Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I am taking the same line as my predecessors, because, unfortunately, we cannot conceal the fact that the public image of European development cooperation bears no relation to the enormous amount of financial support that the EU itself and its Member States gives to the countries of the south. Although the EU is by far the largest donor, it comes off far worse in terms of people’s perceptions than do the large multilateral organisations, such as the UN and the World Bank. Approximately 60% of all financial aid comes out of the European pot. Complementarity, coherence and coordination are the notorious three C’s at the centre of the debate on European development cooperation. The European Commission’s financial housekeeping, which revealed a considerable amount of unspent funds, played no small part in re-igniting the reform debate. Theoretical transactions do little to help our case though. Nor can it be denied that there have been successes that should be shouted from the rooftops. Above all, it is practices that must change, which requires the necessary amount of political will on the part of all those concerned. Take Mozambique and the deployment of ECHO, for example. Right at the very start of the flood disaster at the beginning of February, ECHO rushed to the aid of the most vulnerable with EUR 750 000. Since then, a further EUR 9.65 million have been made available as emergency aid, and EUR 21 million are to be provided in addition, to deal with the consequences in the medium-term. There was a rapid reaction from the Member States too. The European Union and its Member States have provided a total of EUR 85 million in aid, whereas the UN contribution brought the overall international package to only EUR 115 million, including the European funds. What we are lacking is the aforementioned three C’s. Coherence can only be achieved if strategies and measures are brought into line. Complementarity and coordination are important pre-requisites for creating synergy. The juxtaposition of multilateral and bilateral development cooperation, on the other hand – which is in evidence in countries besides Mozambique – leads to completely unnecessary frictional losses, as I saw for myself when I visited the country a few weeks ago. Mrs Ferrer’s report contains a whole host of proposals and demands that deserve our unqualified support. I would like to highlight three points in particular: complementarity, coherence and coordination must be brought together in one uniform strategy because they are interdependent. The political leaders and the civil society of the partner States must have their decision-making powers strengthened, as must the EU delegation posts in situ, which is already happening with the elaboration of national indicative programmes within the scope of ACP cooperation. This will also require there to be improved cooperation between the delegations of the European Union and the diplomatic services of the Member States, which is a matter for the Council. We need to redouble our efforts, in order, not only to further coordination between the EU and the Member States in this sphere, but also with the international bodies. Since we provide the lion’s share of the funding for development cooperation, we are also entitled to clear recognition on the operational front and in terms of public perceptions. There have certainly been positive moves in this direction, but they must be developed, and consolidated in a definitive frame of reference. At the same time, we must overcome the burdensome legacy of colonial history, or the geo-strategic interests of individual Member States. The lack of political will on the part of the Member States represents the greatest obstacle to us being able to practise the three C’s satisfactorily, because they have no real interest in efficient, harmonised development cooperation, thereby tarnishing the European image and preventing us from optimising our potential as regards development policy, which reflects badly on the Member States themselves more than anything. Those in the European capitals ought to learn that strengthening Europe’s standing can do the same for their own image.

Political group: PSE