1.7.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 192/10

—

shares the Commission's view that, despite the progress that has been made in some social spheres, much remains to be done to make a reality of the development proposals to which the international community committed itself over a decade ago, in the form of the Millennium Declaration;

—

considers that closer attention should be paid to factors relating to the resources available for financing development, upholding aid commitments, supporting developing countries' mobilisation of domestic resources, strengthening their tax systems, combating corruption, taking forward the fight against tax evasion, capital flight and illegal financial flows, whilst also supporting the search for new financing sources;

—

is disappointed that although the European Commission recognises the crucial role of local and regional authorities (LRAs) in the context of development aid and cooperation programmes, the Green Paper does not mention the increasingly prominent role played by LRAs in an EU cooperation policy that aims to be effective and have the support of society as a whole. Therefore calls for a more centralised approach to the role of LRAs in promoting development with a broad social basis, in establishing effective governance institutions in developing countries and in setting up an environmentally-sustainable energy model;

—

considers that the review of EU development policy and the European consensus should follow the lines already set out in the Communication on Local authorities: actors for development, which emphasises the place, role and added value of these authorities in these areas and policies; in this connection, and in order to promote exchange and provide a platform for LRA political expression in the area of development cooperation, the CoR will continue working closely with the European Commission to organise the annual conference on decentralised cooperation.

Rapporteur

Jesús GAMALLO ALLER (ES/EPP), Director-General for External Relations and Relations with the European Union, Regional Government of Galicia

Reference document

Green Paper on EU development policy in support of inclusive growth and sustainable development – Increasing the impact of EU development policy

COM(2010) 629 final

1.

shares the Commission's view that, despite the progress that has been made in some social spheres, much remains to be done to make a reality of the development proposals to which the international community committed itself over a decade ago, in the form of the Millennium Declaration;

2.

agrees with the Commission on the need to improve the impact and added value of EU development policy, in order to make the Millennium Development Goals a reality, and considers that this task is all the more necessary given the severe economic crisis currently affecting many donors;

3.

regrets that the Green Paper does not give more detailed consideration to the criteria for identifying the added value of EU cooperation measures, or to the need for tougher impact assessments of measures that are carried out and that it proposes no action for building on the Paris Agenda, the Accra Agenda for Action or the commitments stemming from the European Consensus on Development and the EU Code of Conduct;

4.

considers that closer attention should be paid to factors relating to the resources available for financing development, upholding aid commitments, supporting developing countries' mobilisation of domestic resources, strengthening their tax systems, combating corruption, taking forward the fight against tax evasion, capital flight and illegal financial flows, whilst also supporting the search for new financing sources;

5.

states its conviction that targeted aid that is systematically followed up and assessed actually represents a valuable investment by donors. An investment in freedom and justice, in that it helps to shape societies with a larger measure of justice and a more solid grounding in the recognition of human rights; an investment in opportunities for progress and wellbeing, because in an interdependent world, the development of some is a source of stability and dynamism for others; it is also an investment in security, because it decreases tensions and makes the international system more governable;

6.

reiterates its conviction that international aid is just one factor amongst the whole range of factors that can promote development processes in the poorest countries, which means that coherence between the policies implemented by donor countries must be improved and that the rules governing international trade and rich countries' agricultural subsidies should be designed in such a way that they share out as fairly as possible the opportunities for progress offered by globalisation. Is nevertheless disappointed that these aspects are not given due consideration in the Green Paper, despite having been addressed at meetings of international leaders at the United Nations and the G-20 Summit;

7.

is disappointed that although the European Commission recognises the crucial role of local and regional authorities (LRAs) in the context of development aid and cooperation programmes, the Green Paper does not mention the increasingly prominent role played by LRAs in an EU cooperation policy that aims to be effective and have the support of society as a whole. Therefore calls for a more centralised approach to the role of LRAs in promoting development with a broad social basis, in establishing effective governance institutions in developing countries and in setting up an environmentally-sustainable energy model;

8.

considers that the review of EU development policy and the European consensus should follow the lines already set out in the Communication on Local authorities: actors for development, which emphasises the place, role and added value of these authorities in these areas and policies; in this connection, and in order to promote exchange and provide a platform for LRA political expression in the area of development cooperation, the CoR will continue working closely with the European Commission to organise the annual conference on decentralised cooperation;

9.

recalls the Opinion of the Committee of the Regions (CdR 116/2010) on the Spring Package: EU action plan for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, which ‘proposes that the possibility be considered that each of Europe's 100 000 local authorities might decide, in accordance with their national legislation, to voluntarily allocate at least one euro per inhabitant to development aid. LRAs which are not directly involved in decentralised cooperation could pay their contributions into a local authority development aid fund, as is currently done in Spain. Initiatives which contribute indirectly to development (for example, measures to raise public awareness of global poverty) could also be promoted in this context’;

10.

agrees with the Commission that it would be appropriate for aid to ‘focus on areas where a clear added value can be shown’. Nevertheless, considers that no criteria or indicators are offered demonstrating unequivocally whether the EU's capacity to provide added value in its cooperation policy is improving;

11.

agrees with the Commission's recommendation to insist on and improve procedures for assessing the impact of EU cooperation and suggests that there is a broad area in which the EU can incorporate tougher and innovative impact assessment procedures, such as those based on the application of random techniques (randomised evaluation), which the EU has hardly used to date. The same should be done in the area of decentralised cooperation;

12.

the Commission is right to prioritise the aim of ‘growth for human development’ for at least two reasons: i) firstly, because this rectifies the bias which has dominated aid in recent years, when the emphasis has been on the social aspects of development, which are hard to sustain without inclusive economic progress and ii) secondly, because the crisis is affecting the capacity for growth, poverty reduction and job creation in the economies of many developing countries;

13.

points out, however, that growth and development are not synonymous and that development also means expanding production capacity, promoting social achievements and redistributing wealth in the local area, by means of sustainable local and regional development, covering the entire region and accessible to the most disadvantaged social groups;

14.

recalls that for this local and regional development to be viable, the contribution of local and regional authorities (LRAs), which have proven to be key players in ensuring local and sustainable growth, is crucial;

15.

endorses the Commission's view that one of the central tasks of any development strategy is to strengthen partner countries' institutions and boost their levels of efficiency and legitimacy, improving the governance conditions for the process of economic and social change;

16.

urges the Commission, however, to give closer consideration to the detrimental effect of dependency on aid in terms of reducing institutional quality and to attach greater importance to tasks enhancing decisive anti-corruption measures and the fiscal capacities of the developing countries in order not just to improve the quality of their institutions, but also to reduce their dependency on aid and increase their ability to make use of domestic resources;

17.

emphasises, furthermore, that decentralisation processes have a key role in achieving more legitimate and effective institutions, as a means of bringing the government closer to the people and anchoring democratic values in society. When promoting these processes, a central role should be given to regional and local authorities, an aspect that the Green Paper overlooks, however;

18.

agrees with the Commission that a degree of security is necessary for development. This obliges donors to see existing relations between security and development agendas as being connected and to boost institution-building, human rights and social cohesion in countries with fragile States, establishing early warning and preventive diplomacy mechanisms. Nevertheless calls on the Commission to further clarify the distribution of powers in these fields of the EU departments responsible for cooperation and those responsible for external action;

19.

concurs that the Commission, if it wishes to make aid more effective, must carry out ‘more systematic and effective’ coordination between European donors and endorses the Commission proposal to be presented to the Council in 2011 on the synchronisation of national programming cycles. Recalls, furthermore, that improving aid coordination is one of the principles laid down in the Paris Agenda on aid effectiveness, forms part of the European Consensus on Development and is a long-standing founding principle of the EU (the Treaty establishing the European Community, the Maastricht Treaty on European Union and the Lisbon Treaty);

20.

regrets, however, that the Green Paper makes no mention of another issue complementing that of coordination and which has enormous potential: the need for progress on the division of labour among European donors. The division of labour should also be viewed not only in terms of national donors but also between these and sub-national (regional and local) donors, given the important role that these have in different EU cooperation systems. Therefore calls on the Commission to set up reference points for local and regional authorities in the European External Action Service and in the DEVCO Directorate-General, both in the EU and in partner countries. In addition, considers that it is essential to establish a specific funding line that is available to EU local and regional authorities;

21.

considers that in order to make progress on the appropriate division of labour, it would be desirable if the Green Paper could support the inclusion in EU aid policy of an approach based not only on objectives but also on stakeholders and on the distribution of responsibilities between them. This is an approach that would value the contribution of local and regional bodies to enriching cooperation policy and making it more effective;

22.

points out that aid is only one component of donors' public policy, with effects on the partner States' opportunities for development. Improving the degree of coherence among public policies is therefore a key aim of the EU's development policy. It is also a long-standing principle in the EU (the Treaty establishing the European Community, the Maastricht Treaty on European Union and the Lisbon Treaty). The Commission's reports on the annual assessment of the progress made by Member States (and by the Commission itself) on basic sectoral aspects regarding the coherence of policies are a valuable instrument for promoting progress and reporting accounts in this area. The CoR points to the importance of continuing reform of the common agricultural policy in this context to ensure that it does not undermine the objectives of EU development policy;

23.

wishes to stress that relations established between Europe's local authorities and their counterparts in the beneficiary countries allow tangible progress to be made on the implementation of the principle of ownership, which lies at the heart of the Paris declaration and should not remain merely an issue for the Member States;

24.

reiterates the need for compliance with the basic rules of the EU's trade agreements, not exempting requirements concerning the rules of origin of products from partner countries, despite the fact that this could be included in association agreements. The potential damage to the smooth operation of the internal market associated with these exemptions from legislation and any possible gains for the sustainable development of these countries must be weighed against the boost for exclusively local production;

25.

agrees with the Commission that budgetary support is not a panacea and that it should therefore only be applied following a detailed analysis of the country's conditions. Nevertheless wishes to point out that budgetary support is a means of providing aid which promotes coordination among donors and involvement by partner countries. These two objectives should support use of this formula, provided that the appropriate conditions for it are met;

26.

repeats its desire to promote cooperation between the Committee of the Regions and the European Commission on decentralised development cooperation policy; also underlines the need to continue working to ensure that Member States and all EU local and regional authorities use the decentralised cooperation atlas that brings together the activities in this field that are funded by EU LRAs; similarly, highlights the usefulness of the Internet portal for decentralised development cooperation that will facilitate networking between partners in this area, help to ensure aid is more effective and avoid duplication;

27.

considers that the EU should take more account, not only of the economic contribution made by LRAs, but also of their added value in certain specialised fields. Their experience and expertise in sectors that provide solutions suited to the needs of partner countries provide these regions with added value for cooperation in areas such as administrative capacity building, spatial planning, education, civil protection, food security through farming and fishing, renewable energy, water, the environment, maritime sciences and R&D applied to development. This is particularly true of the outermost regions, as active borders and platforms of the EU in the world, which can boost the effectiveness of EU development policy;

28.

agrees with the proposal to ensure that aid promotes inclusive and sustainable growth in the partner countries. Is disappointed, however, that the Green Paper makes no mention of two key aspects of achieving this goal. The first is the need to promote an appropriate redistribution of the income resulting from progress, distributing it in such a way as to create the equity considered desirable from a social point of view. A degree of equity is needed in order to ensure stability, to consolidate institutions and to promote growth with a broad social base. The second aspect relates to the need to strengthen countries' taxation capacities and to combat fraud, capital flight and illegal financial flows, which drain the developing countries' scant domestic resources, hampering their opportunities for progress;

29.

draws attention, however, to the fact that development is more than simply growth: it involves social achievements, institution-building and changes in countries' social and production models. The aim should therefore be to promote an inclusive and sustainable form of growth that boosts a process of development rooted in the local surroundings;

30.

emphasises the importance of equal opportunities in achieving sustainable growth in our partner countries; as well as being a basic human rights issue, reforms to allow women and girls to reach their full potential in society – free of discrimination or the threat of violence - offer the most effective way for our partners to develop their economies;

31.

considers that creating solid and legitimate institutions requires attaching greater importance to the distribution-related aspects, concerning the share of the benefits of growth, the opportunities and the voice in countries, at the same time moving forward in the decentralisation processes that bring the institutions closer to the people; therefore believes that the management capacity of local and regional authorities in partner countries needs to be strengthened, drawing on programmes such as TAIEX or Erasmus, which would help improve the use of cooperation funds; furthermore, calls on the Commission to set up sectoral budget support programmes to facilitate access to resources for local and regional authorities in developing countries;

32.

recognises that sound education policy is a key aspect of development, and urges the EU to include the promotion of education in these countries among its cooperation policy goals;

33.

recalls that, for this aim to be achieved, decentralisation processes in the partner countries should be promoted and supported, wherever appropriate, seeking to apply the subsidiarity principle to the distribution of competences. Decentralisation is an effective way to democratise States and provide them with a more solid basis reflecting social reality and a requirement to ensure that the development process reaches the entire region and all parts of society;

34.

agrees with the importance attached by the Green Paper to the need for any valid development strategy to combat climate change and support biodiversity. Furthermore, wishes to point out that climate change and the other environmental challenges provide an opportunity for some developing countries to make progress on the basis of their own natural and environmental resources. The commitment given by the EU in Copenhagen and confirmed in Cancún demonstrates the importance attached to this aspect of development processes and the need to support partner countries' efforts to adapt to and mitigate the environmental situation;

35.

regrets that, in this regard, the Green Paper does not provide a more detailed view of the role of sub-national authorities (regional and local) in the creation of a solid environmental strategy. These authorities are key to implementing sustainable strategies for water and waste management, energy supply and the protection of fragile environments;

36.

agrees that a key element of any environmentally-sustainable development strategy is the energy model adopted by the country in question. This suggests the need to promote a more intensive use of renewable energies. The EU's experience in this area can be of use to developing countries. Furthermore, certain developing countries offer the specific conditions needed to develop these kinds of energy;

37.

advocates an international Covenant of Mayors and Regions aimed at providing energy for everyone under the joint programmes and with an appropriate and specific financial instrument;

38.

urges that this objective of changing the energy model (in favour of renewable sources) go hand in hand with another objective, which is to improve the country's energy infrastructure and to create the proper conditions enabling the most vulnerable communities to access energy;

39.

agrees with the Commission that rural development and food safety are fundamental aspects of the development process, as they concern a sector that is of key importance to the processes of growth and economic recovery in the poorest countries, allows for the exercise of a basic right, related to adequate food, which affects other individual rights (such as health, education and labour) and influences the degree of a country's independence in international fora;

40.

notes that the current crisis has led to an abnormal increase in the price of raw materials, including those used for food, which is having a drastic effect on conditions of supply to the poorest countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, many of which are net importers of food products. Emphasises that, as a consequence, severe backsliding may occur in the social progress that has previously been made;

41.

considers this situation to be a consequence of four factors: i) the increased demand from large countries experiencing rapid growth, boosting the mass international purchase of this type of product; ii) the insufficient involvement of rich countries and insufficient public investment in developing countries in previous years as regards the investment required for rural development; iii) the behaviour of speculators, who see these products as a source of profit in the form of a deposit of assets; and iv) the effects of environmental damage on the productivity of soil and farming;

42.

calls for EU cooperation policy not to repeat past mistakes and requests that greater priority be attached to rural development and food security in the partner countries when drawing up international aid strategies. Wishes to emphasise, in this regard, that the EU has long experience in the field of rural development and promoting food security, experience that could be placed at the service of developing countries;

43.

calls for account to be taken here too of the regions' capacities and experience. Regional and local authorities have experience in designing basic infrastructure for the distribution of food products, in studying soil productivity and managing crops in harmony with local conditions, in caring for fragile local ecosystems and in drawing up plans that guarantee supply. These stakeholders must therefore be involved, with the according leading role, in the EU's cooperation policy.