by Capacity4dev, click here.
October 18, 2011
After more than a year and a half of consultations, Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs has released a new proposed strategy for EU development cooperation – in a document called ‘An Agenda for Change’.
The new policy directly descends from the European Consensus on Development, however also signals four important shifts:
Read our response to the Commission’s proposal here
