title: How Germany and France could play a leading role in international donor coordination
Creators: name: Kaplan, Lennart
Publisher: name: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/01t3zke88
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Entwicklungszusammenarbeit
subject: multilaterale Entwicklungspolitik
subject: Deutschland
subject: Frankreich
subject: Europa
subject: Multilateral Development Policy
subject: Germany
subject: France
subject: Europe

description: The future shape of European trade policy and the right stance to take in security and
 climate matters are currently the subject of fierce Franco-German debate. These issues are
 also relevant to development policy in the context of the overarching 2030 Agenda for
 Sustainable Development. Despite the opportunities afforded to them as strong donor
 countries to pursue joint approaches, Germany and France often tend to cooperate on an ad
 hoc basis rather than as part of a strategy (Krüger &amp; Vaillé, 2019). Signed on 22
 January 2019, the Aachen Treaty serves to renew the cooperation on Franco-German
 development cooperation (DC) formalised in the Élysée Treaty and offers the two countries
 a way to overcome differences and contribute jointly to global sustainable development
 (Aachen Treaty, Chapter 2, Article 7). Against this backdrop, this paper discusses
 challenges and opportunities for Franco-German DC based on two case studies in Cameroon
 and Morocco, which illustrate how differing mandates and methods being applied by the
 implementing organisations are preventing closer cooperation on the ground. Diverging
 political priorities, including within the national donor administrations, are also making
 it harder to engage in dialogue with the partner countries, especially if these have only
 limited capacity for donor coordination. If Germany and France succeed in overcoming their
 current differences, they will be able to attract other donors, particularly EU actors,
 for joint initiatives. Four policy recommendations can be derived from this: <br>
 1. Improving coherence between DC systems: <br> Even if the donor countries continue to
 maintain different political structures, the functional cooperation between the relevant
 actors will need to be supported at upper political levels. Coherence within the German
 and French DC systems should also be increased. <br> 2. Germany and France should make it
 easier to launch joint projects: <br> Programming cycles need to be better coordinated in
 the interests of the political dialogue on DC. At the same time, the mutual recognition of
 procedures that form part of both countries’ technical cooperation (TC) and financial
 cooperation (FC) should be afforded greater political support. <br> 3. Selecting partner
 countries and sectors strategically: <br> Focusing on common priorities and sectors is
 advisable, especially in partner countries with limited capacity for coordination.
 Franco-German cooperation with middle-income countries should also be strengthened
 strategically in order to support projects requiring substantial financing in sectors such
 as renewable energy. <br> 4. Structuring Franco-German cooperation so as to be open to
 other partners: <br> Germany and France should commit to a common Europe-wide
 implementation approach and promote its application in partner countries through pilot
 projects. Franco-German DC should also be structured so as to be open to other actors and
 should campaign for the preservation of global public goods in international organisations
 in which both donors play an active part (e.g. in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
 Tuberculosis and Malaria).
description: Briefing Paper, 8/2020