ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(76)358
Vol.1976/0106

Disclaimer
Conformément aurèglement(CEE,Euratom)n°354/83duConseildu1erfévrier1983
concernantl'ouvertureaupublicdesarchiveshistoriquesdelaCommunauté économique
européenneetdelaCommunautéeuropéennedel'énergieatomique(JOL43du15.2.1983,
p.1),telquemodifiéparlerèglement(CE,Euratom)n°1700/2003du22septembre2003
(JOL243du27.9.2003,p.1),cedossierestouvertaupublic.Lecaséchéant,lesdocuments
classifiésprésentsdanscedossierontétédéclassifiésconformément àl'article5dudit
règlement.
InaccordancewithCouncilRegulation(EEC,Euratom)No354/83of1February1983
concerningtheopeningtothepublicofthehistoricalarchivesoftheEuropeanEconomic
CommunityandtheEuropeanAtomicEnergyCommunity(OJL43,15.2.1983,p.1),as
amendedbyRegulation(EC,Euratom)No1700/2003of22September2003(OJL243,
27.9.2003,p.1),thisfileisopentothepublic.Wherenecessary,classifieddocumentsinthis
filehavebeendeclassified inconformitywithArticle5oftheaforementioned regulation.
InÜbereinstimmung mitderVerordnung(EWG,Euratom)Nr.354/83desRatesvom1.
Februar1983überdieFreigabederhistorischen ArchivederEuropäischen
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft undderEuropäischen Atomgemeinschaft (ABI.L43vom15.2.1983,
S.1),geändertdurchdieVerordnung(EG,Euratom)Nr.1700/2003vom22.September2003
(ABI.L243vom27.9.2003,S.1),istdieseDateiderÖffentlichkeitzugänglich.Soweit
erforderlich,wurdendieVerschlusssachen indieserDateiinÜbereinstimmung mitArtikel5
dergenanntenVerordnungfreigegeben.

COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(76)358 final
Luxemburg ,7thJuly 1976
HARMONIZATION AND COORDINATION OPDEVELOPMENT
COOPERATION POLICIES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY
+
(Commission communication totheCouncil )
V
ι 1
-V­
COM (76)358final\

1.Introduction
_._.... __1InitsCommunication of5March 1975 j"theCommission presented theCouncil
with anumber ofideas ontheharmonization andcoordination ofdevelopment
cooperation policies .
This Communication takes upthemain ideas setoutintheearlier paper ,for
instance thebasic definitions relating tothe scope ofharmonization and
cooperation andtheir field ofapplication .Anumber ofactivities inthis
field which were previously sketched outarenowgiven concrete shape ina
programme ofaction tobeundertaken over thenext four years .
These newproposals have been prepared inthelight ofthe remarks
formulated inthe Council concerning theprevious Commission
Communication and after anexamination ofthe memorandum from the Federal
Republic ofGermany ontheintegration ofdevelopment cooperation policies in
2theCommunity .
2•The objectives ofharmonizing and coordinating thepolicies oftheMember
States and the Community inthe field ofdevelopment cooperation .
2.1 Themain aimofharmonizing andcoordinating thecooperation policies
oftheMember States andtheCommunity istoincrease the effectiveness
ofthevarious types ofdevelopment cooperation action .
Asfar asthis aim isconcerned itseems clear inparticular that agreater
degree ofeffectiveness atCommunity level will beachieved only when the
various policies oftheCommunity Member States aremade tocomplement one
another veiy closely .
COM (75)94–Theharmonization andcoordination ofdevelopment cooperation
policies within theCommunity (Commission Communication totheCouncil of
5March 1975 ).
Memorandum from theGovernment oftheFederal Republic ofGermany fora
programme ofaction tointegrate further thepolicies oftheCommunity in
thefield ofdevelopment cooperation ,dated 31March 1976 .

-2-
Ifthis istheobjective ,itwill obviously bepossible toattain itonly
progressively -passing through astage where information isexchanged but
theMember States andtheCommunity take their owndecisions ,tothestage
oftrue coordination ,where theindividual decisions will have tobe
coordinated onthelines ofgeneral principles agreed onjointly .
Theestablishment ofajoint development cooperation policy canbeseen as
the culmination ofthis trend .
2.2 This progressive integration ofaidpolicies isexpressed intheGerman
Memorandum asthetransition from aphase of"coordination ofaction "toa
phase of"harmonization ofpolicies ".
This view ,which isbased onanevolution insuccessive stages ,seems logical ,
but itistheCommissions opinion that theintegration ofaidpolicies is
governed atthepresent time byaninternal dynamism which ishard toreconcile
with soprecise apattern .
Experience has shown that itisdifficult inpractice todistinguish clearly
between thedifferent stages ofthis process andthat coordination and
harmonization situations ofdifferent degrees ofintensity canco-exist ,as
atpresent .Incertain fields (asintheCIEC )harmonization hasreached
thestage oftheformulation oftruly common positions ,whereas inother cases
coordination has scarcely begun .
Andso,rather than aiming straight away tocover ,bycoordination ,allaspects
ofcooperation ,theCommission isinfavour ofcovering them progressively in
the light inter alia ofinternational developments .

-3-
Inthefirstplaceitwillthereforebenecessarytostrengthenthe
structureswhichcurrentlyensurethecoordination of
cooperationpolicies(inparticularthoseprovidedforthe
LomeConvention)andthenprogressively establishnewstructures
corresponding totherequirements ofcoordination onabroader
basis.
Atthesametimeanattemptwillbemadetodevelopexisting
information channelsandprocedures,andtocreatenewones
wherethisprovesnecessary(withintheframeworkalready
outlinedintheResolutionadoptedbytheCouncilon16June1974)*
Naturally,thefinalobjectiveisstill,asstressedintheGerman
Memorandum,toestablishtheprincipleofoverallCommunityresponsibility
fordevelopment cooperation.
3.Thescopeofharmonization andcoordination
Indealingwiththescopeofcoordination andtheprogrammeof
work,theCommissiondrewadistinctioninMarch1975betweenthe
generalaspectsandtheoperationalaspectsofcooperation .Sincethat
timeconsiderable progresshasbeenmadeinbothdirections.
Developments havebeenparticularly satisfactory astothegeneralaspects,
asaresultoftheneedfortheCommunityandtheMemberStatestoput
forwardcommonpositionsincertaininternational forums;while
implementation oftheLomepolicyhasprovidedthenewimpetusfor
operationalcooperation

-4-
4.Proposals "toachieveaprogressivecombination 0f-fc^eMemberStates'andthe
Community'spoliciesandactioninthefieldofdevelopment cooperation
4.1Withinthefi-rjacv/orkoutlinedabove,theCommissionfeelsthata
numberofpracticalmeasurescanbecarriedoutduringtheperiodcovered
bytheLomeConventionandbyfinancialprotocolsofthesamenature.The
generalaspectsofsuchmeasuresareexaminedhereandSection5setsout
thepracticalarrangements andtimetablefortheirexecution.
4.2Anumberofspecifictopicsrelatingtothegeneralaspectshave
beentackledonanadhocbasisintheWorkingPartyonDevelopment
Cooperation.Thisworkresultedin1974intheadoptionofaseriesof
resolutions bytheCouncil(Ministersresponsibleforcooperation).These
resolutions concerned,aswellastheapproximation ofcooperationpolicies
ingeneral,thevolume,termsandgeographical distribution ofaidandthe
problemofthedebtburdenofthedevelopingcountries.
Inaddition,Communitypreparationforinternational conferencesrelating
todevelopmentcooperationhasbeenprogressively intensified.Onecanmention
heretheTJUTDOConferenceinLima,thesixthandseventhspecial
sessionsoftheUnitedNationsGeneralAssembly,andinparticularthe.CIEC
andthefourthsessionofUNCTAD.
TheCommissionagreeswiththeGermanGovernmentthatharmonization forthe
purposeofinternational conferencesmustbestrengthened andputonasystematic
basis.Theobjectiveshouldbetoarriveatcommonpositions
onthemaintopicsunderconsideration .AswasshownbyUNCTADXV,itis
onlybyputtingforwardcommonpositionsthattheCommunitycanhaves.
significantinfluenceontheresultsofsuchconferences .

-5-
4*3Thecontinuation andintensification oftheCommunity'sworkinconnection
withtheCIECandotherinternational conferenceswilldoubtlessoccupythe
greaterpartofthe"coordination capacity"oftherelevantdepartments ofthe
CommissionandtheMemberStates.Inaddition,preparation bytheCommunity
forthesemeetingswillmakeitpossible,asthepasthasshown,totackle
successivelyalltheimportantquestionswhichariseintheinternational
cooperationfield.Experiencehasalsoshownthatdeadlinesimposedby
international developments haveahealthyaccelerating effectontheworkof
Communitycoordination .
Naturallythisdoesnotpreventtheexamination,withintheCommunityandas
faraspossibleinparallelwiththeabovework,ofcertainspecificsubjects
ofparticularinteresttotheMemberStatesandtheCommunity,forinstance
technicalassistanceagainstpaymentforcertaingroupsofdevelopingcountries.
Alongthesamelines,therehasbeenabeginningofCommunitycoordination in
thefieldofscientificresearchofinteresttothedevelopingcountriesin
theframeworkoftheScientificandTechnicalResearchCommittee(CREST).
4.4Atthepracticallevel,operationalcoordination canbeundertaken:
bycountryorregionalgroup,wherethevariousCommunitypartnersagree
onacommon,complementary policytowardsaspecificcountryorgroupof
countries;
byprojectorprogrammeofaction,wheretwoormorepartnerstakepart
togetherinthesameaction.
4*4*1*1Coordination onacountry-by-countrybasis(ACPandsouthernMediterranean
initially)willfinditslogicalplaceinthemeetingswhicharecurrentlybeing
heldbetweentheCommissionandtheMemberStatestoprogrammefinancialand
technicalassistanceundertheLom£Convention andinthosewhichwillsoonbe
heldinasimilarcontextfortheMaghrebandMashreqcountries.
HithertothesemeetingshaveservedtocoordinatetheactionoftheCommunity
withthatoftheMemberStatesineachACPStateonthebasisofthe
informationreceivedonthenationalaidpolicies;butnowthereisagrowing
tendencytogobeyondthisstage.TheMemberStatesareshowingincreasing

-6-
interest inmounting Community projects ,andtheexchange ofinformation leads
totheformulation ofacommon attitude -ifnot acommon policy -towards the
ACP country under consideration .
■Phis trend must "besupported ,anditwill therefore benecessary
forthese meetings tocontinue during the life oftheLome
Convention andagreements oflike nature with periodic
thoroughgoing examinations notonly oftheCommuiiity *said -programmes and
policies hutalso ofthose oftheMember States ,thus leading toabetter
defacto coordination oftheprojects undertaken orcontemplated bythe
Member States themselves .
Inaddition ,adhoccommittees could beformed atamore technical level ,
iftheneed became apparent ,totackle thespecific problems which might "beraised
asaresult ofaparticular situation inagiven country (disasters ,etc.).
For the Mediterranean countries –since the institutional framework isof
alike nature tothat provided bytheLome Convention -itis
necessary toenvisage asimilar development ofcoordination between the
Community andtheMember States andamong theMember States themselves .The
Commission 'sproposals oncooperation with these countries will therefore be
prepared inthe light ofinformation itcanobtain onaction being ortobe
undertaken bytheMember States inthis part oftheworld .This information
should permit defacto coordination between Member States bymaking their
activities better known .
4.4.1.2 Inrelation toother developing countries astart has already been
made oncoordination between theCommunity andtheMember States (food aid).
Theorienting ofnational action towards aCommunity context should beencouraged ,
and steps should betaken inthe short term atleast toensure that action taken
byonecountry does notconfliot with that taken byothers .
4«4«2 Operational coordination byproject orprogramme ofaction hasbeen
achieved inthepast inanon-institutional framework with fairly successful
results .
Coordination ofthis type should beintensified where anumber ofMember States
andtheCommunity participate-as providers offunds inthesame financing operation .

-7-
This isparticularly interesting where such participation accompanies or
"brings about that ofother providers offunds ,inparticular certain
oil-producing countries .
4.4.3 Thejoint examination ofthesectoral aspects ofaidpolicies
(training ,stock farming ,water supply ,etc.)oroftheinstruments
ofcooperation (trade promotion ,industrial promotion ,food aid)
isofparticular importance "because oftheinfluence itcanhave onthe
moulding ofaconcerted attitude towards specific problems .
Such anexamination can "becarried out :
onanextended "basis "bygeneral discussions organized around a
specific topic ;
onarestricted "basis ,inorder tosolve aspecific problem ,via
theprovision byaMember State ortheCommission ofexperts from
the various Member States .
Intheformer category ,meetings ofexperts have already been arranged
inthepast ontechnical themes (stock farming ,project evaluation ).
Such activity must becontinued andtherange ofparticipants andsubjects
extended .
TheCommission intends tohold meetings including notonly government
representatives butalso non~official participants who ,through thework
they do,could make aneffective contribution tothesubject under
discussion .
Asregards the second point –themobilization ofindividual capacities –
theCommission feel ??that itshould bepossible anduseful tosecond fora
shorter orlonger period anexpert belonging toapublic orsemi-public
body inoneMember State oraCommunity offici altoasimilar body inanother
Member State .ortothe Commission .Such secondments would "bemade inorder
tointegrate theefforts ofnational andCommunity authorities onaprovisional
basis soastofacilitate thesolution ofspecific problems through experience
gained .

-8-
For itspart ,theCommission will undertake onthe "basis oftheinformation
supplied ,"bytheMember States toestablish aninventory bycategory of
available experts ,tocollect andforward therequests tousethis facility
and ,onageneral level ,tofollow upthis newtype ofcoordination .
4.4.4 Thecoordination oftheMember StateA' sectoral policies isalso
necessary incertain international bodies specializing inparticular aspects
ofdevelopment toavoid therisk ofdivergent positions being adopted onthe
questions ofprinciple that these bodies have totackle andontheaction to
betaken .
This coordination must beorganized asspeedily aspossible inthecase ofthe
IPADsince theFund 'spreparatory committee will bemeeting shortly andsince
itisnecessary tolook alittle further ahead tothefunctioning oftheFund 's
decision-making organs ^".
ACommission staff paper analysing this subject will besubmitted atalater
stage todefine theconditions andarrangements under which thecoordination
inthis context canbeorganized .

-9-
4.5 Although atoperational level theframework forcoordinating cooperation
policies between the Community andtheMember States seems tobefairly clear -
cut-particularly because ofpast experience –thesame cannot besaid of
coordinating relations with non-governmental organizations .
Theopportunities here seem tobeparticularly interesting and ,with aview to
putting them into practice ,theCommission proposes ,assuggested intheGerman
Memorandum ,toarrange ameeting between Community experts andexperts from the
Member States foranexchange ofviews ontheresults andmethods ofcooperation
between governmental andnon-governmental organizations .Theexperience gained
bytheGovernments could thus beexamined andputtogood use.This meeting
could take place some time this Autumn .
Itseems premature ,however ,toestablish contacts intheimmediate future with
voluntary organizations ,asissuggested intheGerman Memorandum .
5.Information inthefield ofdevelopment aid
Inaddition towhat hasbeen said above ,itisimportant tostress theneed for
those responsible forcooperation policy tobekept fully informed ofwhat is
going on.
5.1 InitsMemorandum ,theGerman Government proposes thepreparation ofan
annual report onthecooperation policies pursued bytheMember States and
the Community itself .The Commission welcomes andseconds Lhis proposal .
TheCommission isaware ofthepotential importance ofsuch areport ,particularly
forthepurpose ofkeeping Parliament andthepublic informed ofthedevelopment
efforts being made within theCommunity . Itagrees with theGerman Government
that this report should inprinciple cover allthecooperation relations ofthe
Member States andthe Community with theThird World .Inorder toavoid
duplication ofeffort with similar reports ,this newreport should becentred
onthe specific features ofthe cooperation policies conducted within the
Community .
TheCommission feels however that theoverall andcomprehensive nature which ,
viewed ambitiously ,such areport should have ,canbeacquired only

-10-
progressively .TheCommission wishes moreover -todraw theMember
States' attention tothefact that thepreparation ofsuch apaper
makes itnecessary for theCommission tocollect important information
from them specifically forthis purpose .Ittherefore hopes that it
cancount ontheMember States 1cooperation inthis work .
Because ofthestaff situation ,theCommission proposes initially todevote the
greater part oftheannual report tothecooperation work undertaken "bythe
Community assuch (forfood aidnational data may "beincorporated even inthis
initial stage ).Since this would "bethefirst report ofitskind ,itshould
give abrief history ofCommunity cooperation work .Subsequent reports
could gradually embrace national policies .
5.2 Inaddition tothis document ,other sectoral information will have
tobebrought totheattention ofthose involved .Forinstance ,
information from theMember States *ontheir future aidprogrammes will
bestandardized andcollected foreach ACPandMaghreb State ,andlater
each Maghreb State ,inorder toprovide acoherent ,overall view .Such informatior
will automatically enable theMember States andtheCommunity toavoid
duplication ofeffort andtoalign their ovmaction better onthat being
taken byothers .
Asforother information ,theCommission hasalready prepared andforwarded
totheMember States adocument ontheeconomic prospects anddevelopment
.J** 1. A/tT »O I..I .
KJJL cctun ui-cti.tr® .
TheCommission might also have toprovide annual notes oneconomic and
political developments ineach ACPcountry andanyother developing country linked
totheCommunity byanagreement ofthesane nature astheLom6 Convention .
\
6.Implementation procedures andtimetable
6.1 Theimplementation procedure andtimetable isindicated ,where
necessary ,forthevarious aspects ofaidpolicy integration dealt with
above .

-11-
During thenext fewmonths theCommunity 'swork programme will
depend inthefirst place onthetopics tackled within theCIEC and
connected with theapplication oftheresolutions ofUNCTAD IV.Thesecond
stage ofthis conference will probably deal ingreater depth with a
nu^cer oftopics already "being discussed within theCommunity ,anumber
ofwhich arespecifically mentioned intheGerman Memorandum .
These topics will cover :
(i)certain aspects ofindustrial andtechnological cooperation :it
hasbecome apparent that oneoftheaspects onwhich theCommunity
will have toexamine itsposition more thoroughly ishowtoinvolve
business firms ininternational cooperation .This topic will call
forconcerted positions onvery practical points (protection
agreements ,guarantees ,arbitration etc.);
(ii)thefood problem :theCommunity will have tomake acontribution
tothedisucssion onthere-establishment ofgreater security of
food supplies atworld level :
(iii)thegeographical distribution andterms ofaid :aconsensus onthis
point should besought atinternational level ,which implies
continued efforts toachieve intrar-Conimunity coordination ;
(iv)theproblem ofindebtedness :following Nairobi ,theCommunity must
give greater depth tothegeneral position itdefined inNairobi ,
with aview toitspresentation attheCIEC ;itshould infuture
approach therequests fordebt relief asfaraspossible ona
concerted basis (between creditor Member States ).
Other topics ,such astheuntying ofaid ,offer intheCommission 'sview
little chance ofprogress atthepresent time –aswas shown bythe
Community 'sdiscussions onthis subject inNairobi .Ittherefore seems
• \ *
preferable tosuspend thediscussion ofthese topics forthemoment in
favour ofanintensification ofthework inother fields ,andtotake them
upagain atalater stage . . »

-12-
o.2Asfara?theoperationalaspectsofaidharmonization areconcerned,it
isnecessaryfirstofalltointensify-inthecontextoftheLom£Convention
anaagreementsoflikenature-thecontactsalreadybeingmadeforthepurpose
ofcoordination atthelevelofagivencountryorproject.Asregardsmore
'-ecifioallytheoperationsreferredtoinpoint4»4»3jtheCommissionproposes
toorganizetwomeetingsofexpertsnextyear:thefirst-ontheeffectsof
Co;jmunityaidonagriculture inthedevelopingcountries-shouldtakeplace
nextMay,thesecond-ontheutilization ofsolarenergy-possiblybeingheld
towardstheendofnextyear.
6.3ThemeetingbetweenexpertsfromtheCommunityandtheMemberStates
regardingrelationswithnon-governmental organizations (NGOs)wouldbeheld
thisNovemberattheinvitation oftheCommission .
6.4Theannualreportonthedegreeofintegration ofcooperationpolicies
withintheCommunitycouldbedrawnupbytheCommissionforJune1977-
ThereportontheprogrammesofCommunityaid(tobepublishedannually)will
appearattheendofnextyear,andtheupdatedversionsofthedocumentson
theprospectsandeconomicdevelopment oftheACPStatesandsouthernMediterranean
developingcountrieswillbepreparedasfromJanuary1978.Documentsonthe
short-term economicsituationofgivencountrieswillbedrawnupifthereare
anyimportantchangesinthissituation.
6.5Naturally,theseinitialindicationsofmethodsandproceduresarenot
intendedtocoveralltherequirements inthematterofharmonizing development
cooperationpolicies.Indeed,theevolvingnatureofthissubjectsuggests,
aswasstressedearlier,theadoptionofaflexibleapproach.
Itwillbeasimplematter,ontakingstockofthispolicyforthefirsttime,
tonotetheprogressachievedanddefinetheneeds,whichwillgiveriseto
morestructured measures.