Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-x4r87 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T17:01:04.043Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
This chapter is part of a book that is no longer available to purchase from Cambridge Core

10 - EU development policy

Bart Van Vooren  and
Ramses A. Wessel
Bart Van Vooren
Affiliation:
ALTIUS, Brussels
Ramses A. Wessel
Affiliation:
University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
Get access

Summary

Central issues

  • Development cooperation policy is as old as the European integration project itself. Objectives in this policy area have evolved from associating EEC Member States’ colonies with focus on trade and aid, to a progressively broader development agenda incorporating human rights, sustainable development aspects such as environment and social issues, and most recently links to (common foreign and) security policy.

  • EU development policy can be defined through the three C’s which have been expressly incorporated into the competence-conferring provisions of the TFEU: complementarity, coherence and coordination.

  • Complementarity is laid down generally in Article 208(1) TFEU, and broadly implies that the exercise of EU and Member State competences shall complement and reinforce each other. From the perspective of the nature of the EU’s development competence, it means that EU action does not pre-empt Member State action (Article 4(4) TFEU), thereby making coherence and coordination between these levels crucial.

  • Coherence is also contained in Article 208 TFEU and is composed of three aspects: first, coherence of EU development cooperation with the more general principles and objectives of EU external relations (Article 21 TEU); secondly, poverty reduction as the primary policy objective providing intra-policy focus on how diverse development initiatives cohere to the central goal; thirdly, the obligation to take account of development objectives in other policies which are likely to affect developing countries.

  • Coordination is laid down in Article 210 TFEU, and entails that EU and Member States must proactively collaborate and consult in order to ensure complementarity and coherence of their respective EU development policies. Article 210 TFEU gives the Commission a central role in ensuring coordination of EU and Member State development cooperation initiatives.

    • Type
    Chapter
    Information
    EU External Relations Law
    Text, Cases and Materials
     , pp. 311 - 345
    Publisher: Cambridge University Press
    Print publication year: 2014

    Access options

    Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

    References

    Arts, K., ‘ACP–EU Relations in a New Era: The Cotonou Agreement’ (2003) 40 Common Market Law Review 95–116.Google Scholar
    Arts, K. and Dickson, A. K. (eds.), EU Development Cooperation – From Model to Symbol (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Bartels, L., ‘The Trade and Development Policy of the European Union’, in Cremona, M. (ed.), Developments in EU External Relations Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), pp. 128–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Blockmans, S., Cremona, M., Curtin, D., de Baere, G., Duke, S., Eckes, C., Hillion, C., Van Vooren, B., Wessel, R. and Wouters, J., EEAS 2.0 – A Legal Commentary on Council Decision 2010/427/EU establishing the Organisation and Functioning of the European External Action Service (SIEPS Working Paper 2013:1).Google Scholar
    Broberg, M., Governing by ‘Consensuses’ – On the Legal Regulation of the EU’s Development Cooperation Policy (DIIS Working Paper 2010:23).Google Scholar
    Broberg, M., The EU’s Legal Ties with its Former Colonies – When Old Love Never Dies (DIIS Working Paper 2011:01).Google Scholar
    Broberg, M., ‘What Is the Direction for the EU’s Development Cooperation after Lisbon? A Legal Examination’ (2011) 16 European Foreign Affairs Review 539–557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Carbone, M. (ed.), Policy Coherence and EU Development Policy (Abingdon/New York: Routledge, 2009).Google Scholar
    Carbone, M., ‘Au-delà de l’aide: la Cohérence des Politiques de Développement de l’Europe’ (2012) Revue Internationale de Politique de Développement, 3, 197–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Carbone, M., ‘Preserving Policy Autonomy: EU Development Cooperation from Maastricht to Lisbon’, in Laursen, F. (ed.), The EU’s Lisbon Treaty: Institutional Choices and Implementation (Farnham/Burlington: Ashgate, 2012), pp. 229–242.Google Scholar
    Cremona, M., ‘Human Rights and Democracy Clauses in the EC’s Trade Agreements’, in O’Keeffe, D. and Emiliou, N. (eds.), The European Union and World Trade Law: After the GATT Uruguay Round (Chichester/New York: Wiley, 1996), pp. 62–77.Google Scholar
    Hadfield, A., ‘Janus Advances? An Analysis of EC Development Policy and the 2005 Amended Cotonou Partnership Agreement’ (2007) 12 European Foreign Affairs Review 39–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Hoebink, P. (ed.), The Treaty of Maastricht and Europe’s Development Co-operation, Studies in European Development Co-operation Evaluation No. 1 (Amsterdam: Aksant Academic Publishers, 2005).Google Scholar
    McMahon, J. A., ‘Negotiating in a Time of Turbulent Transition: The Future of Lomé’ (1999) 36 Common Market Law Review 599–624.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Merket, H., ‘The European External Action Service and the Nexus between CFSP/CSDP and Development Cooperation’ (2012) 17 European Foreign Affairs Review 625–651.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Meyn, M., ‘Economic Partnership Agreements: A “Historic Step” Towards a “Partnership of Equals”?’ (2008) 26 Development Policy Review 515–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Olsen, G. R., ‘Coherence, Consistency and Political Will in Foreign Policy: The European Union’s Policy towards Africa’ (2008) 9 Perspectives on European Politics and Society 157–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Sissoko, M., Osuji, L. and Cheng, W., ‘Impacts of the Yaoundé and Lomé Conventions on EC–ACP Trade’ (1998) 1 The African Economic and Business Review 6–24.Google Scholar
    Van Vooren, B., EU External Relations Law and the European Neighbourhood Policy: A Paradigm for Coherence (Abingdon/New York: Routledge, 2012).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Ward, A., ‘Community Development Aid and the Evolution of the Inter-Institutional Law of the European Union’, in Dashwood, A. and Hillion, C. (eds.), The General Law of EC External Relations (London: Sweet and Maxwell, 2000).Google Scholar
    Youngs, R., ‘Fusing Security and Development: Just Another Euro-Platitude?’ (2008) 30 Journal of European Integration 419–437.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Broberg, M., ‘What Is the Direction for the EU’s Development Cooperation after Lisbon? A Legal Examination’ (2011) 16 European Foreign Affairs Review 539–557 at 543.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Van Vooren, B., EU External Relations Law and the European Neighbourhood Policy: A Paradigm for Coherence (Abingdon/New York: Routledge, 2012), p. 289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Hoebink, P. (ed.), The Treaty of Maastricht and Europe’s Development Co-operation, Studies in European Development Co-operation Evaluation No. 1 (Amsterdam: Aksant Academic Publishers, 2005), p. 5.Google Scholar
    Bartels, L., ‘The Trade and Development Policy of the European Union’, in Cremona, M. (ed.), Developments in EU External Relations Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 130 Google Scholar
    Broberg, , The EU’s Legal Ties with its Former Colonies – When Old Love Never Dies (DIIS Working Paper 2011:01), p. 10.Google Scholar
    Commission of the European Communities, The Second Yaoundé Convention – Great Possibilities for Private Investment in Africa (Commission Working Document, 1971), p. 5.Google Scholar
    Commission of the European Communities, The Second Yaoundé Convention – Great Possibilities for Private Investment in Africa (Commission Working Document, 1971), p. 7.Google Scholar
    European Commission, Green Paper on relations between the EU and the ACP countries on the eve of the 21st century – Challenges and options for a new partnership, COM(96) 570 final, Brussels, 20 November 1996, p. 9.Google Scholar
    Commission of the European Communities, Information Note, The Convention of Lomé, Europe/Africa, Caribbean, Pacific, 1976, No. 129/76, p. 31Google Scholar
    Commission of the European Communities, Information Note, The ACP–EEC Convention of Lomé: One year after its entry into force, Brussels, March 1977, p. 6 Google Scholar
    Commission of the European Communities, Information Note, The Convention of Lomé, Europe/Africa, Caribbean, Pacific, 1976, No. 129/76, p. 69.Google Scholar
    Commission of the European Communities, Information Note, The Third Lomé Convention – Improvements and Innovations in Relation to Lomé II, Brussels, November 1984, p. 1.Google Scholar
    Sissoko, M., Osuji, L., Cheng, W., ‘Impacts of the Yaoundé and Lomé Conventions on EC–ACP Trade’ (1998) 1 The African Economic and Business Review 6–24, 21.Google Scholar
    Commission Communication, Guidelines for the negotiation of new cooperation agreements with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, COM(97) 537 final, Brussels, 29 October 1997, pp. 3–5.Google Scholar
    Arts, K., ‘ACP–EU Relations in a New Era: The Cotonou Agreement’ (2003) 40 Common Market Law Review 95–116 at 96.Google Scholar
    McMahon, J. A., ‘Negotiating in a Time of Turbulent Transition: The Future of Lomé’ (1999) 36 Common Market Law Review 599–624 at 600.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Meyn, M., ‘Economic Partnership Agreements: A “Historic Step” Towards a “Partnership of Equals”?’ (2008) 26 Development Policy Review 515–528 at 519.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
    Communication from the Commission, Policy Coherence for Development – Accelerating progress towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals, COM(2005) 134 final, Brussels, 12 April 2005.Google Scholar
    Cremona, , ‘Human Rights and Democracy Clauses in the EC’s Trade Agreements’, in O’Keeffe, D. and Emiliou, N. (eds.), The European Union and World Trade Law: After the GATT Uruguay Round (Chichester/New York: Wiley, 1996), pp. 62–77.Google Scholar
    Commission Communication, Preparation of the multiannual financial framework regarding the financing of EU cooperation for African, Caribbean and Pacific States and Overseas Countries and Territories for the 2014–2020 period (11th European Development Fund), COM(2011) 837 final, Brussels, 7 September 2011, p. 9.Google Scholar
    Broberg, , Governing by ‘Consensuses’ – On the Legal Regulation of the EU’s Development Cooperation Policy (DIIS Working Paper 2010:23), pp. 6–7.Google Scholar

    Save book to Kindle

    To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

    Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

    Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

    Available formats
    ×

    Save book to Dropbox

    To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

    Available formats
    ×

    Save book to Google Drive

    To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

    Available formats
    ×