The EU is in the process of concluding the negotiation about its future seven-year budget, the Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2014-2020. In parallel, the EU is negotiating the budget for the European Development Fund (EDF), which covers the same period. The EDF is the EU’s main instrument for delivering development aid under the ACP–EU Cotonou Partnership Agreement. The Agreement is the world’s largest and most advanced financial and political contractual framework for North–South cooperation. Although the EDF is not part of the EU budget itself, the negotiations around the level of funding it receives are an important part of the broader debate and the outcome will be decided in conjunction with the MFF.
In this Discussion Paper, Mikaela Gavas reviews the EDF’s performance in recent evaluations and reviews the existing evidence against three critiques made by some Member States. She concludes that these critiques overlook important considerations and thus do not present an accurate picture of the performance of the EDF.
