Report Launch: 2011 Spotlight on EU Policy Coherence for Development

CONCORD, the European Development NGO confederation, launched a new report entitled "Spotlight on EU Policy Coherence for Development: a Lisbon Treaty provision, a Human Rights obligation". Following a first report in 2009, the new Spotlight Report assesses different EU policies in the areas of Food Security, Natural Resources, Human Security and Migration against the benchmark of EU Policy Coherence for Development (PCD). All chapters examine in more detail specific EU policies, functions and tools in place that promote or undermine efforts towards the effective implementation of PCD. A number of recommendations to redress coherence are proposed to the EU institutions, relating to the policies, as well as to the political and institutional set-ups.

With the article 208 of the Lisbon Treaty, PCD became a legal obligation applicable to all EU institutions and Member States. The article implies that all EU policies must be in support of developing countries’ development needs, or at least not contradict the aim of poverty eradication. Nevertheless, cases of EU policies whose external impacts are clearly negatively affecting poor people in developing countries are many.

PCD is all about bringing development concerns into the policy debate in policy areas where poverty eradication is hardly ever discussed. Therefore, development education is a key strategy. Strengthened awareness and capacity in the EU insitutions and in the Member States is necessary to avoid creating incoherencies. The launch event of CONCORD's second report "Spotlight on EU Policy Coherence for Development" took place on 7 November in Brussels with a panel discussion bringing together CONCORD members and representatives from EU institutions including MEP Birgit Schnieber-Jastram, PCD Standing Rapporteur, MEP Ska Keller, Vincent Grimaud, Head of Unit at European Commission DG DEVCO.

The report and other PCD-related documents (case studies, country profiles, position papers, statistics, etc) are available on CONCORD’s new dedicated website: http://www.coherence.concordeurope.org/

Information provided by Blandine Bouniol, CONCORD