Communication from the Council - Guidelines for strengthening operational coordination between the Community and the Member States in the field of development cooperation (Text adopted by the Council on 9 March 1998)
Date: 1998-03-09
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: cooperation policy, coordination of aid, developing countries, development aid

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Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

C  97/1

I

(Information)

COUNCIL

Guidelines  for  strengthening  operational  coordination  between  the  Community  and  the  Member
States  in  the  field  of  development  cooperation

(Text  adopted  by  the  Council  on  9  March  1998)

(98/C  97/01)

1.(cid:217)In 

its  conclusions  of  5  June  1997,  the  Council
considered  that  operational  coordination  between
the  Community  and  the  Member  States  should  be
strengthened  in  all  developing  countries  with  which
the  EU  has  established  cooperation  relations  on  the
basis  of  new  guidelines.  These  new  guidelines  shall
be  implemented  in  a  pragmatic  way,  taking  into
account 
local
constraints.  They  should  also  take  account  of  the
1994  guidelines,  the 
in  the  pilot
lessons 
phase,  and  be  based  on  the  following  principles:

the  ground,  and 

capacity  on 

learned 

-(cid:217)coordination  activities  should  be  tailored  to  the
specific  situation  in  each  country,  and  in  each
sector  or  area  of  development  cooperation,

the  recipient  country,  with  a  view 

-(cid:217)they  should  be  carried  out  in  close  cooperation
to
with 
strengthening  its  capacity  to  assume  its  responsi(cid:220)
bility  for  and  ownership  of 
its  development
strategies  and  programmes  and  reinforcing  the
government’s  lead  role  in  general  aid  coordi(cid:220)
nation,

-(cid:217)EU  coordination  should  be 

to  other
existing  donor  coordination  mechanisms  at  the
country  level,

linked 

-(cid:217)the  coordination  activities 

should  ensure  a
coherent  EU  input  in  wider  donor  coordination
mechanisms  and  consistency  with  common  policy
guidelines  adopted  by  the  Council,

-(cid:217)EU  coordination  must  be  undertaken  in  such  a
way  that  it  maximises  the  added  value  for  the
beneficiary  countries.

process  in  the  partner  country,  while  maximising  its
specific  benefits  in  each  individual  situation.  In  this
context,  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States
should  support  efforts  of  the  partner  country  to
increasingly  take  a  lead  role  in  their  overall  aid  coor(cid:220)
dination.

The  specific  role  and  modalities  of  EU  coordination,
and  its  input  into  wider  aid  coordination  mechanisms
including  other  donors,  should  be  jointly  determined
in  each  partner  country,  and  for  each  sector  or  area
of  development  cooperation.  To  facilitate  this,  the
representatives  of 
the
Commission  should  undertake,  in  consultation  with
the  partner  country,  a 
joint  stocktaking  of  the
situation,  in  particular  with  respect  to  the  following
areas:

the  Member  States  and 

-(cid:217)the  priorities  and  policies  of  the  partner  country
for  each  sector  and  area  of  development  coop(cid:220)
eration,

-(cid:217)the  policies  and  activities  supported  by 

the
Community  and  the  Member  States  concerned  in
each  of  these  sectors  and  areas,

-(cid:217)the  existence  and  functioning  of  coordination

mechanisms  including  other  donors,

-(cid:217)the  role  of  the  partner  country  in  existing  coordi(cid:220)

nation  mechanisms,

-(cid:217)the  institutional  capacity  of  the  partner  country

to  lead  aid  coordination,

-(cid:217)the 

role  of 

Commission 
exercise.

the  Member  States  and 
enhanced 

the
coordination

the 

in 

2.(cid:217)This 

implies 

should  be
undertaken  as  part  of  the  overall  aid  coordination

that  EU  coordination 

This  stocktaking  should  be  regularly  updated.

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31.3.98

3.(cid:217)On  the  basis  of  this  stocktaking,  the  representatives
of  the  Member  States  and  the  Community  should
agree  on  the  modalities  of  reinforced  coordination
and  make 
the  necessary  working  arrangements,
building  on  existing  EU  coordination  mechanisms,
including  at 
level.  These  arrangements
should  aim  to  cover  all  cooperation  instruments  and
areas.

sectoral 

4.(cid:217)In  principle, 

the  European
the  delegation  of 
Commission,  working  in  close  conjunction  with  the
Presidency,  should  initiate  and  monitor  this  overall
process  of 
strengthening  operational  on(cid:220)the(cid:220)spot
the
coordination  between 
Member  States,  in  consultation  with,  and  with  the
support  of  the  representatives  of  the  Member  States.

the  Community  and 

the 

situations, 

representatives 

By  common  accord  and  with  due  regard  to  indi(cid:220)
vidual 
the
Commission  and  the  Member  States  could  entrust
one  Member  State  or  the  Commission  with  the  task
of  monitoring  the  operational  coordination 
in  a
certain  sector  or  area  of  development  cooperation,  in
the  context  of  the  overall  coordination  exercise.

of 

representative  of 

In  countries  where  the  Commission  does  not  have  a
the
the 
resident  delegation, 
Presidency  should  initiate  the  coordination  process.
The  representatives  of  the  Member  States  should,  by
common  accord,  entrust  one  Member  State  with  the
task  of  monitoring  the  process,  working  in  close
conjunction  with  the  competent  delegation  situated
in  a  third  country.

On  the  request  of  a  Member  State  which  does  not
have  a  resident  embassy  in  a  given  partner  country,
the  Commission 
provide
delegation 
information  on  the  results  of  operational  coordi(cid:220)
nation.

should 

5.(cid:217)The  modalities  of  operational  coordination  between
the  Member  States  could

the  Community  and 
include,  in  particular:

(a) Meetings  between  representatives  of  Member  States

and  the  EC  delegation

Such  meetings  should  be  held  monthly,  or  as
invitation,  after  consultation
required,  at  the 
with  the  Presidency,  of  the  EC  delegation,  or
the  Member  State  having  a  lead  role  for  a  given
sector.

The  objectives  of  such  meetings  are  to:

(i) establish 

and  maintain 

an  up(cid:220)to(cid:220)date
overview  among  participants  of  the  sectoral
priorities  currently  supported  and  of  the
on(cid:220)going  and  planned  activities  of  devel(cid:220)
opment  assistance  of  the  Community  and

the  Member  States  and  to  discuss  recent
developments 
this
regard;

experiences 

and 

in 

(ii) identify  and  address  duplication  and  oppor(cid:220)
tunities  for  reinforcement  in  the  activities  of
the  Member  States  and  the  Community,
with  a  view  to  enhancing  their  complemen(cid:220)
tarity,  also  taking  account  of  the  activities
of  other  donors;

(iii) discuss,  and  where  possible,  adopt  a
common  approach  on  the  coordination  and
cooperation  with  other  donors  for  each
sector  or  area  of  development  cooperation,
and  on  the  cooperation  with  the  partner
country;

the  Commission 

(iv)(cid:217)promote  a  coordinated  approach  of  the
Member  States  and 
in
supporting  the  sectoral  policies  adopted  by
the  partner  country,  and  where  appropriate,
to  prepare  a  coherent  input  in  the  devel(cid:220)
sector
opment 
programmes  with  the  participation  of  other
donors  and  under  the 
leadership  of  the
partner  country;

implementation  of 

and 

(v) exchange 

information  and  views  on  the
priorities  to  be  set  -  based  on  the  needs
identified  by  the  partner  country  -  for  the
programming  of  the  next  phase  of  devel(cid:220)
opment  assistance  to  be  provided  by  the
Member  States  and  the  Community,  taking
account  of  the  differences  in  timing  and
procedure.  These  consultations  should  be
held  at  a 
the
programming  process  of  each  party  and
should 
sector
be 
programmes.

compatible  with 

stage 

early 

very 

in 

(b) Exchange  of  information

The  Member  States  and  the  Commission  should
keep  each  other  informed  about  their  policies,  as
well  as  evaluations,  missions  and  studies  and
their  on(cid:220)going  and  future  activities  of  devel(cid:220)
the  partner  country
opment  assistance, 
concerned.  Where  relevant,  such 
information
should  be  shared  with  other  donors.

in 

To  this  end,  the  representatives  of  the  Member
States  and  the  Commission  on  the  spot  should
disseminate,  in  summary,  and  whenever  possible,
in  written  form,  information  on  their  policies
and  on(cid:220)going  or  planned  aid  activities.  The
information  could  be  facilitated
exchange  of 
through  a  database  model,  provided  by  the
Commission,  which  would  be  offered  to  the
representatives  of  the  Member  States  and  the
Commission  on  the  spot.  On  the  occasion  of
major  missions  to  the  country  concerned  by
representatives  from  the  Commission  or  Member
States,  briefings  and  debriefings 
should  be
organised.

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The  longer  term  objective  should  be  to  help
develop  the  capacity  of  the  government  of  the
partner  country  in  relation  to  the  exchange  and
use  of  information  which  is  relevant  to  its  devel(cid:220)
opment  process,  through  building  local  institu(cid:220)
tional  capacity.

(c) Joint  studies,  analyses  and  evaluations

In  sectors  or  areas  where  several  Member  States
and  the  Community  are  active,  studies,  analyses
and  evaluations  could  increasingly  be  carried  out
jointly  in  cooperation  with  the  partner  country
and  where  appropriate,  with  other  donors.

increasingly  be
The  partner  country  should 
responsible  for  and  take  the 
in  public
lead 
expenditure  reviews,  and,  where  possible,  studies
and  analyses.

(d) Joint  programmes

Where  appropriate,  joint  programmes  could  be
undertaken, 
in  cooperation  with  the  partner
country  and,  possibly,  other  donors.  Such  joint
programmes  should  increasingly,  and  as  far  as
possible,  take  the  form  of  sector  programmes
and  ensure  a  leading  role  of  the  government.

(e) Aid  modalities

If  necessary,  the  aid  programmes  of  the  Member
States  concerned,  or  the  Community’s  indicative
programmes  could  be  adapted,  in  accordance
with  the  relevant  procedures,  and  in  agreement
with  the  partner  country,  if  it  becomes  apparent
that  there  is  significant  duplication  of  efforts,  or
gaps  in  their  overall  activities.

Wherever  possible,  both  the  Community  and  the
should  aim  at  achieving  a
Member  States 
progessive  harmonisation  of  procedures,  as
in  particular  the  format  of  financing
regards 
proposals, 
programme
implementation  procedures.  Field  coordination
should  go  hand  in  hand  with  a  symmetric  coor(cid:220)
dination  due  to  take  place  at  Headquarters’
level.

agreements 

and 

the 

6.(cid:217)The  Member  States  and  the  Community  shall  make
joint  efforts  to  optimise  the  functioning  of  existing
aid/donor  coordination  mechanisms,  by  ensuring,  in
particular, 
beneficiary
linkage  with 
government’s  own  policies  at  sectoral  and  general
levels;  the  contribution  of  these  coordination  mech(cid:220)
anisms  to  assisting  the  government  in  defining  and
implementing  appropriate  sectoral  policies  and  sector
programmes,  and  an  increasingly  active  role  of  the
partner  country  in  the  aid  coordination  process.

the 

these  mechanisms 

Where 
the
Commisison  and  the  Member  States  shall  do  their
utmost  to  assist  them  wherever  they  can,  by  playing
a  full  part  in  the  process,  and  supplying  all  requested
information  as  promptly  and  fully  as  possible.

already, 

exist 

7.(cid:217)All 

these 

coordination 

be
undertaken  in  such  a  way  that  they  maximise  the
added  value  for  the  partner  countries.

activities 

should 

8.(cid:217)The  representatives  of  the  Member  States  and  the
joint  report  on  the
Community  shall  establish  a 
measures  taken  and  on  the  progress  achieved  in
strengthening  operational  EU  coordination,  in  the
course  of  1999.

9.(cid:217)The  Council  will  examine 

the  general  progress
achieved  on  the  basis  of  these  guidelines  at 
its
meeting  in  the  second  half  of  1998,  and  requests  the
Commission  to  make  a  preliminary  report  to  that
meeting.

implemented, 

10.(cid:217)In  countries  where  these  guidelines  have  already
been 
the
the 
Member  States  and  the  Commission  will  advise  their
authorities  of  ways  in  which  coordination  could  be
strengthened  locally.

representatives  of 

11.(cid:217)Based  on  the  joint  reports  mentioned  in  paragraph  8,
and  the  preliminary  report  referred  to  in  paragraph
9,  the  Council  will  examine  the  possibility  of  further
developing  these  guidelines.