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2017 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

7. The Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Policy

Author : Henri de Waele

Published in: Legal Dynamics of EU External Relations

Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg

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Abstract

The EU regime for supporting third countries in need is three-pronged: separate rules have been put in place for development cooperation sensu stricto; for economic, financial and technical cooperation; and for the provision of humanitarian aid. The second of these, the batch of provisions on economic, financial and technical cooperation with third countries, is somewhat uncomfortably sandwiched between the other two. Moreover, at first glance, the main distinction between the three branches may not be readily apparent. All this warrants a more extensive elaboration in this chapter. For a good understanding, after a short introduction (Sect. 7.1), we shall first look into some general aspects, investigating the origin and evolution, the legal foundations and the institutional framework of the policies. That exposé will also take stock of some of their most tangible products (Sect. 7.2). We then move on to discuss the questions and challenges currently facing the EU’s development cooperation and humanitarian aid policy, especially with regard to a perceived lack of efficacy (Sect. 7.3). That discussion incorporates perspectives from the Union institutions, Member States and third countries in equal measure.

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previous chapter The External Human Rights Policy

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Together, the EU and its Member States account for roughly 55% of the world’s official development assistance. The EU’s budget amounted to € 16.3 billion in 2015, which pales in comparison to the $ 32 billion handed out by the US that same year. However, cumulatively, the EU and the Member States allocated funds to the worth of € 69 billion. Furthermore, as a percentage of the gross national income, the EU Member States (both individually and on a combined average) exceed the 0.16 figure of the US by significant margins (see the data and statistics provided by the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD, available on http://www.oecd.org/dac/stats).

Colourful sketches offer Schütze (2013) and Van Elsuwege et al. (2016).

See Chap. 4, Sect. 4.5. For a critical review of the impact of this approach on the development of third countries, see Dickson (2004).

The Yaoundé and Lomé Conventions, which were adapted in respectively 1963, 1975, 1979 and 1989. Their successor is the Cotonou Agreement, signed on 23 June 2000 in the largest city of Benin. It has been modified in 2005 and 2010, but is to expire in 2020.

Opinion 1/78, International agreement on natural rubber.

The pungency of this shared competence, at least vis-à-vis the CFSP, was underlined in Case C-91/05, Commission v Council (ECOWAS).

Case C-316/91, Parliament v Council (Lomé IV).

Joined Cases C-181/91 & C-248/91, Parliament v Commission and Council (Bangladesh).

As the second sentence of Article 208 TFEU informs, in all the EU policies likely to affect developing countries, the Union has to take account of the objectives of development cooperation. This closely resembles a ‘policy linking clause’ (cf. Articles 7–14 TFEU). Article 212 TFEU extends this requirement expressis verbis to all forms of economic, financial and technical cooperation with third countries. On balance then, Chapter 1, Title III, Part V TFEU seems the more important, outweighing its sibling Chaps. 2 and 3.

Case C-377/12, Commission v Council (Philippines Framework Agreement), paragraph 49.

Cf. Article 212(8) TFEU. The Partnership and Cooperation Agreements with former USSR states have however also been concluded on this legal basis, as well as the UN Convention against Corruption.

Regulation 1292/96 on food-aid policy and food-aid management and special operations in support of food security, OJ [1996] L 166/1.

Regulation 2130/2001/EC on operations to aid uprooted people in Asian and Latin American countries, OJ [2001] L 248/1.

Regulation 2258/96/EC on rehabilitation and reconstruction operations in developing countries, OJ [1996] L 306/1.

Regulation 375/2014 establishing the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps, OJ [2014] L 122/1.

European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, OJ [2008] C 25/1.

See e.g. Case C-316/91, Parliament v Council (Lomé IV).

A glimpse of how Union delegations facilitate joint programming can be found in Estrada-Cañamares (2014).

Conclusions of the Council and Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, ‘EU Code of Conduct on Complementarity and Division of Labour in Development Policy’, Brussels, 15 May 2007, Doc. No. 9558/07.

For insight into the linkages set up by local and regional authorities, and the effective channelling of means via decentralised offices, see Bidugaren (2010).

Yet, unanimity is the rule for concluding agreements on economic, financial and technical cooperation with states that are candidates for accession: see Article 218(8) TFEU.

To the extent that the Member States have not consented to ensure part of the funding directly: compare Article 210 TFEU in fine.

Cf. Article 209(3) TFEU.

Regulation 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation, OJ [2006] L 378/41.

Regulation 1257/96/EC concerning humanitarian aid, OJ [1996] L 163/1.

Tagged ‘International Cooperation & Development’ in the Juncker Commission. The Directorate-General also holds the ACP dossier, which makes sense since the majority of developing countries is located in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

But only in those areas that have a bearing on the DG’s tasks and objectives. For the complete list of OCT, see Annex II to the TFEU.

An acronym of its former name, the ‘European Community Humanitarian Aid Office’. DG ECHO is now taken to stand for ‘European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations’.

Previously, one single Commissioner was entrusted with a portfolio that encompassed development cooperation, humanitarian aid, as well as all other forms of external financial assistance.

Cf. article 9 of Council Decision 2010/427/EU establishing the organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service, OJ [2010] L 201/30.

Specifically, it involves the shared responsibility of preparing decisions on the three strategic, multi-annual steps within the development programming cycle: country and regional allocations, country and regional strategy papers, and national and regional indicative programmes.

See e.g. Pusterla and Pusterla (2015).

The leading donors in the EU in terms of their GNI (Sweden, Denmark and Luxembourg) indeed channel the majority of their aid through the UN (according to the statistics drawn up by the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD; see http://www.oecd.org/dac/stats).

The literature on the topic is voluminous. Some hallmark contributions are Easterly (2006), Calderisi (2006), and Moyo (2008).

In this respect, the emphasis in the European Consensus on Development of 2005 that developing countries are mainly responsible for their own development could be qualified as a first sign of retreat.

The top three net recipients of bilateral development aid are Turkey, Morocco and Serbia (see the official figures of the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD, available at http://www.oecd.org/dac/stats).

In the sense that its visible strengths—being the biggest donor and having its own institutional machinery to conduct policy—are the priority, and that efficacy aspects are only secondary.

From an institutional perspective, an associated problem could be the overly powerful position of DG Trade, which regularly outflanks the other Commission Directorates.

Cf. Case C-91/05, Commission v Council (ECOWAS).

Similarly Broberg and Holdgaard (2014).

Bidugaren JA (2010) The role of local and regional authorities in European community development policy–beyond decentralised aid. In: Hoebink P (ed) European development cooperation: in between the local and the global. Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, pp 291–309

Broberg M, Holdgaard R (2014) EU external action in the field of development cooperation policy – the impact of the Lisbon Treaty. Swed Inst Eur Policy Stud Rep 2014:6

Calderisi R (2006) The trouble with Africa: why foreign aid isn’t working. Palgrave Macmillan, London

Dickson AK (2004) The unimportance of trade preferences. In: Arts K, Dickson AK (eds) EU development cooperation: from model to symbol. Manchester University Press, Manchester, pp 42–59

Easterly W (2006) The white man’s burden: why the west’s efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill and so little good. Penguin, London

Estrada-Cañamares M (2014) A legal approach to joint programming in development cooperation policy: cooperation in action led by union delegations. In: González Alonso L (ed) Between autonomy and cooperation: shaping the institutional profile of the European external action service. CLEER Working Papers WP 2014/6

Moyo D (2008) Dead aid. Allan Lane, London

Pusterla F, Pusterla E (2015) The uniqueness of the EU humanitarian aid policy between sovereignty and humanitarian aid concerns. Eur Foreign Aff Rev 20:247–266

Schütze R (2013) EU development policy: constitutional and legislative foundation(s). Camb Yearb Eur Leg Stud 15:699–717CrossRef

Van Elsuwege P, Orbie J, Bossuyt F (2016) Humanitarian aid policy in the EU’s external relations – The Post-Lisbon Framework. Swed Inst Eur Policy Stud Rep 2016:3

Title: The Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Policy
Author: Henri de Waele
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Book: Legal Dynamics of EU External Relations
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-54816-5

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-662-54817-2

Copyright Year: 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-54817-2_7