European Year 2015 for Development Cooperation

Things have gone well for the initiative to designate the year 2015 as the European Year for Development Cooperation since the Latvian NGDO platform LAPAS suggested it in CONCORD General Assembly in 2011.

CONCORD has succeeded in mobilizing support for this initiative from various EU institutions. Development commissioner A. Piebalgs has expressed his support to it as well as the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) when in December 2011 they forwarded an opinion to the European Parliament recommending the European Year 2015 to be devoted to development cooperation. The Committee of the Regions as well as some development ‘champions’ from the European Parliament are also strongly behind this initiative. The European Parliament even adopted in its plenary meeting in October 2012 a report which included a recommendation to the European Commission to designate the year 2015 as the European Year for Development Cooperation.

Announcing a topic to be in the center of the European Year gives the opportunity to communicate it to a wide range of citizens and organize numerous joint activities and media campaigns around the issue. The year 2015 is especially suitable to be devoted to development cooperation as it is the year when the Millennium Development Goals should have been achieved and when a new paradigm for development should be adopted and starting to be implemented.

Currently the European Commission is preparing an official proposal to designate the year 2015 as European Year for Development Cooperation. This proposal will have to be approved by the European Council and European Parliament.

Citizens and CSOs can send their specific suggestions concerning activities, stakeholders and other tips for the European Year for Development Cooperation via the EESC forum ‘Have Your Say!” Have your say and read what others have already suggested from here.

More info online at Economic and Social Committee and CONCORD.

Information provided by Mirjam Sutrop, TRIALOG