Annual report 2007 on the European Community’s development policy and the implementation of external assistance in 2006.
Date: 2007-11-02
Institutions: EuropeAid Co-operation Office
Subjects: EU aid, activity report, developing countries, development aid, development policy

Annual
report

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2007

on  the  European  Community’s  development  policy  
and  the  implementation  of  external  assistance  in  2006

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

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reportport
2007

European Commission

■ EuropeAid      Co-operation     Oﬃ  ce ■
Rue de la Loi 41  I  B-1049 Brussels

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report

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The Annual Report 2007 on the European Community’s Development Policy and the Implementation of External Assistance in 2006 is available in French 
and English on the Internet at: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/multimedia/publications/index_en.htm

The text of the “Highlights” is available in 22 oﬃ  cial languages of the European Union on the same website.
Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made 
of the following information. 

Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.

Conception/Pre-press:  ASCii
All photos are © EC 
Additional information:  P. Zaporowski (Cover, p. 25, p. 105) // V. Beeckman (p. 3) // Jean-Michel Clajot (p.7 - Louis Michel) // Sujan Map, UNICEF (p. 15) //
F. Perini (p. 16 LR) // F. Lefèbvre (p. 41, p. 85) // M. Mercier (p. 127) // C. Masson (p. 137).

Luxembourg: Oﬃ  ce for Oﬃ  cial Publications of the European Communities, 2007

ISBN 978-92-79-06332-9

© European Communities, 2007

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Printed in Belgium, October 2007
Printed on white chlorine-free paper

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Fore
word

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The European Union (European Commission and Member States) is proud to be the largest contributor of external 
assistance, with more than 55% of the world’s oﬃ  cial development aid. The Commission alone manages one-ﬁ fth 
of these European funds.

2006 was another record year for the European Community’s external assistance, with commitments reaching € 9.8 bil-
lion. The Community is therefore on course to meet its part of the EU undertaking to double Oﬃ  cial Development 
Assistance by 2015, in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. As regards budget execution, the 
Commission disbursed a total sum of € 8.1 billion in 2006, up from € 7.5 billion in 2005. 

Thanks to the simpliﬁ cation of its instruments and procedures, the European Commission continues to improve the 
ﬂ exibility and eﬃ  ciency of its external assistance in delivering better and faster aid worldwide. 

Active in 160 countries, the Commission’s external assistance aims at ﬁ ghting poverty and promoting economic 
development, human rights and democracy, in line with the EU Consensus on Development.

The accession of Romania and Bulgaria into the EU on 1 January 2007 was a major milestone. Support for the remain-
ing pre-accession countries will be covered by an integrated instrument committed in particular to stabilising and 
associating the countries of the Western Balkans.

In 2006, the European Neighbourhood Policy was further strengthened by the conclusion of three new Action Plans 
with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as the ﬁ nalisation of the Action Plans with Egypt and Lebanon. In 
 addition, a new European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument was adopted. 

Africa was the main recipient of the European Community’s external aid. 2006 was the ﬁ rst year of application of 
the EU Strategy for Africa, which is an integrated political framework that improves co-ordination and coherence 
between the EU and Member States on development policies implemented in Africa. The Commission also further 
increased its support to the African Peace Facility.

In many respects 2006 was a year of transition, with the preparation of simpler and more eﬃ  cient ﬁ nancing instru-
ments under the new Financial Perspectives for 2007-2013. The new Instrument for Development Co-operation (DCI) 
covers Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, but will also focus on thematic issues such as health, education and 
gender equality.

The European Commission has also shown its ability to respond eﬀ ectively in crisis situations. Faced with the risk of 
a major avian inﬂ uenza pandemic, the Commission provided a rapid response with a pledge of € 80 million for aid 
and the co-organisation of a meeting in Beijing with the main actors concerned. In Palestine, at the request of the 
“Quartet”, the Commission has put in place, with the World Bank, a Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) to help 
improve the socio-economic conditions of the most fragile elements in the population. In total, European Community 
support to the Palestinian people amounted to € 339 million in 2006.

The European Commission was also proactive in the crucial area of human rights, with no fewer than 13 EU Election 
Observation Missions in 2006 and the preparation of a revised European Instrument for Democracy and Human 
Rights. This reﬂ ects the EU’s strong conviction that promoting respect for human rights is an indispensable part of
our external assistance policies.

Benita Ferrero-Waldner

Benita Ferrero-Waldner

Member of the 
European Commission 
responsible for 
External Relations 
and European 
Neighbourhood Policy 
and EuropeAid

In agreement with 
Louis Michel, 

Member of the 
European Commission 
responsible for 
Development and 
Humanitarian Aid

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Highlights

12
12 

 Introduction

12 
12 

 A better framework for development policy: 

policy coherence

13
13 

 A better framework for regional strategies

14
14 

 A better framework for external assistance – 

simplifying and clarifying regulations

16
16 

 A better framework for working together: 

aid eﬀ  ectiveness

17 
17  Results

Strategic context

26
26  1.1  Introduction

27
27 

1.2  Annual objectives

28  1.3   Implementation of the European Consensus 
28 

on Development

29  1.4   European Neighbourhood Policy
29

30 
30  1.5   Sectoral policy / strategy developments

33 
33 

1.6  Aid eﬀ  ectiveness 

37
37 

1.7   Enhancing impact on poverty and inequality 

in middle-income countries

37 
37

1.8   Preparations for new ﬁ nancial instruments

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Geographical focus

Feature articles

42 
42 

2.1  Western Balkans

106
106      4.1  Supporting an innovative partnership: 

48
48  2.2   Eastern Europe and Central Asia

the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis  

and Malaria. The progress made so far

55 
55 

2.3   Mediterranean and Near and Middle East

110
110  4.2  Migration

Aid management

118
118  5.1   Developments in aid delivery modalities and 

channels

120 
120  5.2   Progress on qualitative issues in aid 

management

121 
121  5.3   Co-operation with international 

organisations and other donors

123
123  5.4   Simpliﬁ cation of procedures

123
123  5.5   Enlargement and special Task Force on 

Capacity-Building

124  5.6   Visibility and communication
124 

64 
64  2.4  ACPs and OCTs

71 
71 

2.5  Asia

77
77  2.6  Latin America

Thematic programmes 
and mainstreaming 
of crosscutting issues

87
87  3.1   Democracy and human rights

90
90  3.2   Human and social development

92
92 

3.3   Equality between men and women

94  3.4   Non-state actors in development
94

94  3.5   Environment and sustainable development 
94

of natural resources

96  3.6   Migration and Asylum
96 

97  3.7   Conﬂ ict prevention, crisis management and 
97 

mine actions, including peace facility and 

drugs

99  3.8  Food security
99

100  3.9   Sugar accompanying measures
100 

101  3.10  Outlook 2007
101

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Results

128
128  6.1   Project results: Results-Oriented Monitoring

130
130  6.2   Evaluation: Review of the 2006 Work 

Programme

Annexes

138
138  7.1   EC assistance detailed in other reports 

141 
141  7.2   Introduction to ﬁ nancial tables

142 
142  7.3  Financial tables

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12

Highlights

introduction

 Introduction

The European Union continues to be the world’s major source of develop-
ment aid, providing € 46.9 billion (56.67%) of total oﬃ  cial development 
assistance (ODA) reported to the OECD for 2006. The external aid man-
aged by the European Commission amounted to about € 12.1 billion of new 
commitments in 2006, of which € 9.8 billion is classiﬁ ed as ODA. Over 160 
countries beneﬁ t from this aid. 

2006 saw major changes in the way the EU manages its relations with the 
rest of the world. First, by ensuring that policies which aﬀ ect developing 
countries can support the objectives of development; second, by adopting 
regional strategies that reﬂ ect its main priorities; third, by simplifying the 
range of instruments that provide the legal basis for external assistance; 
fourth, by implementing measures to work more closely with partner coun-
tries and other development actors so that aid becomes more eﬀ ective; 
and last, by improving the ways in which results are measured and lessons 
learnt. 

This  overview  aims  to  present  the  main  features  of  each  of  these 
changes.

 A better framework for 
development policy: 
policy coherence

Since the adoption in December 2005 of the European Consensus on 
Development, the Commission has increasingly focused on the contri-
bution that policies beyond development – such as trade, agriculture, 
environment, security, migration, the social dimension of globalisation, 
employment  and  decent  work,  and  international  scientiﬁ c  co-opera-
tion, including health research – can make to achieving the Millennium 
Development Goals (MDGs).

It is widely agreed that development policy alone will not bring suﬃ  cient 
results and that a number of other policies can have a major impact. The 
EU’s aim is to maximise the positive eﬀ ect of its policies while minimising 
their negative impact on developing countries. 

Under the impetus of the EU Presidency, a rolling work programme for 
2006-2007 on Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) was elaborated to 
identify common priorities for action. In October 2006, the Council adopted 
conclusions covering both the Presidency’s rolling PCD work programme 
and the integration of development concerns in the Council’s decision-
making processes. The Commission has made progress in a number of 
areas, including trade, and in particular in the negotiation of Economic 
Partnership Agreements with ACP countries that aim at fostering trade 
and regional integration as an engine for long-term development. The 
ﬁ ght against infectious diseases linked to poverty is another good exam-
ple, e.g. through the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials 
Partnership (EDCTP). 

Considerable progress has also been made in the area of migration, with-
in the framework of the EU Strategy for Africa1 and with the launch of a 
€ 380 million Thematic Programme for Migration for 2007-2013 and, further, 
in the area of security, with support for security sector reform in partner 
countries. Migration is a topic for which coherence is particularly impor-
tant. In the framework of its broader co-operation agreements, the EU has 
developed a dialogue on migration-related issues with various countries 
and regions in the world. The European Neighbourhood Policy is a case in 
point, and other dialogue processes are underway with partners in Africa, 
Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean2. 

1 

EU Strategy for Africa: Towards a Euro-African pact to accelerate Africa’s development. 
COM(2005) 489 ﬁ nal.

2 

A parallel dialogue is also underway with the ACP (African, Caribbean and Paciﬁ c) 
grouping as such.

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 a better framework for regional strategies

Highlights

13

Such a dialogue typically covers a broad range of issues, including for ex-
ample the linkages between migration and development, the ﬁ ght against 
illegal migration and traﬃ  cking in human beings, the impact of refugee 
situations on development, and joint eﬀ orts to manage economic migra-
tion better. It can lead to the provision of EU assistance to help partner 
countries build their capacity to manage migration ﬂ ows and to maximise 
the positive linkages between migration and development.

Also in the context of coherence, questions of human rights and good gov-
ernance are addressed systematically. In 2006 for instance, 13 EU Election 
Observation Missions were mobilised and some 1 400 EU observers de-
ployed. These missions contributed by their presence to reducing the pos-
sibility of fraud, manipulation and intimidation. They increased transparency 
and public conﬁ dence in the election process, and thus supported progress 
in democracy and governance. In some cases, the missions played a role in 
conﬂ ict prevention, as in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where 
the most important EU Mission ever deployed (300 observers) monitored 
the two rounds of elections in July and November. These elections paved 
the way for a return to civil peace, re-establishment of governance, sus-
tainable development in the DRC and the stabilisation of the whole Great 
Lakes region.

On governance, the Commission proposed a new approach to “Governance 
in the European Consensus on Development”3. This builds on a major evalu-
ation covering the period 1994-2004. The EU, it found, has made the right 
choice in putting governance at the top of its political and co-operation 
agenda, and the Commission has made substantial progress in deﬁ ning 
what are likely to be the most eﬀ ective approaches to sustainable improve-
ments. The Commission also stresses the importance of promoting good 
governance in areas such as the tax, ﬁ nancial and judicial area, and scientiﬁ c 
co-operation.

As a whole, coherence is of crucial importance for implementing EU external 
assistance policies. When dealing with partner countries, the Commission 
adopts three main identities – political player, development agency and 
donor administration – and is continuously seeking ways in which it can 
more eﬀ ectively combine these three. 

 A better framework for 
regional strategies

Also in line with the Consensus, the Commission has focused on ensuring 
its objectives and principles are reﬂ ected in the strategies for intervention 
at the regional level. 

In  particular,  the  EU  Strategy  for  Africa  is  the  ﬁ rst  application  of  the 
Consensus and the ﬁ rst integrated European political framework to im-
prove co-ordination and coherence of EU and Member State policies and 
instruments. The importance attached to Africa was illustrated by the im-
plementation of this strategy and by the EU’s commitment to work on a 
Joint EU-Africa Strategy to be adopted at the second EU-Africa Summit in 
the second half of 2007 in Lisbon. A further illustration was the joint work-
ing session between the European Commission and the Commission of 
the African Union, which saw a team of European Commissioners led by 
President José Manuel Barroso meet the African Union Commission in its 
headquarters in Addis Ababa. 

Strategies for the European Union’s relations with other regions have also 
drawn upon the Consensus to promote a consistent view of the world, 
while recognising the need for diﬀ erentiation. 2006 has been an eﬀ ective 
year in building a strategic partnership between the EU and Latin America, 
with two main priorities for co-operation: to increase social cohesion and 
to promote regional integration. 

The EU is also building a strategic framework for EU-Asia relations based on 
stronger political dialogue, enhanced trade and a sustained level of devel-
opment co-operation. The Union’s relations with the two major countries 
of the region, China and India, are being developed within the framework 
of strategic partnerships. The scope of these partnerships is comprehensive, 
covering both economic co-operation and the political aspects. 

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) also gathered pace. The ENP is 
amongst the top priorities of the EU’s external relations. Through this policy, 
the EU seeks to promote good governance and economic development 
in its vicinity. During the ﬁ rst eighteen months of its implementation, the 
policy has laid a substantial foundation for strengthened relations between 
the Union and its neighbours. On 4 December 2006, the Commission set 
out new proposals to strengthen and develop the ENP further. These fore-
see oﬀ ering partner countries improved trade and investment prospects, 
making people-to-people contacts and legitimate short-term travel easier, 
being more active in addressing frozen conﬂ icts, and opening more pos-
sibilities for mobilising funding. 

3 

COM(2006)421 of 30.8.2006

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14

Highlights

a better framework for external assistance – 
simplifying and clarifying regulations

Through  its  enlargement  policy  and  the  Stabilisation  and  Association 
Process, the EU assists countries with a perspective of membership to 
integrate into the Union gradually. In 2006, this policy covered Bulgaria, 
Romania, the Western Balkan countries and Turkey. Bulgaria and Romania 
joined the Union on 1 January 2007. Accession negotiations have been 
ongoing with Croatia and Turkey, while the other Western Balkan countries 
all made progress along the “road map” set out within the Stabilisation and 
Association process. In 2006, the Commission established ﬁ rm measures 
to reinforce the EU policy for the Western Balkans and its instruments, in 
particular for rendering the EU perspective more tangible to the citizens 
of that region.

 A better framework 
for external assistance 
– simplifying and 
clarifying regulations

External assistance policies have been integrated into the drafting of new 
instruments which form part of a complete overhaul of the structure of EU 
external co-operation. In 2006 these new instruments, setting out a simpli-
ﬁ ed framework for delivering assistance during the period 2007-2013, were 
ﬁ nalised. They provide a consistent basis for action, bringing together clear 
policy objectives with the procedures and instruments needed to achieve 
them. Nine ﬁ nancing instruments replace the existing range of geographi-
cal and thematic regulations. 

Six instruments will support speciﬁ c policies with a geographical or the-
matic focus:

 ■

the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA); 

 ■

the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI); 

 ■

the Instrument for Development Co-operation (DCI);

 ■

the Instrument for Co-operation with Industrialised Countries (ICI); 

 ■

the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR); 

 ■

the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Co-operation (INSC). 

Three instruments will address crisis situations: 

 ■

the Instrument for Stability (IfS);

 ■

existing humanitarian aid, which will incorporate emergency food aid 
under the new ﬁ nancial perspectives;

 ■

the macro-ﬁ nancial assistance instruments.

Co-operation will be implemented through country, regional and thematic 
strategy papers and multi-annual indicative programmes, as well as annual 
action programmes, which are subject to the new democratic scrutiny pro-
cedure established under the Inter-institutional Agreement. This procedure 
foresees that the Commission will systematically inform and consult the 
European Parliament and the Council by sending draft strategy papers. 
The Commission has undertaken to enter into a regular dialogue with the 
European Parliament on these strategy papers and to take due account of 
the position of the European Parliament when implementing strategies. 

The funds available under the Instrument for Development Co-operation 
(DCI) amount to € 10.1 billion for developing countries from Latin America, 
Asia and the Middle East, and for South Africa. Apart from geographical 
co-operation, the DCI also contains thematic programmes which replace 
the existing thematic regulations.

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a better framework for external assistance – 
simplifying and clarifying regulations

Highlights

15

In  January  2006,  the  Commission  adopted  a  Communication  entitled 
“Investing in People” 4 on the thematic programme for human and social 
development. The DCI will provide just over € 1 billion for this programme 
to support actions in areas that directly aﬀ ect people’s living standards 
and wellbeing, with a focus on the poorest and least developed countries 
and the most disadvantaged sections of the population. On this basis, a 
strategy to support activities under four main pillars – Good Health for All, 
Education, Knowledge and Skills, Gender Equality and Other Aspects of 
Social and Human Development (including social cohesion, employment, 
decent work, children and youth, and culture) – has been prepared. This 
is a good example of the integrated approach the Commission seeks to 
promote. 

The protection of children and young people, and promotion of the par-
ticipation of children and young people in development, are priority areas 
to be addressed in the DCI thematic programme “Investing in People”, as 
well as the new instrument for democracy and human rights. Until the new 
simpliﬁ ed instruments were introduced, the Commission used around 75 
diﬀ erent instruments related to children policies and programmes, both 
within and outside the borders of the EU. In order to improve coherence, 
maximise synergies, explore gaps and increase the instruments’ collec-
tive impact in improving the rights of children, the Commission adopted 
the Communication “Towards a strategy on the rights of the child” on 4 July 
2006. 

This Communication deﬁ nes a long-term and in-depth process increas-
ing the impact of EU actions in favour of children. It also proposes new 
mechanisms to ensure internal co-ordination and consultation (such as 
a European Forum for the Rights of the Child) and includes prescriptions 
for the eﬀ ective participation of children themselves. One of the commit-
ments of the Communication is to develop an Action Plan on Children in 
Development Co-operation.

For 2007-13, the budget foreseen for Neighbourhood countries, within the 
framework of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument, 
is approximately € 12 billion, 32% more in real terms than in the previous 
budget period. In order to maximise the impact and leverage of this EU 
funding, the Commission has proposed, within the ENPI, the creation of 
two new mechanisms, namely: 

• 

a Neighbourhood Investment Fund, to which Member States will also 
be invited to contribute and which will be used to leverage additional 
lending  from  the  European  Investment  Bank,  the  European  Bank  for 
Reconstruction and Development, and other development banks. The 
contribution from the budget would be € 700 million. It is estimated that 
this fund could encourage lending of several times the amount of grant 
funding.  If  Member  States  were  to  match  the  Commission  contribu-
tion, the Fund could generate a considerable amount of concessional 
lending; 

• 

a Governance Facility of € 300 million to provide additional support, on 
top of normal country allocations, to acknowledge and support the work 
of partner countries that have made most progress in implementing their 
Action Plans. 

The ENPI also has a speciﬁ c cross-border co-operation component, co-
ﬁ nanced by the European Regional Development Fund. The new provisions 
have been designed to address past shortcomings and to make this type 
of co-operation easier and more eﬀ ective.

4 

COM(2006)18 ﬁ nal of 25.1.2006

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16

Highlights

a better framework for working together: aid eﬀ ectiveness

The programming for Asian, Latin American and neighbouring countries 
was almost completed and an informal dialogue between institutions was 
launched on ENPI and DCI draft strategies, following political agreement 
on the instruments, so as to slow down the delivery of assistance in 2007 
as little as possible. With the formal entry into force of all instruments, the 
dialogue will continue in 2007 for these strategies, with democratic scrutiny 
by the European Parliament. A set of detailed Communications, deﬁ ning 
the approach and contents of each thematic programme, was approved 
in January. This was followed by a detailed programming process for each 
thematic programme, a process that will be completed in early-2007 to 
allow implementation soon thereafter.

The co-operation with the African, Caribbean and Paciﬁ c (ACP) countries 
is still primarily funded under the European Development Fund (EDF), as 
the European Council decided in December 2005 that the EDF should 
continue to be ﬁ nanced separately from the budget. With € 22.7 billion 
worth of funding, the 10th EDF (2008-2013) sets the basis for co-operation 
with the ACP countries.

Programming guidelines for the 10th EDF have been prepared on the basis 
of the Consensus, including the deﬁ nition of areas of Community action 
and the principle of concentration at country level. Programming with 
the ACP countries was launched early in the year. The programming dia-
logue is in progress and should culminate in Country and Regional Strategy 
Papers ready for signature before end-2007, with implementation starting 
in January 2008.

 A better framework for 
working together: aid 
eﬀ  ectiveness

Aid eﬀ ectiveness is at the forefront of the EU’s political agenda and features 
in all its initiatives in 2006. Both the Joint Development Policy Statement and 
the New Africa Strategy emphasise the importance of delivering not just 
more aid, but better, more eﬀ ective European aid. The 10th EDF agreement 
also contains a clear statement in support of aid eﬀ ectiveness. 

In order to translate these commitments into deeds, an Action Plan (“EU aid: 
delivering more, faster and better”) was approved in April 2006, with a com-
prehensive list of nine tangible deliverables to be implemented by 2010. 
These include the regular mapping of EU aid at global, regional and local 
levels (the Donor Atlas5), as well as a proposal for an EU Joint Programming 
Framework (JPF). Today, the Donor Atlas has become a useful tool for both 
monitoring aid and enhancing EU aid co-ordination and division of labour, 
while the JPF is being introduced in a number of countries in the ongoing 
programming of the 10th EDF.

Excessive fragmentation of development assistance from the international 
community has led to dispersion, duplication and even contradiction in aid 
activities, reducing the potential impact due to an accumulation of unnec-
essary administrative costs, and increasing the burden on the partner coun-
tries. The EU Donor Atlas illustrates these gaps and duplications. Greater 
complementarity of activities is a key factor in increasing aid  eﬀ ectiveness. 
In 2006 aid eﬀ ectiveness guidelines were adopted and training courses 
provided both at Headquarters and around the world. 

A signiﬁ cant contributor to strengthening partner country “ownership” and 
conﬁ dence in donor countries that they can use the partner country’s own 
management systems (“alignment”) is the move to providing aid in the form 
of direct budget support, so that it is administered entirely within the part-
ner country’s own systems. The European Consensus identiﬁ es budget sup-
port as “the preferred modality where conditions allow”. The Commission 
has increased its use of country systems through budget support to just 
over 35% of programmable aid in the EDF between 2003 and 2005.

The Commission is closely involved in supporting “fragile” states. For in-
stance, in Palestine, it has worked closely with the World Bank to design and 
introduce a Temporary International Mechanism (TIM), in order to maintain 
the provision of essential public services and to protect ordinary Palestinians 
from the eﬀ ects of the crisis, with 14 Member States and Norway con-
tributing. In 2006 the TIM paid over € 88 million in social allowances to 
public-sector employees and pensioners with low incomes, and nearly 
€ 24 million was paid directly to poor and vulnerable Palestinians directly 
aﬀ ected by the crisis.

5 

http://ec.europa.eu/development/body/publications/descript/pub7_29_en.cfm

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results

Highlights

17

In general the Commission supports the use of Trust Funds, often man-
aged by the United Nations or the World Bank, as a way of delivering aid in 
such situations. It helps to ensure that aid (particularly for reconstruction) is 
properly co-ordinated and delivered as quickly as possible. In 2006 the total 
amounts of aid delivered by the Commission through the United Nations 
and the World Bank remained at about € 1.5 billion. In the course of the year, 
agreements were signed with both organisations on the visibility to be 
given to the Commission’s contribution to these activities, not least in view 
of the concerns of many that the European contribution towards relieving 
suﬀ ering and supporting peace in the world should be more evident to 
Europe’s citizens and to the beneﬁ ciaries of this support.

Seventy per cent of the world’s poorest people live in middle-income coun-
tries. The Commission recognises that economic growth is an essential pre-
condition for social development and poverty reduction strategies in these 
countries. However, growth alone is not suﬃ  cient. In many fast-growing 
middle-income countries, technological change, globalisation, demogra-
phy and demand for skilled labour have contributed to the widening of 
the income distribution gap, because growth has not been accompanied 
by an eﬀ ective ﬁ scal, pro-poor policy agenda. The risk of a middle-income 
country failing to make the most of its opportunities and falling back into 
poverty should not be underestimated. In this respect further well targeted 
and policy/performance-driven development aid is needed in many fragile 
or potentially unstable middle-income countries in order to stabilise their 
economies, support reform and promote development, trade integration 
and social cohesion. 

In 2006, the European Commission played an increasing role in global initia-
tives in health and education, working together with EU Member States and 
other donors and stakeholders. Since May 2006, the Commission holds the 
vice-chair of the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria 
(GFATM). From July 2006 the Commission is also co-chair of the “Education 
for All – Fast Track Initiative” (FTI). Both initiatives have focused on demand-
driven approaches, donor harmonisation and aid eﬀ ectiveness.

Results

Since the reform of the management of external assistance programmes 
was launched in 2000, increased emphasis has been placed on improving 
the speed and quality of the delivery of aid. The levels of implementa-
tion achieved in 2006 demonstrate that, again, the speed of delivery is 
improving.

In total € 9.832 billion of ODA was committed by the Commission in 2006, 
and € 8.130 was paid. Of the amount of commitments which can be geo-
graphically allocated, namely € 7.982 billion, nearly half (€ 3.552 billion) was 
for ACP countries, which received € 2.848 billion of the comparable total 
of € 6.8 billion payments.

To evaluate the quality of delivery, the Commission has introduced pro-
cedures to ensure that new commitments for projects and programmes 
have been prepared as thoroughly as possible and reﬂ ect best practice in 
the sector concerned. In 2002 a system for monitoring project results was 
introduced. Monitoring is based on regular on-site assessments by inde-
pendent experts of ongoing projects, and these are given simple scores 
against internationally agreed criteria. Over the last ﬁ ve years, the overall 
ratings show a steady, and statistically signiﬁ cant, improvement. Projects 
and programmes monitored in 2006 maintained globally good perform-
ance. The overall gain in eﬃ  ciency over the last years witnessed a slight 
consolidating setback in 2006, but still remains on track. Overall the results 
for 2006 have been satisfactory.

Learning lessons from actions which have been ﬁ nanced is a key part of 
making aid more eﬀ ective. The Evaluation Unit of the main Directorates-
General dealing with development aid carries out evaluations of country 
strategies, thematic issues and other strategic aspects of EC programmes, 
using independent experts.

In general the various indicators demonstrate that much progress has been 
made in the management of external assistance since 2000. This is, not least, 
the result of major institutional changes, such as the shift of responsibility 
for the implementation of programmes to the Commission’s Delegations, 
and the restructuring of services at Headquarters. 

Encouragement can be drawn from some important and visible success 
stories. But much remains to be done, especially where the Commission is 
said to be slow or inﬂ exible, because the future shape of external assistance 
will increasingly be based on ﬂ exibility and intensiﬁ ed ways of working with 
other donors6. With the new instruments and the new Financial Regulations, 
the Commission is now better equipped to face these challenges.

6 

Annual  Report  2007  on  the  European  Community’s  Development  Policy  and  the 
Implementation of External Assistance in 2006, Section 6.2: Evaluation: Review of the 
2006 Work Programme.

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18

Highlights

results

IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE-MENTIONED OBJECTIVES, THE 
COMMISSION MADE PROGRESS IN THE FOLLOWING FIELDS, 
FOR WHICH IT ALSO ANNOUNCED KEY INITIATIVES IN 2006:

• 

• 

• 

Achieving substantial progress in Economic Partnership Agreement 
negotiations with six ACP regions to allow entry into force in 2008. 
Achievements: all negotiations advanced, analysis and capacity-
building actions provided, link between negotiation process 
and programming of development co-operation ensured.

Contributing to the follow-up key initiatives on development, 
notably on ﬁ nancing, coherence, Africa and international public 
goods, as a result of this year’s G8 Summit and High-level Plenary 
meeting on Millennium Development Goals. Achievements: ac-
tion plan on aid eﬀ ectiveness (“EU aid: delivering more, faster 
and better”) approved with a list of nine deliverables to be 
implemented by 2010.

Reinforcing the Commission’s response capacity to humanitarian 
disasters, strengthening its disaster prevention and preparedness 
strategy, and addressing the EU contribution to the Global Health 
Fund for AIDS/HIV, Malaria and Tuberculosis. Achievements: 
consultation of partners and EU Member States launched to 
feed into a communication on ‘Towards a European Consensus 
on Humanitarian Aid’ to be issued in 2007; annual contribution 
to the Global Fund of € 90 million.

IN 2006, THE COMMISSION’S EXTERNAL ACTION WAS GEARED 
TO ACHIEVING THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Assisting acceding, candidate and potential candidate countries 
in moving closer to the EU through the implementation of the 
enlargement policy and the Stabilisation and Association process 
for the Western Balkans. Achievements: ensuring the success-
ful accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU; signing of a 
Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Albania and 
negotiation of such agreements with Serbia, Montenegro, 
and Bosnia and Herzegovina; adoption of the Instrument for 
Pre-accession Assistance; adoption of a Communication on 
the Western Balkans as well as of the annual enlargement 
strategy paper.

Ensuring eﬀ ective implementation of the European Neighbourhood 
Policy. Achievements: three new Action Plans with Armenia, 
Azerbaijan and Georgia; ﬁ nalisation of the Action Plans with 
Egypt and Lebanon; adoption of the European Neighbourhood 
and Partnership Instrument; informal presentation of the 
Strategy Papers to the ENPI Committee and the Parliament; 
launch preparation of the ENPI Cross Border Co-operation 
programme documents; adoption of a new Communication 
on Strengthening the European Neighbourhood Policy.

Ensuring constructive engagement in the Middle East Peace 
Process, through the Quartet structure and in close co-operation 
with the parties. Achievements: creation of the Temporary 
International Mechanism (TIM): EC support to the Palestinian 
people reached € 339 million.

Continuing support for regional stability as well as reconstruction 
and political transition in Iraq. Achievements: preparation of the 
International Compact for Iraq; negotiations for a Trade and Co-
operation Agreement launched; 2006 Assistance Programme 
approved and implemented. 

Continuing the reconstruction and rehabilitation in response 
to the tsunami disaster. Achievements: implementation pace 
strongly accelerated; € 180 million in rehabilitation and recon-
struction activities committed, mainly for Indonesia, Sri Lanka 
and the Maldives. 

Implementing a new development policy to promote sustainable 
development and poverty reduction, on the basis of the framework 
proposed in 2005 and the review of the Millennium Development 
Goals, including a speciﬁ c response for Africa. Achievements: pol-
icy content of the Consensus integrated into the Development 
and Co-operation Instrument (DCI), programming guidelines 
and regional strategies (e.g. EU Strategy for Africa).

• 

 Achievements: 
Reaﬃ  rming a strong commitment to human rights.
renewed instrument for the promotion of democracy and 
 human rights adopted at the end of the year. 

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results

Highlights

19

Table 1 // 2000-2006 Poverty Focus

Net Disbursements

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

2000 

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

2000-2003 EC reporting to DAC (following the same method: LDCs/LICs country speciﬁc allocations -including EIB- /Total disbursements)
2004, 2005 Annual Report information
2006 Provisional ﬁgures Annual Report exercise (according to DAC List of recipients available at December 2005)

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 results

Table 2 // EuropeAid - Evolution of Regional Breakdown 2001-2006 
Commitments in € million

Balkans

NIS

Latin America

Asia

Mediterranean

South Africa

ACP1

Thematic

0

500

1 000

1 500

2 000

2 500

3 000

3 500

4 000

in € million

Balkans

2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006

705
658
620
663
519
524

NIS

426
432
504
504
515
528

Latin 
America
301
333
342
312
329
356

Asia

407
575
558
611
834
853

Mediter-
ranean
709
762
782
1 003
1 075
1 178

South 
Africa
121
124
127
135
155
125

ACP (1)

Thematic

1 971
2 169
3 811
2 685
3 546
3 477

928
949
943
1 001
1 055
1 097

Total

5 568
6 002
7 687
6 916
8 027
8 137

Commitments 2006 made by EuropeAid + Enlargement (Balkans).
Excluding administrative costs managed by EuropeAid.
Regional breakdown following geographic and thematic budget lines.
(1) ACP Region includes EDF + Bananas & Sugar budget line 2001-2006.

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results

Highlights

21

Table 3 // EuropeAid - Evolution of Regional Breakdown 2001-2006 
Payments in € million

Balkans

NIS

Latin America

Asia

Mediterranean

South Africa

ACP1

Thematic

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

in € million

Balkans

2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006

 845
 619
 425
 510
 345
 547

NIS

 402
 384
 396
 359
 432
 445

Latin 
America
 152
 182
 290
 314
 376
 343

Asia

 383
 455
 470
 526
 681
 737

Mediter-
ranean
 488
 707
 700
 1 125
 1 122
 1 235

South 
Africa
 99
 119
 118
 116
 138
 107

ACP (1)

Thematic

 1 814
 1 968
 2 366
 2 472
 2 468
 2 848

 771
 815
 851
 790
 932
 774

Total

 4 109
 4 630
 5 191
 5 701
 6 149
 7 037 

Payments 2006 made by EuropeAid + Enlargement (Balkans).
Excluding administrative costs managed by EuropeAid.
Regional breakdown following geographic and thematic budget lines.
(1) ACP Region includes EDF + Bananas & Sugar budget lines 2001-2006.

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22

Highlights

 results

Table 4 // Sectoral Breakdown
in € million

278; 3%

795; 10%

615; 8%

996; 12%

771; 10%

1 176; 15%

Commitments 2006 (€ million)
ODA/OA resources managed by EuropeAid and CARDS
Excluding administrative costs managed by EuropeAid

3 416; 42%

Table 5 // European Consensus : Areas relating to EU development co-operation
in € million

1 150; 14%

1 429; 18%

448; 6%

224; 3%

764; 9%

512; 6%

1 339; 17%

1 050; 13%

321; 4%

810; 10%

Commitments 2006 (€ million)
ODA/OA resources managed by EuropeAid and CARDS
Excluding administrative costs managed by EuropeAid

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Highlights

23

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Stra
tegic
c
o
n
t
e
x
t

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26

1.  Strategic context

introduction

Education programme. Graduation. Papua New Guinea 

  © EC

1.1 

Introduction

2006 was the ﬁ rst year of implementation of the new Development Policy 
Statement, the European Consensus1, which was adopted in December 
2005. The policy content of the Consensus has been integrated into the 
new Development and Co-operation Instrument (DCI), as well as into the 
programming guidelines for the 10th European Development Fund. In add-
ition, the Commission focused on ensuring its objectives and principles 
are consistently reﬂ ected in the regional strategies for the Paciﬁ c and the 
Caribbean Regions.

The year was also an important one for delivering on promises made in 
preparation of the G8 and World Summit in 2005. These promises included 
accelerated progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, with the 
substantial scaling-up of resources for development co-operation, par-
ticularly for Africa. Other aspects were the focus on the implementation of 
European Union (EU) commitments on policy coherence for development: 
these aim to maximise the contribution that other policies parallel to, but 
not directly related to, development can make to achieving the MDGs.

In April, an Action Plan on Aid Eﬀ ectiveness (“EU aid: delivering more, faster 
and better”) was approved with a comprehensive list of nine time-bound 
tangible deliverables to be implemented by 2010. These include the regular 
mapping of EU aid (in the Donor Atlas2) at global, regional and local levels, 
a proposal for an EU Joint Programming Framework, and a proposal to 
achieve clear results on progress toward complementarity, as an important 
element of the implementation of the European Consensus and the Paris 
Declaration in the ﬁ eld.

The Commission remained a global player, active in over 160 countries. 
The importance attributed to Africa was illustrated by the implementa-
tion of the EU Strategy for Africa3, and the EU’s commitment to work on a 
Joint EU-Africa Strategy, to be adopted at the second EU-Africa Summit in 
Lisbon in the second half of 2007. A further illustration was the joint work-
ing session between the Commission and the Commission of the African 
Union (AU), the ﬁ rst ever held outside the European continent. It saw sev-
eral Commissioners, including President José Manuel Barroso, travel to the 
headquarters of the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is one of the top priorities of the 
EU’s external relations, with the aim of promoting good governance and 
economic development in its vicinity. During the ﬁ rst eighteen months of 
its implementation, the policy has laid a substantial foundation for strength-
ened relations between the Union and its neighbours. On 4 December, the 
Commission set out new proposals to strengthen and further develop the 
ENP. This foresees oﬀ ering partner countries improved trade and investment 
prospects, making people-to-people contacts and legitimate short-term 

travel easier, being more active in addressing frozen conﬂ icts, and opening 
more possibilities to mobilise funding.

2006 was an eﬀ ective year for building a strategic partnership between the 
EU and Latin America. In May, the fourth European Union-Latin America 
and the Caribbean Summit (EU-LAC) took place in Vienna. This identiﬁ ed 
two main priorities for co-operation – to increase social cohesion and to 
promote regional integration.

In view of the region’s importance, the EU is also building a strategic frame-
work for EU-Asia relations, based on stronger political dialogue, enhanced 
trade and a sustained level of development co-operation. The bilateral 
relations with the two major countries of the region, China and India, have 
developed into strategic partnerships. The scope of these partnerships 
is comprehensive, covering both economic co-operation and political 
aspects such as trade and investment, environment, science and techno-
logy, research, migration, human rights and the ﬁ ght against terrorism. Key 
dialogues took place in the context of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and 
the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

Thanks to the enlargement policy and the Stabilisation and Association 
Process, the EU is able to assist prospective countries in gradually inte-
grating into the Union. In 2006, this policy covered Bulgaria, Romania, the 
Western Balkans and Turkey, and provided assistance to meet the required 
criteria and conditions for accession through necessary reforms. The great-
est achievement this year concerned Bulgaria and Romania, which suc-
cessfully completed their pre-accession course and joined the Union on 
1 January 2007. Accession negotiations have also been ongoing with Croatia 
and Turkey, while the other Western Balkan countries all made signiﬁ cant 
progress along the roadmap set out within the Stabilisation and Association 
process. To reinforce the EU policy for the Western Balkans, the Commission 
set out concrete measures, aiming in particular at rendering the EU perspec-
tive more tangible to the citizens in that region.

Also during the year, the European Community (EC) ﬁ nalised new external 
action instruments which set out the framework for a simpliﬁ ed political 
and administrative structure for delivery of EC assistance over the period 
2007-2013. Nine ﬁ nancing instruments replace the existing range of geo-
graphical and thematic regulations. These includes horizontal instruments 
which respond to particular needs – an Instrument for Stability (IfS), an 
Instrument for Nuclear Safety Co-operation (INSC), a European Instrument 
for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), and the already existing humani-
tarian aid and macro-ﬁ nancial assistance instruments.

With regard to geographical coverage, four instruments will implement 
particular policies – the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA), the 
European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), the Instrument 
for Development Co-operation (DCI), and the Instrument for Co-operation 
with Industrialised Countries (ICI). Apart from geographical co-operation, 
the DCI also contains thematic programmes which replace the existing 
thematic regulations. The co-operation with African, Caribbean and Paciﬁ c 

1 

Joint Statement by the Council and the Representatives of the governments of the 
Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the European 
Commission – ‘The European Consensus on Development’, December 2005 (OJ 2006/C 
46/01)

2 
3 

http://ec.europa.eu/development/body/publications/descript/pub7_29_en.cfm
“EU Strategy for Africa: Towards a Euro-African pact to accelerate Africa’s development”. 
COM(2005) 489 ﬁ nal

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annual objectives

1.  Strategic context

27

Countries is still primarily ﬁ nanced through the European Development 
Fund, as the European Council decided in December 2005 that the EDF 
should continue to be funded separately from the budget.

In 2007, the Commission will launch its new programmes under the ex-
ternal action instruments and will further support the negotiation of new 
agreements (an enhanced agreement with Ukraine and a partnership and 
co-operation agreement with China). Focus will be also on the implementa-
tion of the policy orientations designed in 2005 and 2006. This will include 
further eﬀ orts towards aid eﬀ ectiveness, particularly where division of la-
bour between the Commission and Member States and decisive progress 
on joint programming are concerned, and the preparation of the ﬁ rst EU 
Report on Policy Coherence for Development.

In the case of ACP countries, the Commission will focus on the translation 
of key policy orientations in the programming of Community aid, on the 
completion of EPA negotiations and, as said above, on the preparation of 
the joint EU-AU strategy. In ENP countries, the focus will be on the imple-
mentation of action plans in those countries which have adopted them, and 
on the adoption of new bilateral action plans in those remaining.

Regarding Asia, the Commission will intensify its strategic relations through 
a comprehensive partnership with critical players – China, India and South 
East Asia – and will raise the level of engagement with regional organisa-
tions (ASEAN, ASEM, SAARC); focus will also be on enhancing relations 
with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, so as to con-
tribute to regional stability and economic and political development.

In the case of Latin America, the Commission’s overall objective is to pro-
mote relations in the political, commercial and co-operation sphere, in 
order to consolidate a strategic association with the region with the aim 
of supporting its stable, democratic and prosperous development. The EU 
intervention in the region is focused on sustainable development in particu-
lar, contributing to greater social cohesion and regional integration.

1.2 

Annual objectives

In 2006, the Commission’s external action was geared to achieving the 
following objectives:

 ■

 ■

 ■

 ■

 ■

 ■

assisting the acceding, candidate and potential candidate countries 
in moving closer to the EU through the implementation of the en-
largement policy and the Stabilisation and Association process for the 
Western Balkans;

ensuring eﬀ ective implementation of the European Neighbourhood 
Policy;

ensuring constructive engagement in the Middle East Peace Process, 
through  the  Quartet  structure  and  in  close  co-operation  with  the 
parties;

continuing support for regional stability as well as reconstruction and 
political transition in Iraq;

continuing the reconstruction and rehabilitation eﬀ ort in response to 
the tsunami disaster;

implementing  a  new  development  policy  to  promote  sustainable 
development and poverty reduction, on the basis of the framework 
proposed in 2005 and the review of the Millennium Development 
Goals, including a speciﬁ c response for Africa;

 ■

reaﬃ  rming  the  European  Union’s  strong  commitment  to  human 
rights.

As documented throughout this report, considerable progress was made 
in all of these areas. In addition to the above-mentioned objectives, the 
Commission also made progress in the following ﬁ elds, for which it had 
announced key initiatives in 2006:

 ■

 ■

 ■

achieving substantial progress in Economic Partnership Agreement 
negotiations with six ACP regions, in order to allow their entry into 
force in 2008;

contributing to the follow-up key initiatives on development, notably 
on ﬁ nancing, coherence, Africa and international public goods, as a 
result of the G8 Summit and High Level Plenary Meeting on Millennium 
Development Goals; 

reinforcing the Commission’s response capacity to humanitarian disas-
ters, strengthening its disaster prevention and preparedness strategy, 
and addressing the EU’s contribution to the Global Health Fund for HIV/
AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.

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28

1.  Strategic context

implementation of the european consensus on development

The policy content of the Consensus has been integrated into the draft-
ing of the new Development and Co-operation Instrument (DCI) that will 
regulate aid expenditure in the next EC multi-year budgetary framework, 
the 2007-13 Financial Perspectives. This amounts to € 10.1 billion for de-
veloping countries in Latin America, Asia and South Africa, as well as the 
thematic programmes. Programming guidelines for the 10th European 
Development Fund (2008-2013) have also been prepared on the basis of the 
Consensus, including the deﬁ nition of areas of EC action and the principle 
of concentration at country level. With € 22.7 billion worth of funding, the 
10th EDF sets the basis for co-operation with countries from Africa, the 
Caribbean and the Paciﬁ c.

Road sign. Tchad 

  © EC Delegation Tchad

1.3 

 Implementation 
of the European 
Consensus on 
Development

The European Consensus on Development builds on the 2000 European 
Community Development Policy Statement – in order to ensure policy 
continuity – while addressing the shortfalls and gaps clearly identiﬁ ed in 
the Assessment of EC Development Policy4 and bringing it up-to-date 
with new thinking on development. The Consensus provides a ﬁ rmer and 
more coherent strategic foundation for EU development co-operation. 
It reﬂ ects global changes that have occurred since 2000 and addresses 
new challenges, particularly in relation to security, migration and the social 
dimension of globalisation; it is adapted to the enlargement of the EU to 
10 new Member States; it fully integrates the new commitments of the 
international community; and it clearly states its support for the Millennium 
Development Goals (MDGs).

The Consensus has introduced major political innovations. The ﬁ rst con-
cerns greater involvement of all EU institutional players in the formulation of 
a common EU vision of development policy. The second innovation relates 
to the interaction between individual EU Member State aid and that of the 
EC. In spite of its overall aid volumes, the EU seldom appears as a single, 
coherent player on the world stage. The Consensus now provides a com-
mon policy vision for both Member States and the EC. The third regards 
the clariﬁ cation of the geographical scope of the Consensus, through the 
clear statement that it will guide EC and Member State development co-
operation activities in all developing countries.

Since the adoption of the Consensus, the Commission has focused on en-
suring its objectives and principles are consistently reﬂ ected in the regional 
strategies under preparation. The EU Strategy for Africa is the ﬁ rst applica-
tion of the Consensus and the ﬁ rst integrated European political framework 
designed to improve co-ordination and coherence of EU and Member State 
policies and instruments. Other strategies (EU-Latin America, EU and the 
Paciﬁ c, etc.) have also drawn upon the Consensus to promote a consistent 
view of the world, while recognising the need for diﬀ erentiation. Also in 
line with the Consensus, the Commission has increasingly focused on the 
contribution that policies beyond development can make in achieving the 
MDGs, for instance in the areas of trade, agriculture, ﬁ sheries, migration, 
security, energy, the environment and research and innovation.

4 

 Development  Policy  Statement  Study  Report,  ECDPM/ICEI/ODI,  18  February  2005 
http://ec.europa.eu/development/body/tmp_docs/ecdpm_report.pdf

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european neighbourhood policy

1.  Strategic context

29

Spectators, street theatre. Egypt 

  © Claudia Wiens

1.4  European 

Neighbourhood 
Policy

Introduction

The  ﬁ rst  eighteen  months  of  implementation  of  the  European 
Neighbourhood Policy have laid a substantial foundation for strengthened 
relations between the Union and its neighbours. There is a single policy 
framework, as well as bilateral EU-ENP partner Action Plans establishing ﬁ rm 
mutual commitments and enhanced and productive dialogue with almost 
all partners. The premise of the European Neighbourhood Policy is that the 
EU has a vital interest in seeing greater economic development and stability 
and better governance in its neighbourhood. The responsibility for this lies 
with the countries themselves, but the EU can substantially encourage and 
support their reform eﬀ orts.

Major milestones included the adoption of three new Action Plans with 
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and agreement on Action Plans with 
Egypt and Lebanon, the adoption of the European Neighbourhood and 
Partnership Instrument, the informal presentation of the Strategy Papers 
to the ENPI Committee and the Parliament, and the adoption of a new 
Communication on “Strengthening the European Neighbourhood Policy” 5. 
That Communication included a ﬁ rst assessment of the progress made in 
implementing the ﬁ rst seven Action Plans and made proposals to strength-
en the ENP further. TAIEX was also made available to the ENP countries 
and Russia6.

During 2007, implementation of the ENP and ENP Action Plans by both the 
EU and its partners will continue, as well as further work on the Commission’s 
proposals for the strengthening of the policy.

Progress by partners in Action Plan implementation

There has been good progress in implementing ENP Action Plans across 
the diverse range of partner countries. The enhanced dialogue on human 
rights that has taken place with southern partners deserves special mention. 
There has also been progress by several partners in the reform of electoral 
systems, in judicial reform and in public-sector governance. The picture is 
more mixed as regards respect for fundamental rights, however, with less 
progress by certain partners in addressing issues such as restrictions on 
press freedom, intimidation of NGOs, political prisoners, ill-treatment in 
police custody, and extra-judicial killings.

ENP partners have had a mixed macroeconomic experience in the last 
two years. Some have recorded moderate-to-strong growth throughout 
the period, while others have recovered after a sharp decline in growth 
in  2005.  Progress  in  ﬁ ghting  poverty  has  also  been  mixed.  Some  ENP 
partner countries have made signiﬁ cant progress in strengthening social 
and human-resource development policies, though further sustained eﬀ ort 
by all is required. Most partners have national sustainable development 
strat-egies in place or are in the process of reviewing them. Negotiations 
on trade are progressing with all Mediterranean partners (agriculture and 
services). Preparatory work is under way with Ukraine and Moldova (“deep 
Free Trade Agreement” and autonomous trade preferences respectively).

The ENP has been particularly eﬀ ective with certain partners in addressing 
the shared challenge of migration. An agreement on re-admission and visa 
facilitation was initialled with one partner in October, and negotiations 
are in preparation with two others. Co-operation on combating organised 
crime, terrorism and drugs has also advanced in a number of cases. Reform 
and modernisation in transport, energy, public ﬁ nance management, the 
information society and the environment is a challenging task, but has 
been pursued actively by most partners. With the support of the Tempus 
programme, partner countries have pursued their reform and modernisa-
tion eﬀ orts in the area of higher education.

Proposal for strengthening the ENP

Many  of  the  tools  required  for  implementing  the  ENP  are  in  place. 
However new initiatives are needed in order to strengthen it further. These 
include:

 ■

a clear perspective for all ENP partners, Eastern as well as Southern, 
of deep economic and trade integration with the EU, going beyond 
free trade in goods and services to addressing non-tariﬀ  barriers and 
achieving comprehensive regulatory convergence;

 ■

substantially improved visa procedures for certain types of visitors;

 ■

 ■

 ■

 ■

 or regular ministerial and expert level meetings with ENP part-
ad hoc
ners on such subjects as energy7, transport, the environment and public 
health. This multilateral approach can usefully complement the bilateral 
work on which the ENP is based;

strengthened political co-operation and more systematic association 
of ENP partners with EU initiatives (foreign policy declarations, positions 
in international forums, as well as participation in key programmes and 
EU agencies);

a  more  active  role  for  the  EU  in  conﬂ ict-settlement  eﬀ orts  in  the 
region;

a strengthened regional approach to the East, based on existing Black 
Sea co-operation.

5 
6 

COM(2006) 726 ﬁ nal
Council Decision 2006/62/EC of 23 January 2006, OJ L32 of 4.2.2006, p. 80. (see also 
footnote 41)

7 

 Including the guidelines of the Transeuropean Energy Network TEN-E (adopted in 
September 2006)

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30

1.  Strategic context

sectoral policy / strategy developments

Laboratory analysis. Afghanistan 

  © EC

For 2007-13, the budget foreseen for the countries of the ENP is approxi-
mately € 12 billion, 32% more in real terms than in the previous budget 
period.  To  maximise  the  impact  and  leverage  of  this  EU  funding,  the 
Commission intends to create:

 ■

a Neighbourhood Investment Fund, to which Member States will also 
be invited to contribute and which would be used to leverage add-
itional lending from the European Investment Bank, the European 
Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other development 
banks. The contribution from the EC Budget would be € 700 million. 
It is estimated that this fund could encourage lending up to several 
times the amount of grant funding. If Member States were to match 
the EC contribution, the Fund could generate a considerable amount 
of concessional lending;

 ■

€ 300 million will also be set aside for a Governance Facility to provide 
additional support, on top of normal country allocations, to acknow-
ledge and further the work of those partner countries that have made 
most progress in implementing their Action Plans. 

1.5 

 Sectoral 
policy / strategy 
developments

Governance

The Commission’s Communication on “Governance in the European Consensus 
- towards a harmonised approach” 8 addresses the issue of governance from 
a multidimensional perspective, including its political, economic, environ-
mental, cultural and social aspects. Democratic governance includes a 
broad range of issues such as respect for human rights and fundamental 
freedoms, democratisation and citizen involvement in the political process, 
the rule of law and access to justice, human security, access to informa-
tion, management of migration ﬂ ows, access to public basic services, state 
institutions which are eﬀ ective, transparent, responsive and accountable, 
sustainable management of resources, and also promotion of sustainable 
economic growth and social cohesion. All levels of governance – local, 
national and international – are relevant.

All  these  aspects  are  interlinked  and  must  be  addressed  in  a  holistic, 
balanced  and  comprehensive  way.  Democratic  governance  processes 

cannot be reduced to one speciﬁ c component. The new opportunities 
oﬀ ered by political dialogue are emphasised, as well as the whole range 
of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and ﬁ rst-pillar related activi-
ties, in promoting democratic governance. These must be rendered more 
coherent to achieve greater impact and reﬂ ect the real weight of the EU in 
foreign and development policies. Promoting democratic governance – 
respect for ownership, dialogue between partners and focus on incentives 
for results-oriented reforms – are the main principles of the Commission’s 
common approach, in the broader context of poverty reduction and sus-
tainable development objectives.

In addition, the Commission has continued to provide support to economic 
governance, as for instance in the area of public ﬁ nancial management. 
In addition, the EC has continued to play a key role in the international 
debate, most notably through its participation in the Public Expenditure 
and Financial Accountability (PEFA) multidonor partnership9. To monitor 
the quality of public ﬁ nance management (PFM) systems over time, PEFA 
has developed a common assessment framework that also provides a 
unique platform for donor harmonisation and a basis for dialogue with 
partner countries. Apart from overseeing the initiative as a member of the 
PEFA Steering Committee, in 2006, the Commission has led or participated 
in many of the PEFA assessments. In the economic governance ﬁ eld, the 
Commission has also outlined the importance of reforms in the tax, ﬁ nancial 
and judicial area.

Human and Social Development

In the ﬁ eld of human and social development, the Commission adopted 
two communications. ‘Investing in People’ 10 outlines the policy framework 
for external action in six core areas of human and social development: (i) 
good health for all, (ii) education, knowledge and skills, (iii) culture, (iv) 
employment and social cohesion, (v) gender equality, and (vi) children and 
youth. An overall budget of more than € 1 billion is foreseen for 2007-2013. 
The Communication “A European Programme for Action to tackle the critical 
shortage of health workers in developing countries” 11 then further develops 
one of the health components of ‘Investing in People’. It outlines EU co-
ordinated action to overcome the health workforce crisis - a major barrier 
to MDG progress - while committing € 40 million of EC thematic funding for 
human and social development to regional and global initiatives to catalyse 
a strong international response.

The Commission played an increasing role in global initiatives in health 
and education, working together with EU Member States and other donors 
and stakeholders. Since May, the Commission has held the vice-chair of the 
Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), to which 
the EC contributed € 90 million in 2006. From July the Commission has also 
held the co-chair of the ‘Education for All – Fast Track Initiative’ (FTI), sup-
ported by € 63 million from the EC in 2006 12. Both initiatives have focused on 
demand-driven approaches, donor harmonisation and aid eﬀ ectiveness.

COM(2006) 421 ﬁ nal
http://www.pefa.org/

8 
9 
10  COM(2005) 642

11  COM(2006) 870 ﬁ nal
12 

For more about the Education for All Fast Track Initiative, 
visit http://www.fasttrackinitiative.org/

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sectoral policy / strategy developments

1.  Strategic context

31

Vaccination. Angola 

  © EC

Food Security

On 25 January, the Commission approved the Communication “A Thematic 
Strategy for Food Security – Advancing the food security agenda to achieve the 
MDGs” 13. This new thematic strategy plays a central role in the implementa-
tion of EC food security policy, complementing the humanitarian (in crisis 
situations) and the geographical (development contexts) approaches. The 
thematic strategy aims at reducing food insecurity worldwide by improving 
the livelihoods of the rural and urban poor and of the most disadvantaged 
groups. The programme is intended to work with a range of diﬀ erent public 
and non-governmental partners, and will support: (i) the delivery of interna-
tional public goods contributing directly to food security (e.g. agricultural 
research, food security information systems, trans-regional and continental 
initiatives, etc); (ii) food security in situations of post-crisis transition and in 
fragile states; and iii) innovative policies and strategies in the ﬁ eld of food 
security (pilot projects, support to civil society initiatives promoting South-
South and North-South dialogue on food security).

African agriculture

The Commission has enhanced its engagement in agricultural development 
with African institutions, particularly the African Union Commission and its 
specialised agencies, the NEPAD Secretariat and other organisations at the 
continental and regional levels. Areas of involvement include land policy, 
veterinary disease control (including avian ﬂ u), sanitary and phyto-sanitary 
standards, agricultural research, resource management and early warning 
systems. Increasingly co-operation will be aligned with Africa’s agricul-
tural agenda, as expressed in the principles and orientations of the African 
Union’s Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme. 
To strengthen implementation of the action plans on agricultural com-
modities and cotton, the Commission approved a Financing Agreement on 
the Capacity Building Programme for Commodities (€ 45 million, of which 
€ 15 million for cotton).

The Commission continued its work on implementation of the 2004 ‘EU 
Land Guidelines’, continuing its dialogue with major actors such as the 
African Union Commission, the World Bank, FAO (particularly within the 
International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development/
ICARRD), the International Land Coalition and the Commission for the Legal 
Empowerment of the Poor. The Commission ensured ﬁ nancial support 
for the project ‘Land and Sustainable Development: Linking Secure Land 
Access to the Implementation of Environmental Agreements’ submitted 
by the ILC.

Environment

There is still a widespread belief that environmental protection equates 
with the curtailment of economic growth. But continuing environmental 
degradation undermines the prospects for long-term economic and social 
development, and will oﬀ set short-term gains in poverty reduction.

Early in the year the Commission adopted the ‘Thematic Programme for 
Environment and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources including 
Energy’14. The objective is “to integrate environmental protection require-
ments into the Community’s development and other external policies 
as well as to help promote the Community’s environmental and energy 
policies abroad in the common interest of the Community and partner 
countries and regions”. The programme addresses challenges which have a 
profound eﬀ ect on the lives of poor people: rapidly degrading ecosystems, 
climate change, poor global environmental governance and inadequate 
access to and security of energy supplies. The main components can be 
summarised as follows:

 ■

 ■

 ■

 ■

 ■

assisting developing countries in making greater progress in integrating 
environmental sustainability into decision-making and thereby under-
pinning achievement of all the MDGs: building capacity, supporting the 
involvement of civil society and developing innovative approaches;

promoting implementation of EC initiatives and agreed commitments 
on environment and sustainable management of natural resources, 
including energy;

improving environmental integration and promoting coherence in EU 
policies aﬀ ecting third countries through methodological work and 
enhancing expertise;

promoting EU environmental policies abroad by strengthening in-
ternational environmental governance, negotiation and monitoring, 
assisting  the  operation  of  Multilateral  Environmental  Agreements 
(MEAs); and 

promoting EU energy policies abroad, in particular sustainable energy 
options in partner countries and regions, by supporting policy develop-
ment and innovative funding mechanisms.

The Commission continued implementation of the EU ‘Action Plan on 
Climate Change and Development’ approved in 2004. A ﬁ rst review of the 
Action Plan will be undertaken during 2007. The Joint ACP-EU Declaration 
on Climate Change and Development was adopted at Port Moresby in 
June: this commits the parties to enhanced dialogue and co-operation at 
country and regional level.

The Commission co-sponsored the Conference “Integrating biodiversity 
into European development co-operation”, which took place in September 
in Paris. The Conference underlined the essential contribution of biodiver-
sity and ecosystem services to human wellbeing, particularly for the poor, 
and established that conservation, sustainable use and equitable sharing 
of the beneﬁ ts of biodiversity are core development issues. It was agreed 
to enhance the incorporation of biodiversity and ecosystem services in 
policy dialogue with partner countries and regions.

13  COM(2006) 21
14  COM(2006) 20 ﬁ nal

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32

1.  Strategic context

sectoral policy / strategy developments

Water provision. Eritrea 

  © EC Delegation Eritrea

In  the  area  of  sustainable  land  management  and  desertiﬁ cation,  the 
Commission continued to support the reform eﬀ orts at the level of the UN 
Convention on Combating Desertiﬁ cation (UNCCD). It supported strategic 
partnerships involving the World Bank (Terrafrica) and European NGOs and 
aimed at linking implementation of the Convention with Poverty Reduction 
Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and other development strategies.

On the basis of the regulation on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance 
and Trade (FLEGT), adopted in December 2005, the negotiation process for 
FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) started with two wood-
exporting countries: Malaysia and Ghana. Further work in collaboration with 
Member States included developing guidance on the technical systems of 
legal veriﬁ cation, independent monitoring and licensing to underpin the 
VPAs. Guidance on the Legality Assurance System was completed, while 
guidance on independent third-party monitoring is under development.

 Infrastructure sector

The Commission adopted a Communication on the EU-Africa Partnership 
on Infrastructure15 in June, which the Council endorsed in October. The 
Partnership aims to support programmes that facilitate interconnectivity at 
a continental and regional level of transport, energy, water and ICT networks. 
It introduces innovative ﬁ nancing through the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust 
Fund, established with the EIB and EU Member States.

Water

At the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg 200216, 
the EU launched a Water Initiative (EUWI) as a contribution to the achieve-
ment of the water and sanitation MDGs within the context of an integrated 
approach to water resources management (IWRM). Three years after its 
launch, the EUWI has made some progress, but it has been slow and pro-
spects for its future development vary from one region to the other. The 
EUWI underpins many aspects of the Paris Declaration on aid eﬀ ectiveness 
and the European Consensus on Development, but greater Member State 
commitment is necessary if progress is to be made. EUWI action is primarily 
at country level, where the policy dialogue between the partner country 
government, concerned stakeholders and the EU is the principal instrument 
in identifying opportunities, constraints and ﬁ nancial gaps. These dialogues 
are intended to chart “road maps” to the MDGs, on the basis of which the 
EU and other donors can align their support.

To date such dialogue processes have been initiated in ﬁ ve African countries 
(Ethiopia, Zambia, Mozambique, Ghana and Cape Verde) and are set to be-
gin in another ﬁ ve (Rwanda, the Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, 
Mauritania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo). This policy dialogue 
process is also being developed and adapted to suit the needs of other 
regional components of the EUWI covering the EECCA, Mediterranean and 
Latin American regions.

The EUWI also supports policy dialogue on the management of trans-
boundary water resources, involving sub-regional bodies responsible for the 

promotion of co-operation between countries sharing river basins. Within 
the Africa-EU Strategic Partnership, a transboundary basins project for the 
Niger, Volta, Lake Chad, Orange-Senqu and Lake Victoria/Kagera basins has 
been prepared, ﬁ nanced with € 10 million from the 9th EDF. Regional water 
resource management is also a strong element of the EU-Africa Partnership 
for Infrastructure, where a key area for attention will be the current sub-
optimal use of scarce regional resources through integrated water resource 
management and transboundary river basin approaches.

Energy

In addition to regular activities under the EU Energy Initiative (EUEI), the ﬁ rst 
phase was launched of the ACP-EU € 220 million Energy Facility17. The en-
ergy sector is also supported by the EU-Africa Partnership for Infrastructure: 
this provides ﬁ nancing for regional power generation and the interconnec-
tion of energy systems, thereby increasing Africa’s security of supply.

Energy is included as a priority area in the new EU development policy, 
allowing countries and regions to select it as a focal or non-focal sector 
for the ongoing programming phase of the 10th EDF. It also featured in 
various Commission proposals on EU energy policy, of which the external 
component, including development, is an important part. As previously 
mentioned under the Environment heading above, the Environment and 
Natural Resources Thematic Programme includes a component focused 
on promoting EU energy policies abroad, also covering energy eﬃ  ciency 
and renewable energy.

Transport

Delivering safe, aﬀ ordable and sustainable transport requires a sectoral 
approach at country level that is coherent with regional and continental 
strategies developed under the EU-Africa Partnership on Infrastructure. 
In 2006, the task of improving national transport systems focused on the 
development of policies and strategies that lead to a Sector Programme 
coherent with national poverty reduction strategies. Such coherence is 
facilitated by the Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Program (SSATP), of which 
the EC is the main ﬁ nancer.

Improved transport at regional and continental level will secure intercon-
nectivity across the continent and its diﬀ erent regions, and address the 
service delivery issues of intra- and inter-regional trade. In 2006, work on 
interconnectivity strategies and regional transport protocols was guided 
by the AU-NEPAD Infrastructure Action Plan that reﬂ ects the Regional 
Economic Communities’ (REC) priorities and programmes. Prioritising inter-
ventions adopts a corridor approach, which is also supported by the SSATP. 
Support for transport, mainly road transport, under the 9th EDF amounts 
to approximately € 2.5 billion. Emphasis has been placed on developing a 
sector programme ﬁ nanced, where appropriate, by sector budget sup-
port (SBS). Several countries have sector programmes but only in Ethiopia 
and Zambia is there full SBS. Under the 10th EDF, transport continues as a 
focal sector, with sector programmes linked to Infrastructure Partnership 
goals.

15  COM(2006) 376 ﬁ nal
16 

For results see: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/wssd/
johannes_achievements_en.html

17 

See also: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/acp/regional-cooperation/energy/
index_en.htm

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aid eﬀ ectiveness 

1.  Strategic context

33

Vanilla production. Madagascar 

  © EC Delegation Madagascar

New Technologies

2006 was a year of consolidation after the World Summit on the Information 
Society in Tunis. The EU-Africa Partnership on Infrastructure facilitated the 
promotion of broadband services in East and Southern Africa as a ﬂ agship 
activity of the AU-NEPAD Infrastructure Plan. Similarly in the ﬁ eld of science 
and technology, the EC contributed to the AU-NEPAD launch of the African 
Consolidated Action Plan. Meeting the objectives of the World Summit on 
Sustainable Development requires timely access to accurate and reliable 
satellite-based information. The African Union and regional organisations 
are promoting a Global Monitoring Environmental System - Africa, a process 
in which the EC also participated. A satellite-supported Telemedicine Task 
Force was also created to enhance delivery of medical services, especially 
in rural areas.

Trade

The Commission continued its eﬀ orts to achieve a development-friendly 
outcome of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). Although negotiations 
failed, the EC remains committed to securing a successful outcome of the 
DDA for all developing countries, especially the Least Developed Countries 
and other vulnerable and small economies. The EC continued its eﬀ orts 
in the area of Trade-Related Assistance (TRA) to maximise the beneﬁ ts to 
developing countries of trade as an instrument of poverty reduction. The 
EC also co-ordinated EU input to the WTO Aid for Trade Task Force and 
participated in the Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Assistance for 
LDCs. Following Council endorsement, the EC will support implementation 
of the WTO Task Force recommendations, in particular in shaping a joint 
EU strategy or “road map”.

Social cohesion and employment

The Commission adopted a Communication on “Promoting decent work 
for all”18 in May 2006. The Communication proposes strategies for ensur-
ing that EU policies and actions play a greater part in promoting decent 
work both within the Union and worldwide. Decent work is based on an 
integrated approach covering productive and freely chosen work, rights 
at work, social protection, social dialogue and equal opportunities and can 
help developing countries ﬁ ght poverty. The Commission organised a ﬁ rst 
EU-level conference on eﬀ ectively implementing decent work through 
EU internal and external policies, including employment and social aﬀ airs, 
development and trade, in December 2006.

Scientiﬁ c co-operation

Europe’s international scientiﬁ c co-operation has been active in most of 
the thematic areas listed above, in a manner parallel and complementary 
to external assistance, involving researchers from Europe with their peers 
in developing countries and emerging and transition economies. The ﬁ ght 
against infectious diseases linked to poverty, in particular HIV/AIDS, tuber-
culosis (TB) and malaria, is a good example of the coherence and synergy 
between development aid and health research policies. For example, the 
Commission ﬁ nancially supported health research-oriented EU initiatives 

such as the European and Developing countries Clinical Trials Partnership 
(EDCTP) pilot programme on large scale clinical trials in Africa, to which it 
contributed € 14 million.

Governance, ethics and many other socio-economic issues together with 
challenges in key social, economic and social sectors are all areas addressed 
also by Europe’s international scientiﬁ c co-operation and related policy 
dialogue. The production of and the ability to use relevant scientiﬁ cally 
validated knowledge underpin the success of most development eﬀ orts.

1.6 

Aid eﬀ  ectiveness 

The  Commission  took  a  leading  role  in  the  negotiations  on  the  Paris 
Declaration. Beyond the Paris Declaration commitments, the EU made four 
pledges on improving aid delivery, by ensuring that in future i) capacity 
building assistance will be provided through co-ordinated programmes 
and multi-donor arrangements; ii) government-to-government assistance 
will be channelled through country systems as well as budget support or 
sector-wide approaches; iii) the number of uncoordinated missions will be 
reduced by 50%; and iv) new project implementation units will be avoided. 
As evidenced by the set of follow-up actions described below, the EU re-
asserted its determination to implement and monitor its commitments on 
aid eﬀ ectiveness in all developing countries, including setting ﬁ rm targets 
for 2010.

1.6.1 

Co-ordination and harmonisation 

Aid eﬀ ectiveness is at the forefront of the European Union’s political agenda 
and is referred to in all its recent initiatives. Both the Joint Development 
Policy Statement19 and the new Africa Strategy emphasise the importance 
of delivering not just more aid, but better and more eﬀ ective European 
aid. The 10th EDF agreement contains a clear statement in support of aid 
eﬀ ectiveness and the Paris Declaration.

A signiﬁ cant aspect of strengthening ownership and alignment is the move 
towards providing aid in the form of direct budget support, so that it is 
administered entirely within the partner country’s own systems. This trend 
has been oﬃ  cially sanctioned by the European Consensus which identi-
ﬁ es general and sector budget support as “the preferred modality where 
conditions allow”. Taking the latter as a reference, the EC has increased its 
use of country systems through untargeted general or sector budget sup-
port, representing just over 35% of programmable aid in the EDF between 
2003 and 2005.

18  COM (2006) 249 ﬁ nal

19  OJ 2006/C 46/01

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1.  Strategic context

aid eﬀ ectiveness 

In December 2005, the Commission conducted a survey of its Delegations. 
This provided a valuable baseline on the four EU commitments and also 
highlighted the need to continue raising awareness among partner country, 
Member State and Commission oﬃ  cials. This resulted in the introduction 
of aid eﬀ ectiveness guidelines and training measures. All Commission staﬀ  
are now systematically trained in aid eﬀ ectiveness issues and initiatives, 
and all ﬁ eld oﬃ  cials will be taking an active part in the OECD/DAC survey 
and process.

The Commission presented Member States with a proposal, still subject 
to Member States approval, to adapt the Financial Regulations in accord-
ance with the principles and objectives of enhanced aid eﬀ ectiveness. At 
the EC level, the Commission has also proposed a major simpliﬁ cation, 
harmonisation and reduction of its ﬁ nancial instruments, also subject to 
Member States approval.

Within the Commission, the Directorates-General for External Relations, 
Development and EuropeAid each host a dissemination unit. At EuropeAid, 
a unit is dedicated to implementing aid eﬀ ectiveness at the operational 
level. In DG Development, a new unit is in charge of monitoring the aid 
eﬀ ectiveness strategy within the European Union.

1.6.2 

 Policy coherence for development (PCD)

Today, it is widely agreed that development policy alone will not bring suf-
ﬁ cient results and that a number of other policies can have a major impact 
on progress towards the MDGs. The coherence of non-development pol-
icies with development policy is therefore an issue of growing importance 
for the EU, the aim being to maximise the positive eﬀ ect of policies while 
minimising their negative impact on developing countries.

The commitment to PCD has a ﬁ rm legal basis in the EC Treaty (Art. 178) 
which states that the EC “shall take account” of development objectives in 
all its non-aid policies “which are likely to aﬀ ect developing countries”. The 
work on PCD was strengthened by a Commission Communication of April 
200520, which resulted in Council conclusions of May 2005 that agreed on 
EU commitments in 12 areas21: trade; environment; climate change; secur-
ity; agriculture; ﬁ sheries; social dimension of globalisation, employment 
and decent work; migration; research and innovation; information society; 
transport; and energy. The Council conclusions also called for improved 
procedures, mechanisms and instruments at the level of the Council, the 
Commission and Member States. The European Consensus on Development 
conﬁ rmed the high level of attention devoted to PCD.

An important step towards strengthening PCD was the elaboration, under 
the impetus of the EU Presidency, of a rolling work programme on PCD for 
2006-2007 to identify common priorities for organisational and thematic ac-
tion on the 12 PCD commitments. In October, the Council adopted conclu-
sions covering both the Presidency’s work programme and the integration 
of development concerns in the Council’s decision-making processes22. 
The Commission made progress in a number of areas of PCD, in particular 

negotiation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with ACP countries 
that aim to foster trade and regional integration as an engine for long-term 
development. Considerable progress has also been made in the area of 
migration with the adoption, within the framework of the EU Strategy for 
Africa, of a Communication on migration and development in September 
2005 and the launch of a Thematic Programme for Migration for the period 
2007-2013 with a € 380 million budget.

Progress  was  also  achieved  on  security,  with  support  for  security  sec-
tor reform in partner countries. In the ﬁ eld of agriculture, initiatives have 
improved the impact of the Common Agricultural Policy on developing 
countries in speciﬁ c areas, for example import license management for ACP 
bananas and proposals for reform of the fruit and vegetables regime. Where 
negative impacts were identiﬁ ed, mitigation measures (e.g. accompanying 
measures on sugar reform for ACP countries) were put in place.

Vegetable growing. Cambodia 

  © EC

20  Commission Communication on “Policy Coherence for Development – Accelerating progress 
towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals” – COM(2005) 134 ﬁ nal of 12 April 
2005

21  May 2005 General Aﬀ airs and External Relations Council (GAERC) Conclusions on the 

22  April 2006 Council Conclusions on PCD Work Programme 2006-2007 (Doc. 8387/06); 
October 2006 GAERC Conclusions on Integrating Development Concerns in Council 
Decision-making (Doc.14072/06) and on a Rolling PCD Work Programme 2006-2007 
(Doc. 14075/06)

Millennium Development Goals (Doc. 9266/05)

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aid eﬀ ectiveness 

1.  Strategic context

35

Coﬀ ee grower. Nicaragua 

  © EC Delegation Nicaragua

Another major step concerns accountability and transparency in the follow-
up to EU PCD commitments. The Council gave the Commission a mandate 
to monitor progress on commitments on the basis of a biennial EU PCD 
Report23 The aim of this report is to encourage further development of 
PCD, taking into account feedback from developing countries, civil society 
and the European Parliament, and to serve as a public information tool. 
It will cover progress achieved by EU Member States, the EU Council of 
Ministers and the Commission. The last-named has developed a question-
naire, in close collaboration with all concerned services and Member States, 
in preparation for the ﬁ rst EU PCD Report, to be issued by the Commission 
in 2007.

The  Commission  is  also  actively  promoting  PCD  amongst  its  services 
through the following mechanisms:

 ■

 ■

 ■

 ■

An Inter-Service Group on PCD was created in July 2006, comprising 
participants from all Commission services working in the 12 areas of 
PCD commitments. The main aims of the Group are to identify and re-
inforce the development perspective, particularly in the early stages of 
formulation of new Commission policy proposals, as well as to monitor 
progress made on each of the 12 EU PCD commitments.

Inter-Service Consultations are carried out routinely to allow Commission 
services to express their views and demands on policy proposals that 
may have an impact on development policies and/or developing coun-
tries. A list of proposals to be reviewed is drawn up annually.

In 2002, the Commission introduced an Impact Assessment System 
to evaluate the possible consequences of policy proposals and assess 
alternatives.

An informal EU PCD network was created in 2003 on the initiative of 
the Commission’s Directorate-General for Development. It provides a 
forum for information and discussions between the Commission and 
EU Member States, and is an important tool for building capacity and 
expertise on PCD issues.

23  May 2005 GAERC Conclusion

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36

1.  Strategic context

aid eﬀ ectiveness 

1.6.3 

Complementarity

Excessive fragmentation of development assistance has led to dispersion, 
duplication and even contradiction in aid activities, reducing their potential 
impact through the accumulation of unnecessary administrative costs, 
and increasing the burden on the partner countries: the EU Donor Atlas 
underlines the gaps and duplications. Greater complementarity of activities 
is a key factor in increasing aid eﬀ ectiveness. The recent evaluation of the 
3Cs 24, jointly undertaken by the evaluation services of the EU25, reports that 
“... Member States and the Commission have a remarkably low level of perform-
ance ... they apply ill-equipped processes, tools and systems that underperform in 
dealing with today’s complex ODA environment... Complementarity constitutes 
a clear (overt) management objective for EU donors and cannot be reduced to 
the simple strategy of avoiding overlap in ODA eﬀ orts between Member States 
and the Commission, currently the most common practice in place. In other 
words, it is intrinsic to the co-ordination function to seek complementarity in an 
eﬀ ort to add value to the resources at management’s disposal.”

Aiming at a coherent system where all actors, including new donors and 
civil society, contribute to the construction of an eﬃ  cient development 
eﬀ ort is one of the ultimate goals of co-ordination and harmonisation. 
Committed to moving from words to action through the adoption in April 
2006 of a package of measures to deliver “more, better and faster”, the EU 
agreed to achieve clear results in progressing on complementarity, as an 
important element in implementation of the European Consensus and the 
Paris Declaration.

The EU dimension created by the European Consensus, which merges the 
Community and bilateral spheres, is a new process. It requires an appro-
priate and participatory working methodology, based on the collective 
work undertaken on decisions related to EC aid. The process – evolved, 
since 2004, over seven EU presidencies – has resulted in a work plan devel-
oped jointly by the Commission and the Finnish, German and incoming 
Portuguese and Slovenian presidencies. A detailed mandate was adopted 
in the General Aﬀ airs and External Relations Council of October 2006, set-
ting up the political framework and guiding principles for further progress 
on complementarity. Within this framework, the Commission will produce 
an EU Code of Conduct, comprising operational principles on the divi-
sion of labour between donors, for adoption in 2007. Implementation and 
monitoring of the agreed principles should follow during the Portuguese 
and Slovenian presidencies.

Landscape. El Salvador 

  © EC Delegation Nicaragua

(cid:188)   ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Environment and climate change are among the twelve prior-
ity areas on which the EU made explicit commitments in 2005. 
During 2006 a number of practical steps were taken to improve 
coherence, including establishing an inter-service group on in-
tegration of environmental issues in development co-operation. 
Environmental Proﬁ les are now prepared as background for 
all Country and Regional Strategy Papers, and Environmental 
Impact Assessments are systematically undertaken to help de-
sign those programmes that aﬀ ect the environment. Strategic 
Environmental Assessments are increasingly used on sector-
wide programmes.

Preparations are in hand to increase assistance to developing 
countries  through  Multilateral  Environmental  Agreements 
(MEAs). In May 2005 the Commission adopted an action plan 
to strengthen support for biodiversity and ecosystem services 
in EU external assistance, helping partner countries and regions 
to integrate biodiversity in their development strategies. The 
Commission also promotes mechanisms to protect developing 
countries from obsolete pesticides.

Work on policy coherence in the area of climate change builds on 
the 2004 EU Action Plan on Climate Change and Development, 
fostering four strategic priorities: raising the policy proﬁ le of 
climate change; supporting adaptation to climate change; sup-
porting mitigation and low greenhouse gas development paths; 
and  capacity  building.  Speciﬁ c  support  projects  have  been 
funded so far under the environment and tropical forest budget 
line and include, for example, capacity building and training. 
As from 2007 onwards projects will be funded under the new 
Environment and Natural Resources Thematic Programme.

During 2006, international forums and new analyses, for ex-
ample the Stern report, underscored the importance of early 
action. One area where insuﬃ  cient action would have a dis-
proportionate eﬀ ect on developing countries, especially the 
poorest ones, is the extreme weather phenomena – an area 
where the Commission is working on a strategy for disaster 
risk reduction. Other initiatives are to limit deforestation and to 
assist developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, in 
beneﬁ ting from the Clean Development Mechanism. (cid:187)

24  Co-ordination, complementarity and coherence

25  Evaluation of Co-ordination and Complementarity of European Assistance for Local 
Development, 14/10/2006. The Evaluation of the 3Cs is composed of 6 studies co-
ordinated by a Task Force composed of Heads of Evaluation Services from the European 
Commission, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Ireland, 
Sweden, Portugal, Italy, Czech Republic and Poland. The chair (Sweden) of the Task Force 
is supported by a small Secretariat (EC, Belgium, and Netherlands)

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enhancing impact on poverty and inequality in middle-income countries

1.  Strategic context

37

Woman and child. Kenya 

  © EC

1.7 

 Enhancing impact 
on poverty and 
inequality in 
middle-income 
countries

Middle Income developing Countries (MICs), with an average income per 
capita of just US$ 3.80/day26, account for two-thirds of world population, 
constitute over 90% of GDP of developing countries, and are home to over 
80% of the developing world’s population and over 70% of its poor people 
(those who live on 1 dollar a day or less). The Commission recognises that 
growth is an essential precondition for social development and poverty 
alleviation strategies, but is not suﬃ  cient on its own. In many fast-growing 
MICs, technological change, globalisation, demography and demand for 
skilled labour have contributed to the widening of the income distribution 
gap, due to the fact that such growth has not been accompanied by an 
eﬀ ective ﬁ scal, pro-poor policy agenda. The risk of a MIC retrograding to 
low-income country (LIC) status should not be underestimated. Further 
well targeted and policy/performance-driven Oﬃ  cial Development Aid 
(ODA) is essential if fragile or potentially unstable MICs are to stabilise their 
economies, support reform and promote development, trade integration 
and social cohesion.

Given shared cultural values and common objectives on many important 
policy issues, and long-standing political, economic and co-operation links, 
the EU has established strategic partnerships with many countries in the 
Neighbourhood, Asia and Latin America. This co-operation includes pol-
itical dialogue, stimulating economic growth and commercial exchange, 
encouraging regional integration, tackling inequality and promoting social 
cohesion, and tailoring development and aid policy more closely to real 
conditions. Poverty alleviation and especially social cohesion is at the heart 
of the Commission’s aid and co-operation policy for the period 2007-2013. 
The EC also encourages certain leading MICs to play an ‘anchor’ role at 
regional level, notably within the framework of deeper South-South trade 
integration and partnership.

The  EC  provides  signiﬁ cant  support  to  MICs  to  attain  the  Millennium 
Development Goals and implement better ﬁ scal and public expenditure 
policies through the new ﬁ nancial instruments (DCI, ENPI, and the Stability 
Instrument).  Most  EC  aid  to  Lower  Middle  Income  Countries  includes 
budgetary  and  sectoral  support  programmes  that  focus  on  poverty 

reduction and social cohesion. In particular, the Commission is active in 
sectors such as health, education, democracy and human rights, food se-
curity and sustainable development. This holistic approach creates the 
preconditions for sustainable poverty reduction and promotes the suc-
cessful integration of poor people in society.

1.8 

 Preparations for 
new ﬁ nancial 
instruments

2006 was an important year for the ﬁ nalisation of negotiations between 
the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament on the new 
external action instruments for delivery of EC assistance for the period 2007-
2013. Negotiations started following the Commission’s Communications 
of February 2004 (“Building our common Future”) 27, of 14 July (Financial 
Perspectives 2007-2013) 28, and of 29 September 29: these set out the frame-
work for a new and simpliﬁ ed political and administrative structure. Until 
2006, it had at times proved diﬃ  cult to manage the EC’s programmes with 
such a mixed and complex set of instruments.

Nine ﬁ nancing instruments will now replace the geographical and the-
matic regulations that had evolved in an ad hoc manner, with signiﬁ cant 
diﬀ erences in programming and comitology. In addition, the European 
Council of December 2005 had decided that geographic co-operation 
with the ACP countries, except South Africa, and the Overseas Countries 
and Territories (OCTs) should not be budgetised, but should continue to 
be funded through an inter-governmental European Development Fund. 
However, the time horizon of the 10th EDF (total funding € 22 682 million) 
was aligned with the ﬁ nancial perspectives and extended to 2013.

Four instruments will implement speciﬁ c policies on geographical cov-
erage:  the  Instrument  for  Pre-accession  Assistance  (IPA),  the  European 
Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), the Instrument for 
Development Co-operation (DCI), and the Instrument for Co-operation 
with Industrialised Countries (ICI). As a complement to these, ﬁ ve horizon-
tal instruments will address particular needs: an Instrument for Stability 
(IfS), an Instrument for Nuclear Safety Co-operation (INSC), and a European 
Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), plus the already ex-
isting humanitarian aid and macro-ﬁ nancial assistance instruments which 
remain unchanged.

26  World Bank, 2006

27  COM(2004) 101
28  COM(2004) 487
29  COM(2004) 626 to 630

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38

1.  Strategic context

preparations for new ﬁ nancial instruments

The DCI covers geographical co-operation with developing countries with 
the exception of the African, Caribbean and Paciﬁ c (ACP) countries where 
ﬁ nancial co-operation is still primarily through the European Development 
Fund. The DCI also covers also ﬁ ve thematic programmes: ‘Investing in 
People’; ‘Environment and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources, 
Including Energy’; ‘Non-State Actors and Local Authorities’; ‘Food Security’; 
and ‘Migration and Asylum’. Thematic programmes beneﬁ t not only DCI-
eligible countries but also ENPI and ACP countries, including the Overseas 
Countries and Territories (OCTs). Both the DCI and the 10th EDF are based 
on the European Consensus on Development, and both incorporate the 
principles of aid eﬀ ectiveness and donor co-ordination.

Co-operation will be implemented through country, regional and thematic 
strategy papers and multi-annual indicative programmes, as well as annual 
action programmes, which are subject to the new democratic scrutiny pro-
cedure established under the Inter-Institutional Agreement. This procedure 
foresees that the Commission will systematically inform and consult the 
European Parliament and the Council by sending draft country, regional 
and thematic strategy papers. The Commission has undertaken to enter 
into a regular dialogue with the European Parliament on the strategy papers 
and to take due account of the position of the European Parliament when 
implementing the strategies.

The programming for Asian, Latin American and European Neighbourhood 
countries was largely completed and, in order not to slow down delivery 
of assistance in 2007, an informal dialogue between the institutions on 
the ENPI and DCI draft strategies was launched once political agreement 
had been reached. The dialogue for the strategies covered by democratic 
scrutiny will continue in 2007, following the formal entry into force of all 
these instruments. Detailed Communications deﬁ ning the approach and 
contents of each thematic programme were approved in January, and 
this was followed by a detailed programming process for each thematic 
programme. The process will be completed in early-2007 to allow imple-
mentation soon thereafter.

Programming  with  ACP  countries  was  launched  early  in  the  year  dur-
ing the regional seminars that brought together the Commissioner for 
Development, Louis Michel, the National and Regional Authorising Oﬃ  cers 
of each of the regions, Commission and European Investment Bank staﬀ  
members, and representatives of the Member States. The programming dia-
logue is in progress and should culminate in Country and Regional Strategy 
Papers ready for signature by mid-2007, with implementation starting in 
January 2008.

(cid:188)

IPA (total funding: € 11 468 million) supports the membership 
perspective of candidate countries (Croatia, Turkey, the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) and potential candidate coun-
tries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and 
Kosovo under UNSCR 1244), and is managed by the Directorate-
General for Enlargement.

ENPI (total funding: € 11 181 million) aims to build a privileged 
partnership  with  neighbouring  countries,  bringing  them 
closer to the Union. The instrument covers 17 countries from 
the Mediterranean (including Jordan), Eastern Europe, Russia 
and Caucasus.

DCI  (total  funding:  € 16 897 million)  covers  geographical  co-
operation with developing countries with the exception of the 
African, Caribbean and Paciﬁ c Countries (ACPs). In addition to 
geographical co-operation, the DCI also contains thematic pro-
grammes which replace the existing thematic regulations and 
also apply to countries that are eligible for funding under the 
ENPI and the EDF.

ICI  (total  funding:  € 172 million)  relates  to  co-operation  and 
exchange programmes with 15 industrialised countries and 
high-income territories, and is managed by the DG for External 
Relations.

IFS (total funding: € 2 062 million) has two objectives: crisis re-
sponse and preparedness, and longer-term challenges with a 
stability or security aspect. IFS cover all third countries, except 
industrialised  countries,  and  will  be  complementary  to  the 
geographical instruments, providing assistance designed to 
establish the necessary conditions for the normal implementa-
tion of assistance.

EIDHR (total funding: € 1 103 million) aims at supporting human 
rights and democracy, including civil society institutions, and 
includes the funding of election observation missions. EIDHR 
covers all third countries.

INSC (total funding: € 524 million) provides the means to support 
the promotion of a high level of nuclear safety and radiation 
protection, and the application of eﬃ  cient and eﬀ ective safe-
guards for nuclear material in third countries. Assistance under 
INSC is complementary to any assistance provided under the 
other external co-operation instruments.

Humanitarian aid and macro-ﬁ nancial assistance are managed 
respectively by the DG for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) and the DG 
for Economic and Financial Aﬀ airs. (cid:187)

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1.  Strategic context

39

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Geo
g
r
a
p
h
i
c
a

lfocus

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s

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42

2.  Geographical  focus

western balkans

Democracy project  -  © EC/Z Zestic/FoNet News Agency

This synopsis of EC international co-operation initiatives is presented 
on a geographical basis, organised around the six regions of the world 
where EU development co-operation is active. Each of these geographi-
cal sub-chapters has the same structure to permit parallel reading, start-
ing with a general description of the EC’s work in that particular region, 
then providing details on implementation and concluding with a sum-
mary of results and perspectives. Charts, graphs and tables provide 
supporting data.

Some ﬁ gures are given to illustrate the contents of this chapter but 
there is no overall information on ﬁ nancial transactions. The reader 
may ﬁ nd exhaustive ﬁ nancial information in Chapter 7. Regional activ-
ity tables include all commitments made during the period covered, 
in terms of ‘geographical’ budget lines and ‘thematic’ ones. Figures in 
the tables and graphs below include bilateral and multilateral Oﬃ  cial 
Development Aid and Oﬃ  cial Aid managed by EuropeAid.

2.1 

Western Balkans

2.1.1 

Introduction

Considerable progress was achieved throughout the Western Balkans: this 
was reﬂ ected in the progress of the countries of the region in their course 
towards the EU. A settlement on the future status of Kosovo remained a 
major challenge. In the accession negotiations with Croatia, ﬁ ve negoti-
ating chapters were opened, of which two were provisionally closed. In 
June, Albania signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), 
and an Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related issues entered into 
force on 1 December. Negotiations for a SAA with Serbia were put on 
hold in May due to lack of full co-operation with the International Criminal 
Tribunal for Yugoslavia: these have not yet resumed. Following its inde-
pendence, Montenegro started separate negotiations with the EU on a 
SAA in September, while SAA negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina 
continued: the technical negotiations for SAAs with these two countries 
concluded in December. In December, the European Council expressed 
its full support for UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s eﬀ orts to achieve a 
sustainable solution on the status of Kosovo, a solution that would promote 
a multi-ethnic and democratic society based on the rule of law and would 
also contribute to regional stability30. An EU representative to the Kosovo 

30  Presidency Conclusions Brussels European Council, CONCL3 16879/06, 

15 December 2006

31  COM(2006) 27
32  Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
33  Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo under UNSCR 1244
34  Council Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000 of 5 December 2000. Since 2001 the CARDS 
programme (Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation) 
has been the main EC ﬁ nancial instrument underpinning the objectives and mechanisms 
of the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP), which is the EU policy framework for 
Western Balkans until their eventual accession

status process was appointed earlier in the year, and the Commission has 
been providing technical input and expertise.

Important political developments took place in 2006. Montenegro became 
independent following a referendum on 21 May, and parliamentary elec-
tions were held on 10 September. Serbia adopted a new constitution after 
the referendum on 28-29 October. Parliamentary elections also took place 
in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1 October) and in the Former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia (5 July), when a new government was formed.

Economic growth in the region continued. In Montenegro GDP rose by 
over 6% year-on-year. In Serbia, GDP increased by 5.4% and the inﬂ ation rate 
fell. Albania’s stable macroeconomic environment was maintained, char-
acterised by solid growth of GDP and moderate inﬂ ation while, in Bosnia 
and Herzegovina, industrial production expanded signiﬁ cantly. In Croatia 
and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, private as well as foreign 
direct investment increased signiﬁ cantly, mainly driven by privatisation, but 
imbalances in external accounts and institutional weaknesses remained a 
problem. In Kosovo, the decline in donor support and the reduction in the 
presence of the international community continued to have a negative ef-
fect on economic development. However, this was partially compensated 
by a signiﬁ cant increase in the number of new businesses registered and 
by higher tax revenues.

In terms of the evolution of EU co-operation, the partnership between 
the EU and the Western Balkans has been progressing since 1999 within 
the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP). The SAP 
helps beneﬁ ciary countries to complete their transition to democracy and a 
market economy, to approach European standards and to develop regional 
co-operation in the perspective of their eventual accession to the EU. In 
January, the Communication of the Commission “The Western Balkans on 
the road to the EU: consolidating stability and raising prosperity”  31 set out ﬁ rm 
measures to reinforce EU policy and its instruments for the Western Balkans. 
The Commission’s Progress Reports of November 2006 acknowledged 
the commitment and the signiﬁ cant steps taken by both candidate 32 and 
potential candidate countries 33, and reaﬃ  rmed the EU perspective on the 
region.

EC support of some € 5.1 billion was provided to the region in the period 
2000-2006 through the CARDS 34 programme, with the purpose of fostering 
institution-building, investment, social development, regional co-operation 
and other reforms. Croatia as a candidate country was eligible as of 2005 
for  the  full  range  of  enlargement  pre-accession  ﬁ nancial  instruments, 
Phare, ISPA and SAPARD 35, all of which are implemented in a decentralised 
manner. From January 2007, the EU will provide ﬁ nancial support to the 
Western Balkans and Turkey through the newly established Instrument for 

35  Created in 1989, Phare is one of the three pre-accession instruments ﬁ nanced by the 
EU to assist countries in approaching the European acquis, especially in the ﬁ eld of 
institution-building and social and economic cohesion. ISPA (Instrument for Structural 
Policies for Pre-Accession) deals with large-scale environment and transport investment, 
while SAPARD (Special Accession Programme for Agricultural Development) supports 
agricultural and rural development

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western balkans

2.  Geographical  focus

43

Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) 36 which is to replace CARDS as well as all 
previously established enlargement pre-accession instruments.

2.1.2 

Regional co-operation and integration

The development of regional co-operation is a key factor in establishing 
political stability, security and economic prosperity in the Western Balkans, 
and is therefore a cornerstone of the EU’s policy framework for that region. 
It was decided to transform the EC-ﬁ nanced Stability Pact for South-East 
Europe, which supported the region’s eﬀ orts to enhance stability, democ-
racy, prosperity and regional co-operation as a whole, into a new more 
regionally owned framework, built around the existing South East Europe 
Co-operation Process (SEECP). A Regional Co-operation Council was to be 
established, bringing together representatives of South-East Europe with 
those of the international community. Trade, energy and transport were areas 
where regional co-operation was signiﬁ cant. In 2006, this co-operation 
included the signing of a regional free trade agreement (new CEFTA), the 
entry into force of the Energy Community Treaty37, the preparation of a 
Memorandum of Understanding for the development of a social dimen-
sion of the Energy Treaty, and the signing of the Agreement on a European 
Common Aviation Area.

Regional co-operation is instrumental in addressing the security challenges, 
e.g. organised crime, corruption, illegal migration and the challenge of 
achieving integrated border management. The EC therefore decided to 
support the establishment of a network among prosecutors in the region to 
improve their capacity to investigate and prosecute trans-border crimes, as 
well as the creation of a monitoring instrument for Justice and Home Aﬀ airs 
institutions to enable the countries to have a clearer view of the criminal 
situation in the region. During the year a project aimed at the establish-
ment of EU-compatible legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks in 
the ﬁ elds of asylum, migration and visa matters was implemented in all 
the Western Balkan countries.

The public administration sector saw the establishment of an EC-ﬁ nanced 
Regional School for Public Administration (ReSPA), whose aims are to im-
prove regional co-operation in the ﬁ eld of public administration, strengthen 
administrative capacity in accordance with the European integration pro-
cess,  and  develop  human  resources  in  line  with  the  principles  of  the 
European Administrative Space. The European Fund for South East Europe 
(EFSE) was created at the end of 2005 and, in June 2006, the Commission 
conﬁ rmed  its  participation  by  providing  € 46 million  out  of  a  total  of 
€ 213 million. The purpose of the EFSE, which is innovative in that it at-
tracts funding from private investors, is to help small businesses to develop 
economic activities through loans, and this volume of funds is expected 
to reach € 500 million within the next ﬁ ve years. Support to civil society 

36  Council Regulation (EC) No 1085/2006 of 17 July 2006 establishing an Instrument for 

Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA)

37  Council Decision of 29 May 2006 on the conclusion by the European Community of the 

Energy Community Treaty

has been one of the priorities of EC support to the region: as an example, 
the EC ﬁ nanced eight small projects in the media sector, all aiming at co-
productions and documentaries by media producers in the region.

2.1.3 

Implementation

Currently, Commission Delegations implement CARDS assistance in Albania, 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia38, while the European Agency for 
Reconstruction  (EAR)  manages  EC  assistance  in  the  former  Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo. The CARDS re-
gional programme is implemented by the Commission in Brussels. The 
European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) manages EC assistance in the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo. 
As the essential tasks of post-conﬂ ict reconstruction have been attained in 
the region, the EAR will be phased out and implementation of assistance in 
the region will be handed over to the Commission Delegations. However 
the mandate of the EAR has been extended to 31 December 200839, in 
order to phase out activities under CARDS gradually and to allow a smooth 
take-over by the Commission Delegations. Projects in the region vary both 
in terms of scope and geographical location, as can be seen in the small 
selection of examples below.

Institution-building

The government of newly independent Montenegro was assisted by the EC 
in the reform of public administration. A main focus was the implementa-
tion of the new Law on Civil Servants. Technical assistance was provided in 
order to complete a new ethics code and to allow the training of 1 200 civil 
servants within the new framework. Personnel from the Human Resources 
Management Authority and the Ministry of Justice were provided with 
advice on organisational issues, recruitment procedures and the training 
of civil servants, and were helped in the development of an electronic 
Personnel Information System.

In Kosovo, the EC provided extensive support to enhance the Provisional 
Institutions of Self-Government. A major EC-funded project is strengthening 
the capacity of Kosovo’s institutions to prepare for the outcome of the status 
talks, and is supporting the government in implementing EU-compatible 
reforms. The EC also played a key role in the international monitoring and 
observation mission covering preparation of the population census, and 
provided expert advice and training to the secretariat of the Assembly of 
Kosovo, co-operating with the parliaments of France, Germany, Belgium, 
and Slovenia. The Association of Kosovo Municipalities also received sup-
port in strengthening its capacity to be an eﬀ ective forum for inter-mu-
nicipal co-operation, for dialogue between the municipalities and central 
government, and for advancing local government reform.

38  Since 2005, Croatia is receiving pre-accession assistance under the Phare, ISPA and 
SAPARD programmes, all of which are implemented by the national authorities under a 
decentralised implementation system. With the exception of SAPARD, the Commission 
Delegation continues to exercise ex-ante controls for tendering and contracting. In 
addition, part of the CARDS 2003 and CARDS 2004 programmes available to Croatia 
have also been de-centralised while maintaining ex-ante controls. Commission Decision 
PE 2006 148 of 7 February 2006

39  Council Regulation (EC) N. 1756/2006 of 28 November 2006 amending Regulation (EC) 

N. 2667/2000 on the European Agency for Reconstruction

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Privatisation of state company. Bosnia and Herzegovina  -  © EC/D. Vekic

Justice and Home Aﬀ airs

Environment and Natural Resources

An  EC-funded  project  is  supporting  Albania  in  drawing  up  a  National 
Environmental Strategy, which deﬁ nes the targets, actions and resources 
needed  to  comply  with  the  environmental  acquis  in  the  long  term. 
The  project  supports  the  Ministry  of  Environment,  Forests  and  Water 
Administration in developing environmental laws to be included in the 
National Plan for Approximation of Environmental Legislation, in ﬁ elds 
including hazardous waste management, environmental protection, air 
pollution and coast protection.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the EC focused on raising capacities for the 
application and implementation of environmental legislation. Reform of the 
water sector was successfully initiated, complying with Water Framework 
Directive requirements. Environmental NGOs were provided with grants 
to promote awareness-raising initiatives that range from eco-mobility to 
waste recycling. The EC engaged in waste recycling pilot projects, encour-
aging Bosnia and Herzegovina to explore new sustainable mechanisms 
and procedures.

(cid:188) A VOICE FOR YOUTH - SERBIA AND KOSOVO, 
MARCH 2005-MAY 2006

Following the unrest of the 1990s, youth in Kosovo and Southern 
Serbia became a particularly vulnerable category, often alien-
ated from society and exposed to the risks of social exclusion 
and prejudice, as well as future unemployment. With the in-
volvement of two local NGOs, this EC-funded project encour-
aged young people to become constructive community actors 
and supporters of such essential values as tolerance, democracy 
and dialogue among communities.

As a result of training courses, seminars and capacity-building 
activities carried out within the project framework, over 130 
young people became socially engaged in their local environ-
ment, taking an active interest in advocacy and local govern-
ment policies and approaching new job opportunities within 
the local context. The capacity of the local partner NGOs to 
apply for grants and manage funding resources was also rein-
forced, thus increasing their long-term viability. (cid:187)

The Commission focused its assistance on strengthening the capacities 
of judicial institutions at the State level. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 
EC supported the Ministry of Justice in improving its internal organisa-
tion and administrative capacity, including the deployment of a wireless 
communication network interconnecting all Courts and the Prosecutor’s 
Oﬃ  ce. EC funds were also allocated to support the establishment and op-
eration of the Directorate for the Implementation of Police Restructuring. 
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is also receiving assistance 
on the establishment of a new Department for Prosecuting Organised 
Crime and Corruption, through a twinning programme with Italy. Another 
twinning project, this time with Spain, aims to provide support for the de-
velopment and consolidation of a functional and eﬀ ective system against 
money laundering.

Economic and Social Development 

In Croatia, EC funds contributed to the removal of barriers to SME develop-
ment and to improvement of the job market through vocational training 
and employment creation projects, as evidenced by collaboration with the 
Croatian Employment Service.

(cid:188) INTRODUCTION OF VAT (VALUE ADDED TAX) 
IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

One of the main achievements of the EU-CAFAO mission in 
Bosnia and Herzegovina was the design and introduction of 
Value Added Tax (VAT) in January. This has been an important 
reform in the move toward a single economic space and the 
reduction of the ‘grey economy’. As a result, total indirect tax 
revenue increased by 30% in the ﬁ rst seven months of 2006, 
compared with the previous year. The increase in revenue is an 
important factor in meeting the huge current account deﬁ cit 
that aﬀ ects Bosnia and Herzegovina’s ﬁ nances. (cid:187)

In Serbia, EC funding was instrumental in unlocking the economic potential 
of the Danube river system, an important element of an infrastructure that 
had suﬀ ered during ten years of conﬂ ict and economic sanctions. Activities 
included such projects as reconstruction of the Danube Locks and the 
design of a River Information System and a System Transport Master Plan 
for Serbia.

In the ﬁ eld of education, the Commission continued to implement the 
Tempus programme in the Western Balkans; this supports the modernisa-
tion of higher education and promotes regional co-operation by fund-
ing university projects in the areas of curriculum development, university 
management and institution-building. Tempus also supports structural 
measures that directly target the higher education systems in the partner 
countries. The programme promotes the implementation in the region of 
the Bologna process – the creation of a European Higher Education Area by 
2010. The Commission made € 12.7 million available for Tempus in 2006.

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Table 1 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget  
managed by Enlargement in 2006

Commitments

Payments

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

0%

27 M€ ; 5%

263 M€ ; 50%

0%

18 M€ ; 3%

121 M€ ; 23%

110 M€ ; 20%

10 M€ ; 2%

93 M€ ; 17%

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

315 M€ ; 58%

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

50 M€ ; 10%

62 M€ ; 12%

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (Enlargement)
Region identiﬁed following geographical budget lines

Table 2 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget managed by Enlargement
Commitments 2002-2006
in € million

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (Enlargement)
Region identiﬁed following geographical budget lines

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

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Table 3 //  External aid ﬁ nanced on the General Commission Budget
managed by Enlargement 2000-2006

in € million

Commitments

Payments

2000
863

677

2001
705

845

2002
658

619

2003
624

425

2004
663

510

2005
519

345

2006
524

547

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only)
Region identiﬁ ed following geographical budget lines

2.1.4 

Governance

The EC-ﬁ nanced SIGMA 40 programme has provided support to the reform 
of public institutions in the Western Balkans. The main focus of this pro-
gramme is to review legal drafts, design the Public Administration Reform 
strategy, introduce civil service management instruments, establish justice 
and administrative dispute laws, and provide support to administration 
in legal drafting and ﬁ nancial management issues and quality control. 
Through TAIEX41, a total of 128 expert missions, study visits, bilateral and 
multi-beneﬁ ciary seminars were organised on the EU acquis. These were 
attended by 5 589 civil servants, members of the judiciary, and economic 
actors, as well as civil society representatives. Various aspects of EU legisla-
tion were presented to them by Commission and Member State oﬃ  cials. 
These events covered various areas including agriculture, justice, freedom 
and security, transport, energy and a large number of subjects relating to 
Internal Market policies.

In order to encourage candidate countries to undertake the necessary 
reforms to align with the EU acquis, one of the main conditions in recent 
negotiations is the strengthening and consolidation of the democratic 
institutions. The return of refugees to their pre-war homes, protection of 
minorities, support to civil society organisations, and free and independent 
media, are among the key priorities.

40  SIGMA or Support for Improvement in Governance and Management is a joint initiative 

of the OECD and the EU and is principally ﬁ nanced by the EU 

41  TAIEX  or  Technical  Assistance  and  Information  Exchange  is  an  instrument  of  the 
Directorate-General Enlargement of the European Commission. TAIEX helps countries 
with regard to the approximation, application and enforcement of EU legislation. 
It is largely demand-driven and channels requests for assistance and contributes to the 
delivery of appropriate tailor-made expertise to address problems at short notice

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2.1.5 

Overview results-oriented monitoring

Table 4 // Western Balkans Monitoring Results per ODA sector 42

Refugee return project. Bosnia and Herzegovina  -  © EC 

3.00
3.00

2.75
2.75

2.50
2.50

2.25
2.25

2.00
2.00

.  Relevance

.  Eﬃciency

.  Eﬀectiveness

.  Impact

.  Sustainability

Social 
infrastructure 
and services

Economic 
infrastructure 
and services

Production 
sectors

Multisector - 
crosscutting

Emergency 
assistance

Commodity aid 
and general 
programme 
assistance

Independent monitors generated 150 monitoring reports for 117 ongoing 
projects, covering a total budget of € 188 million in the Western Balkans 
region. Project performance shows an improvement between 2004 and 
2006, rising from an average of 2.69 to 2.76. A stable upward trend on 
impact can be observed, while relevance/quality of design has also continu-
ously improved in recent years. However, the analysis of the sustainability 
sub-criterion conﬁ rms a trend of low economic and ﬁ nancial viability over 
the last few years.

The sector social infrastructure and services, mainly comprising legal approxi-
mation to EU standards and institutional capacity-building for government 
as well as civil society projects, represents 60% of projects and 55% of the 
ﬁ nancial volume monitored. This sector, which shows good results with an 
average of 2.79 (with a target parameter of 2.5 for ‘on track’), reﬂ ects the 
main aim of the CARDS programme, which is to promote stability within 
the region whilst facilitating closer association with the European Union 
in prospect of potential EU candidate status. The strongest criterion was 
impact and the lowest eﬃ  ciency, illustrating the overall trend within the 
region.

42  Only samples of minimal 10 monitoring reports are considered statistically relevant, 
therefore no information is provided for those sectors having less than the minimum 
number of monitoring reports

2.1.6 

Donor co-ordination

Eﬀ orts directed at improving donor co-ordination in the Western Balkan 
region produced signiﬁ cant results, although the most tangible ones re-
mained those achieved at country level. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 
Commission Delegation established a Co-ordination Committee within the 
government structures, bringing together selected donors and representa-
tives from various state entities to encourage increased involvement and 
assumption of ownership from local beneﬁ ciary institutions.

In addition, a joint initiative ﬁ nanced by the EC and UNDP aimed at es-
tablishing an aid co-ordination database within the Ministry of Finance, 
to be fully integrated in its budget system. The EAR organised regular co-
ordination meetings and helped create the Donor Aid Co-ordination Unit 
in the Ministry of International Economic Relations in Serbia and the Donor 
Co-ordination Centre in Kosovo. Through these institutions, important work 
was carried out in prioritising and programming the future allocation of EU 
funds within the framework of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance 
(IPA) for the period 2007-2009.

The EC launched the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) advisory group, 
which should be operational in early-2007 as the main co-ordination point 
of programmes and activities for the IFIs involved. The Joint Oﬃ  ce for South 
East Europe, established by the EC and the World Bank in 1999 to improve 

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the co-ordination of international assistance, continued its work with par-
ticular focus on poverty reduction and economic and social development. 
Co-operation with Member States during regularly scheduled meetings 
embraced both the sharing of information and experiences and more prac-
tical co-operation on projects and programmes in co-ﬁ nancing operations. 
The twinning instrument was increasingly used as a mechanism for the 
transfer of knowledge, expertise and experience from EU Member State 
institutions to judicial and administrative bodies in the Western Balkan 
countries.

2.1.7 

Conclusions and perspectives

In the course of the year, all Western Balkan countries made progress in fol-
lowing the ‘road map’ put forward by the Commission last year, with each 
country advancing on its own merits. Important steps were also made in 
regional co-operation. EU assistance continued to support these countries 
in developing stronger institutions, more reliable judicial and police sys-
tems, and better infrastructures. The EU remains committed to support-
ing the Western Balkans and therefore ensures that its policy priorities are 
backed with suﬃ  cient funds. The EU will continue to ﬁ nance projects in the 
Western Balkans through the remaining funds from the CARDS programme 
and through the IPA.

The latter will mainly focus on priorities identiﬁ ed in the Accession and 
European Partnerships. The IPA consists of ﬁ ve components: transition 
assistance and institution building; cross-border co-operation; regional 
development; human resources development; and rural development. 
The components that ﬁ nance transition and institution-building, as well 
as regional and cross-border co-operation, will be open to candidate and 
potential candidate countries. The remaining three components (ﬁ nan-
cing regional and human resources, and rural development), precursors 
to the EC structural funds, require a high degree of ﬁ nancial administrative 
capacity adapted to the EU system and are therefore reserved for candidate 
countries.

The budget allocated for the IPA for 2007-2009 amounts to € 4118.9 million. 
The assistance aims to strengthen democratic institutions and the rule of 
law, reform public administration, carry out social and economic reforms, 
promote respect for human as well as minority rights, promote gender 
equality, support the development of civil society, advance regional co-
operation, as well as reconciliation and reconstruction, and contribute 
to sustainable development and poverty reduction in these countries. It 
should therefore be targeted at supporting a wide range of institution-
building measures.

EU Border Assistance Mission. Moldova and Ukraine  -  © EC

2.2 

 Eastern Europe 
and Central Asia

2.2.1 

Introduction

There was positive co-operation between the EU and Ukraine on foreign 
policy, with Ukraine aligning with EU positions on many issues. Agreements 
on visa facilitation and readmission have been successfully negotiated and 
initialled. Progress was made in various trade and trade-related areas but a 
clearcut economic policy is still lacking, there are speciﬁ c concerns about 
loose monetary and ﬁ scal policies, and signiﬁ cant further steps are needed 
to improve the business climate. Substantial progress was achieved on energy 
co-operation, although Ukraine still needs to take further steps in relation to 
nuclear safety. Implementation of reform strategies slowed during the year, 
mostly due to long pre- and post-election periods of political instability.

Faced with an extremely diﬃ  cult internal and external situation, Moldova 
has begun implementation of the ENP Action Plan. Overall, while progress 
has been made since 2005, implementation of reform strategies remains a 
problem. Progress was made with regard to Moldova-Ukraine border man-
agement, as well as in the area of co-operation with international ﬁ nancial 
institutions (IFIs) and poverty reduction. Moldova reached an agreement 
with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) allowing for IMF and World Bank 
ﬁ nancing. On trade, Moldova is working to fulﬁ l the conditions that would 
permit additional autonomous trade preferences (ATPs) by the EU. Progress 
was also noted in the ﬁ ght against organised crime, including traﬃ  cking, but 
implementation still lags behind. Moldova made some progress in improving 
the investment climate, but overall much more needs to be done to improve 
the conditions for starting and operating businesses.

In Belarus, the March presidential elections were marked by serious viola-
tions of election campaign rights of registered candidates other than the 
incumbent. In the months preceding the election, pressure exerted on NGOs, 
dissident political actors and the media increased. Peaceful protests by the 
opposition following the election were put down and opposition leaders 
arrested. An OSCE report on the election, in which oﬃ  cial results put Mr 
Lukashenko at over 82% of the vote, referred to “serious violations of election 
standards”. The European Union called the presidential elections in Belarus 
“fundamentally ﬂ awed”. Meanwhile NGOs continue to suﬀ er increased dif-
ﬁ culties, including forced closure, intimidation and prosecution for minor 
irregularities. There is also concern over systematic infringements of funda-
mental rights and freedoms, such as the rights of assembly, association and 
freedom of expression, and over the lack of positive action by the Belarus 
Government in implementing the 12 recommendations of the 2004 ILO 
Commission of Inquiry.

Co-operation between the EU and Russia aimed at fostering the political and 
economic stability of the Federation; maintaining a stable supply of energy; 
co-operation in the ﬁ elds of justice and home aﬀ airs, environment and nuclear 
safety, in order to combat ‘soft’ security threats; and greater co-operation 
on the Southern Caucasus and the Western NIS to ensure the geopolitical 
stability of the CIS region, including in the resolution of ‘frozen’ conﬂ icts. 

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Cotton pickers. Tajikistan  - 

 © EC

Chechnya and these conﬂ icts were a major concern for the EU: in seeking to 
play a beneﬁ cial role, it recognised that the Russian Government had to take 
the lead in ensuring a peaceful and durable settlement of these conﬂ icts and 
in fostering a regional socio-economic recovery.

The balanced development of the South Caucasus region continues to be 
hampered by the ‘frozen’ conﬂ icts in Nagorno Karabagh, South Ossetia 
and Abkhazia and by tensions in relations between Georgia and Russia. 
In Armenia, the adoption of a new Constitution provided the basis for a 
better distribution of powers between the political, executive and judiciary 
branches. Energy relations with the region, and in particular Azerbaijan, will 
continue to play a primary role in the near future. The Commission has signed 
Memorandums of Understanding with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan aimed at 
establishing -partnerships on energy. At the second Ministerial Conference 
on Enhanced Energy Co-operation (Astana, 30 November 2006), a common 
strategic vision for energy co-operation in the form of an Energy Road Map 
was agreed which aims at an EU-Black Sea-Caspian Sea common integrated 
energy market in the long term. In Georgia, reforms signalled progress in 
public ﬁ nances, the judiciary and the ﬁ ght against corruption, but half of the 
population is still below the poverty line.

Important developments in Central Asia were the sudden demise of President 
Niyazov  of  Turkmenistan,  the  re-election  of  President  Rachmonov  of 
Tajikistan, the political struggle in Kyrgyzstan, culminating in 2006 with a 
caretaker government and a new Constitution, the start of the new seven-year 
term of President Nazarbaev of Kazakhstan, and the ongoing diﬃ  cult rela-
tions with Uzbekistan following the Andijan events of 2005 and the ensuing 
deterioration of human rights.

High on the agenda were the OSCE Chairmanship of Kazakhstan in 2009 
and WTO accession. Economic performance is picking up, mostly due to 
increased world prices for hydrocarbons, mineral resources and cotton, as 
well as migrant workers’ remittances for Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. 
National income is unevenly distributed and delays in economic reforms and 
poverty reduction remain core issues. An EU-Central Asia regional political 
dialogue took place at high-oﬃ  cials level in April, reﬂ ecting the mutual interest 
in enhancing relations and co-operation and in underpinning the priorities 
for regional assistance programmes with the region, which are now oriented 
along lines similar to those of the European Neighbourhood Policy.

2.2.2 

Regional co-operation and integration

TACIS assistance for regional co-operation focused on the domains of trans-
port, energy, border assistance and sustainable management of natural re-
sources, with support for water-related activities as a priority: the Commission 
has continued to work with partner IFIs to leverage funding for investments in 
the water supply and sanitation sector through Project Preparation Facilities 
and grant co-ﬁ nancing mechanisms. Other environment projects have dealt 
with issues such as biodiversity and trans-boundary river management. In the 
ﬁ eld of transport, the TRACECA programme has continued to foster regional 
integration: major projects support data collection to enable traﬃ  c forecasts 
along the TRACECA corridor. Furthermore, maritime training in a number 
of countries bordering the Black and Caspian Seas contributes to shipping 
safety, prevention of marine pollution and environmental awareness. Funding 
was also made available for the rehabilitation of the railway line between 

Tbilisi and Yerevan, and for the supervision of road construction projects in 
Azerbaijan.

The INOGATE programme, providing continued support for the integration 
of energy networks, had two priorities in 2006: harmonisation of gas and oil 
standards, and the safety and security of the main gas transit infrastructures 
in the region. In the area of border management, the EU Border Assistance 
Mission to Ukraine and Moldova (EUBAM) has successfully completed its 
ﬁ rst year of existence and has produced a signiﬁ cant decrease in the illegal 
movement of goods and cargo. In the Central Asian republics, progress in 
border management and co-operation between border agencies continued 
to develop within the framework of the Border Management Programme 
for Central Asia project (BOMCA). The Commission has also worked on im-
proving the economies and social links between border regions through a 
series of speciﬁ c Neighbourhood Programmes involving EU Member States 
and partner countries. Cross-Border Co-operation (CBC) will be completely 
overhauled with the introduction of the European Neighbourhood and 
Partnership Instrument (ENPI).

2.2.3 

Implementation

Institutional, legal and administrative reform

Promoting a transparent, eﬃ  cient and professional civil service is one of 
the EU’s main priorities. Thus, in the South Caucasus, the focus of support 
was mainly on the partner countries’ ministries. In Georgia, for example, 
not only the Ministry of Justice but also the Parliament feature in major 
projects to boost reforms, as do key ministries in Armenia and Azerbaijan. 
In Kazakhstan EC support aims to increase citizens’ awareness of the quality 
and quantity of public service to which they are entitled.

Statistical data that meet international standards are a prerequisite for the 
success of reforms. Therefore, in the South Caucasus and the Central Asian 
countries, the TACIS Statistics Programme has continued to strengthen 
the capacities of the National Statistical Oﬃ  ces. Building on the success of 
a project to combat money laundering in Ukraine, a follow-up project is 
enhancing the country’s capacities to ﬁ ght both laundering and terrorist ﬁ -
nancing. The same initiative now exists in Moldova and has been embarked 
on in Russia, where the Kaliningrad Oblast was the centre of attention for a 
project ﬁ ghting organised crime, including through border management 
initiatives. Border management, which was high on the agenda for EU as-
sistance, is also the focus of a major project in Belarus.

Ukraine is the ﬁ rst country in the region for the launch of the EU Twinning 
Programme – an important tool in the ENP, along with TAIEX, to approxi-
mate a partner country’s legislation to EU legislation. Both programmes 
are now running in Ukraine and Moldova, where more than 20 twinning 
projects are in the pipeline. Progress was also made in other partner coun-
tries, such as Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, where the objective is 
also to launch the twinning instrument. The short term technical assist-
ance provided by TAIEX can also be instrumental to the identiﬁ cation of 
twinning projects.

Projects aimed at better managing borders and migration ﬂ ows, including 
asylum, were promoted in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, with the focus on 
increasing travel document security, equipping the most sensitive border 
areas, and supporting the development of migration and border services.

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Representative at SME exhibition. Moldova  -  © EC

Support to the private sector and assistance on economic 
development

TACIS  support  provided  high-level  guidance  on  trade,  economic  and 
budgetary  policy;  helping  align  legislation  with  international  practice 
in areas such as competition, banking, and supervision, accounting and 
quality standards. In Ukraine and Moldova, the focus was on introducing 
tools and systems for the free movement of goods and ﬁ nancial services 
– with speciﬁ c attention, for instance, to competition rules in Ukraine. In 
Russia, assistance was provided on the development of export-oriented 
and innovative SMEs. The EU also provided support for vocational educa-
tion and training in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine and, 
from 2007, in Azerbaijan. In Moldova, major funding was made available to 
encourage exports as well as attract foreign direct investment. Similarly, in 
Azerbaijan, support was given to the Investment Promotion and Advisory 
Fund in order to foster a favourable investment climate, as well as to con-
tribute to the balanced development of economic activity.

Accessible and reliable municipal services promote social stability and 
sustain economic development. In Ukraine an extensive programme to 
enhance sustainable local development concentrates on accessible and 
reliable municipal services like water supplies, waste treatment, and public 
transport and heating, including the installation of more eﬀ ective boilers, 
pumps and piping systems.

The social consequences of transition

Tacis provides support in the areas of health, education and social services. 
In Russia, Ukraine and Moldova, wide-ranging projects are strengthening 
regional social services focusing on vulnerable population groups, and con-
tinued support was given to health care. In Georgia, the EU is funding the 
refurbishment of health facilities in the Kakheti Region and, in Russia, a com-
prehensive programme concentrates on the North Caucasus, improving 

health care provision in Chechnya. In Moldova, a major programme has 
been initiated to strengthen management capacity in the health and health 
insurance systems.

On the education front, signiﬁ cant funding has been granted to support 
students from Belarus who are deprived of higher education at home, e.g. 
through scholarships giving them access to higher education in neighbour-
ing countries. In Russia, the European Studies Institute opened its doors 
to its ﬁ rst 54 master’s students: the institute is a joint project which brings 
together eminent Russian and European professors. Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz 
Republic and Uzbekistan saw the continuation of Pilot Poverty Reduction 
Schemes, targeted at the most vulnerable groups.

In  the  Tacis  region,  the  Commission  continued  to  provide  support  to 
the higher education sector through the Tempus programme. A total of 
€ 18.25 million was made available in 2006 to ﬁ nance projects promoting 
the reform and modernisation of the higher education systems. The pro-
gramme thereby continued to promote voluntary convergence with EU 
developments in the ﬁ eld of higher education deriving from the Lisbon 
agenda and the Bologna process.

Nuclear Safety

The EU continued its support of enhanced nuclear safety in Russia and 
Ukraine. In Russia, the main challenges are strengthening the regulatory 
authority, ensuring the safety of running reactors, and developing the man-
agement of spent fuel and radioactive waste. Ukraine’s main challenges are 
to strengthen the regulatory authority and modernise its nuclear plants, par-
ticularly through the Chernobyl New Safe Conﬁ nement project and waste 
projects. The Commission paid the ﬁ rst part of the pledge of € 49.1 million 
on the New Safe Conﬁ nement project, but the latter has been delayed by 
diﬃ  culties in awarding a contract, although successful stabilisation meas-
ures are being implemented in the meantime. The Armenian Medzamor 

Table 5 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget
managed by EuropeAid in 2006

Commitments

Payments

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

134 M€ ; 25%

20 M€ ; 4%

0%

15 M€ ; 3%

251 M€ ; 47%

88 M€ ; 20%

0%

15 M€ ; 3%

219 M€ ; 49%

11 M€ ; 2%

112 M€ ; 25%

108 M€ ; 20%

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only)
Region identiﬁed following geographical budget lines

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

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Table 6 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget managed by EuropeAid 
Commitments 2002-2006
in € million

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only) 
Region identiﬁed following geographical budget lines

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/Crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

power plant, which seems likely to continue operating for some years in 
view of the economic situation, is also a matter of concern. As the overall 
safety situation still has to be improved, the EU will continue to provide 
on-site assistance and support to the Armenian Regulatory Authority.

equitable, aﬀ ordable and accessible. A number of projects in TACIS partner 
countries concentrated on child welfare, also on gender equality, with the 
ﬁ rst comprehensive project on women’s rights in Ukraine. Preventing and 
combating HIV/AIDS was a priority for EU support in Ukraine and Russia. 
In terms of the Environmental Sustainability MDG, a sizeable proportion of 
EU assistance concentrated on water management initiatives in the region.

Table 7  //  External aid ﬁ nanced on the General Commission Budget managed by EuropeAid 2000-2006

in € million

Commitments

Payments

2000
449

468

2001
426

402

2002
432

384

2003
504

396

2004
504

359

2005
515

432

2006
528

445

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only)
Region identiﬁ ed following geographical budget lines

2.2.4 

Working towards the MDGs

2.2.5 

Governance

EU external aid contributes in one way or another to the ﬁ ght against 
poverty – from the extensive Food Security Programmes for the South 
Caucasus and Moldova, Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic to projects 
supporting civil society or promoting investment and export. Georgia in 
particular beneﬁ ts from the speciﬁ c Poverty Reduction Programme for 
Rural Communities of the Kvemo-Kartli region. In combating child mortal-
ity and improving maternal health, support for public health care reform is 
strong in Georgia, and a project in Armenia is promoting health care that is 

Progress  in  governance  in  the  region  was  mixed.  While  Ukraine  and 
Moldova made progress in conforming with international electoral stand-
ards, both still face challenges in the functioning of democratic institutions, 
the independence of the judiciary, corruption, and, in the case of Moldova, 
ensuring respect for human rights. In Ukraine, considerable steps were 
taken towards consolidating respect for human rights and the rule of law, 
but progress is being hindered by endemic corruption and by the lack of 
a truly independent judiciary.

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Village representatives. Tajikistan  -  © EC

For Russia, the EU placed emphasis on the promotion of democracy, the 
rule of law and good governance in general, as well as respect for human 
rights and fundamental freedoms. In 2005, President Putin had declared his 
intention to bolster democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms, 
to protect property rights and counter widespread corruption. EU policy 
focused on working towards a stable, secure and prosperous Federation 
with accountable institutions and an independent judiciary, a free market 
system integrated with the rest of the European economy, and a strong civil 
society. The legal environment for work with NGOs deteriorated and pres-
sures on opposition groups and the media inhibited progress in this area. 
In Belarus, ﬂ awed elections, arrests of opposition candidates, state control 
of the media, increasing repression of civil society and peaceful protests, 
and infringements of labour rights all point to a worsening situation with 
regard to governance.

In Central Asia, serious progress in governance is needed. Kazakhstan’s 
progress in democratisation and protection of human rights is signiﬁ cantly 
slower than its progress in establishing a market economy. With Uzbekistan, 
the main aspects of EU restrictive measures remain in place (arms embargo, 
visa ban), although technical-level PCA meetings were resumed. In line 
with the Council conclusions on Uzbekistan, the Commission re-oriented 
its assistance to put increased focus on poverty reduction in the Ferghana 
valley, civil society and support for good governance, rule of law as well 
as higher education.

In Kyrgyzstan, the government poverty alleviation targets (which concern 
40% of the population) cannot be achieved without a commitment to 
economic and social reform. The fragile internal political situation, with 
in-ﬁ ghting for control over power sharing, undermines the reform process. 
The EC is a major donor to Tajikistan and mainly focuses on institutional 
and economic reforms, the ﬁ ght against drugs, and poverty alleviation. Even 
though the general situation has improved over the last years, Tajikistan’s 
economy remains extremely poor and vulnerable. The most important sup-
port to the national economy is provided by remittances of Tajik workers 
abroad (Russia and Kazakhstan) and drug traﬃ  cking.

2.2.6 

Overview results-oriented monitoring

314 projects with a total budget of € 570.2 million were monitored, pro-
ducing 386 reports in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia regions. The 
positive trend in these regions continued, with a good overall average of 
2.85 (2.84 in 2005 for a target parameter of 2.5 for ‘on track’). The economic 
infrastructure and services sector, with projects in energy generation and sup-
ply – dominated by nuclear safety projects – and transport scores best with 
an excellent 2.91. The production sector, mainly composed of agriculture, 
mineral resources, mining and industry, scores relatively weakly but is still 
well above target (2.82).

The projects monitored promise excellent impact and sustainability (2.93 and 
2.92). However, in Central Asia ﬁ nancial and economic viability continues to 
remain problematic, often with shortcomings in the institutional framework 

Table 8 // Eastern Europe and Central Asia Monitoring Results per ODA sector 43

3.00

2.75

2.50

2.25

2.00

.  Relevance

.  Eﬃciency

.  Eﬀectiveness

.  Impact

.  Sustainability

Social 
infrastructure 
and services

Economic 
infrastructure 
and services

Production 
sectors

Multisector - 
crosscutting

Emergency 
assistance

Commodity aid 
and general 
programme 
assistance

43  Only samples of minimal 10 monitoring reports are considered statistically relevant, 
therefore no information is provided for those sectors having less than the minimum 
number of monitoring reports

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2.2.8 

Conclusions and perspectives

While TACIS partner countries face diﬀ erent challenges, progress was made 
in ﬁ elds like border management and trade-related issues. In other domains, 
for instance economic growth and civil society development, performance 
was varied. Many challenges remain, from poverty reduction to the ﬁ ght 
against corruption and the approximation of legislation.

The last TACIS Annual Action Programmes were drafted, preparing the 
transition to the new European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument 
(ENPI). This will introduce new implementation modalities, to ensure better 
ownership and eﬀ ectiveness on the beneﬁ ciary side. Furthermore, from 
2007, Central Asian countries will be covered by the new DCI instrument.

Finally, within the framework of ENPI, a new Cross Border Co-operation (CBC) 
programme will be introduced on the basis of the former Neighbourhood 
Programmes,  which  will  be  replaced.  For  the  ﬁ rst  time,  assistance  to 
Member States and partner countries will come from a single and com-
mon budget, through a common programme, with increased funding and 
simpliﬁ ed implementation mechanisms. EuropeAid has started to prepare 
the new CBC programmes to be established along the EU’s external bor-
der, stretching from the North of the Finnish/Russian border to the South 
around the Mediterranean Sea basin. Each programme will implement 
projects addressing four key objectives: economic and social development, 
common challenges, eﬃ  cient and secure borders, and people-to-people 
co-operation.

to support projects after the end of external support. The eﬃ  ciency criterion 
scores relatively weak in the regions with an average of 2.77, although still 
well on track. Insuﬃ  cient availability of means/inputs is structurally inﬂ u-
encing the overall average eﬃ  ciency in projects, sometimes with delayed 
start-up, and a diﬃ  cult infrastructure and institutional environment.

2.2.7 

Donor co-ordination

With a substantial number of countries and international organisations 
providing development aid, co-operation is vital in order to maximise im-
pact. Strong donor co-ordination is central to EU assistance in the partner 
countries, and all Delegations maintain a regular dialogue with EU Member 
States, the International Financial Institutions and other major donors – from 
programming to project level. A case in point is the project to support 
trans-boundary management of the Kura river basin in the South Caucasus, 
where the EU has co-operated very closely with other donors to reduce 
water pollution levels.

Consistency of regional programming with TACIS national programmes is 
also ensured. Moldova is a signatory country to the Paris Declaration, which 
commits its adherents to pursue eﬀ orts in harmonisation, alignment and 
management of aid. The government of Ukraine, too, supports the Paris 
Declaration. As a consequence, an oﬃ  cial donor co-ordination structure 
has been established and is operational. In Belarus, with the Commission in 
the lead, all assistance proposals are discussed with other donors to avoid 
overlapping, from environment and education projects to the rehabilita-
tion of Chernobyl-aﬀ ected areas. In Armenia, donor co-ordination is mak-
ing good progress. One of the most successful examples is in the domain 
of energy, where a decommissioning strategy for the Medzamor nuclear 
power plant is being prepared jointly by the Commission and other donors. 
The Commission Delegation in Russia has set an example by hosting the 
monthly Inter-Agency meetings on Health Sector Co-ordination, facilitating 
the exchange of information between donors, consultants and NGOs.

In Kazakhstan, the Commission Delegation has taken the lead in donor 
co-ordination eﬀ orts in the sectors of energy and transport. Donor co-
operation has been on the active agenda of the Kyrgyz Republic since it 
was designated a Paris Declaration pilot country in early 2003 and is insti-
tutionalised through a Donor Co-ordination Council, a Donor Core Group 
and a Donor Secretariat. In Tajikistan a donor co-ordination mechanism was 
oﬃ  cially founded in January along the same mandate and structure as the 
Kyrgyz Republic. Donor co-ordination has been especially successful in rela-
tion to the Food Security Programme. In Uzbekistan there is a formal donor 
co-ordination mechanism in the education sector, while co-ordination in 
other sectors takes place on an ad hoc basis. International organisation and 
Member States representatives in Turkmenistan recently agreed on the 
establishment of a permanent donor co-ordination committee to ensure 
complementarity between donor activities.

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(cid:188) SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF CASPIAN COASTAL 
COMMUNITIES 

(cid:188) EU BORDER ASSISTANCE MISSION TO MOLDOVA AND 
UKRAINE (EUBAM): BUILDING CONFIDENCE ON THE BORDER

The project is managed by the Central Asia Regional Environmental 
Centre, in co-ordination with the Caucasus and Russia Regional 
Environmental Centres. EC funding amounts to € 1.6 million.

The Caspian Sea presents an extraordinary mixture of possibili-
ties and threats. Threats to its unique quasi-marine environment, 
yet possibilities through its heritage of ﬂ ora and fauna, its re-
sources of oil and gas, and the potential to link the ﬁ ve coun-
tries of the Caspian Sea through increased trade and maritime 
development.

The  Commission  has  been  supporting  projects  designed  to 
help the environment of the Caspian Sea since the late 1990s 
and the programme has been a good example of multi-donor 
co-operation. But one problem has remained: how to relieve the 
burden on the Caspian’s natural resources, whether ﬁ sheries, land 
or water. It became clear that a new approach was needed, and 
that villages and other communities needed support to move 
away from the uncontrolled poaching of sturgeon, tree-felling 
leading  to  further  desertiﬁ cation,  migration  to  towns  where 
people could not ﬁ nd work, and uncontrolled toxic eﬄ  uent into 
the Caspian Sea from old industries.

The overall objective of the project, to enhance sustainable devel-
opment, was prepared within the framework of the multi-donor 
Global Environmental Programme for the Caspian Sea, and car-
ried out with the co-operation of the Ministries of Environment 
of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan. Local ob-
lasts were particularly supportive of the programme and made 
many constructive suggestions at an early stage of its design. 
Major towns were excluded from the grant scheme, so that the 
resources could be focused on smaller communities in need.

The project proved successful. It received a high rating from in-
dependent monitoring experts for eﬀ ective and eﬃ  cient man-
agement, and high impact. Experts helped train grantees and 
communities in sustainable economic growth, and monitored 
the projects. 572 permanent jobs were created, not including 
family members working in small enterprises. The example of 
this programme, with its low cost and eﬃ  cient local manage-
ment, has inﬂ uenced other donors and international ﬁ nancing 
organisations.

The Commission hopes to have initiated a ‘virtuous circle’, where-
by examples of successful small businesses in this unpromising 
physical and economic landscape can inspire others to imitate 
them. (cid:187)

The  Mission  provides  on-the-job  training  and  advice  to 
Moldovan and Ukrainian oﬃ  cials, enabling them to carry out 
ever  more  eﬀ ective  border  and  customs  controls  and  bor-
der surveillance. The training covers a variety of topics, from 
Integrated Border Management to Falsiﬁ ed Documents, Car 
Traﬃ  cking, Enhanced Passport Controls/Proﬁ ling, and Search 
and Control Techniques.

Through its work, the Mission will contribute to strengthening 
cross-border co-operation and building conﬁ dence, contribut-
ing to the search for a solution to the conﬂ ict in Transdnistria. 
EUBAM has moved on at full speed from its ﬁ rst anniversary in 
November, and has been successful. Customs revenue in both 
Moldova and Ukraine has increased. Risk analysis is another 
area of improvement, facilitating the implementation of intel-
ligence-led operations, which in turn have led to a decrease in 
illegal activities. Inter-agency co-operation within each state 
and across the border is also ﬂ ourishing, with agencies now 
working together on a daily basis.

The Mission has helped to establish and monitor a customs 
regime to international standards on the section of the border 
adjoining the Transdnistrian region of Moldova. Its role as a 
neutral and objective observer has allowed it to put objective 
information in the public domain, counteracting accidental or 
deliberate disinformation harmful to regional security. (cid:187)

EU Border Assistance Mission. Moldova and Ukraine  -  © Oleg Kutskiy

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Vocational training. Egypt  -  © EC Delegation Egypt

2.3 

 Mediterranean 
and Near and 
Middle East

2.3.1 

Introduction

Dialogue with countries of the region was stepped up, in order to facilitate 
the transition from MEDA to ENP instruments and allow the implementation 
of the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plans.

The MEDA programme has been the EU’s principal ﬁ nancial instrument 
for the region. The legal basis of the MEDA Programme is the 1996 MEDA 
Regulation44  which  was  amended  in  November  2000  and  is  usually 
called MEDA II. The main areas of intervention and objectives are directly 
derived from those of the 1995 Barcelona Declaration. The programme 
oﬀ ers technical and ﬁ nancial support measures to accompany the reform of 
economic and social structures in the Mediterranean countries. For the period 
2000-2006 € 5 350 million were earmarked. The funds are mainly channelled 
bilaterally to the partners through national indicative programmes.

There were intense negotiations between the EU and Egypt on the text of 
the ENP Action Plan for that country, but delays were experienced both in 
creating the structure for the Association Agreement and Action Plan and 
in furthering the liberalisation of trade in agricultural products. The entry 
into force of the Association Agreement in 2004 had resulted in a signiﬁ cant 
increase of bilateral trade, the pace of implementation of MEDA bilateral as-
sistance had signiﬁ cantly improved and new programmes were approved, 
including a programme of € 88 million to support reform of the health 
sector, the EU-Egypt co-operation agreement on science and technology 
(€ 11 million) and a programme to support social development (€ 20 million). 
Progress in economic reforms brought Egypt back on the path of economic 
growth (accelerated from 4.2% in ﬁ scal year 2003-2004 to 5.1% in ﬁ scal year 
2005-2006). However, social reform is still lagging.

Despite the unstable regional geopolitical context, EU-Israel relations con-
tinued to intensify and good progress was made on the implementation of 
the EU-Israel ENP Action Plan. Several technical events were held covering 
a large spectrum of issues, including human rights, combating ﬁ nancing of 
terrorism, and the ﬁ ght against racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. Israel 
continued to be an active participant in the 6th Framework Programme of 
Science and Research. Negotiations were opened on the liberalization of 
trade in services and agricultural goods. Israel now participates in the pan-
Euro-Mediterranean cumulation of origin, and EU-Israel trade has increased 
further, with more than 30% of Israeli exports going to and 40% of imports 
coming from the EU.

44  Council Regulation no EC/1488/96

Dialogue with Jordan accelerated with the organisation of a number of 
sub-committee meetings that reviewed progress in the implementation 
of the Action Plan and identiﬁ ed priorities for co-operation. A debate on 
reforms was articulated around the “We Are All Jordan” initiative, but im-
plementation was delayed. The economic situation remains fragile with a 
large ﬁ scal deﬁ cit (-4.3%, including grants). Unemployment declined but 
remains high at more than 14%. EC ﬁ nancial assistance focused on educa-
tional reform and research.

Following the 34-day hostilities in Lebanon that caused substantial human 
suﬀ ering and considerable damage to the country’s infrastructure and 
economy, the EC mobilised a total of € 107 million in various aid instruments. 
This sum included humanitarian assistance and other emergency aid, assist-
ance to reconstruction and rehabilitation of the infrastructure, assistance 
to reform in key sectors and job creation. The EU-Lebanon Association 
Agreement came into force on 1 April. An ENP Action Plan was also negoti-
ated, but its ratiﬁ cation by Lebanon was delayed until January 2007 due to 
the political turbulence of the second half of the year.

EU assistance to the Palestinians had to be adjusted to the political situation 
resulting from the legislative elections in January. Pending acceptance of 
the Middle East Quartet principles by the Hamas-led Government, some tra-
ditional EU assistance programmes had to be redirected so that they could 
directly target the Palestinian population. In June the EU and the World 
Bank set up a Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) to contribute to 
alleviating the socio-economic crisis: this mechanism channels allowances 
directly to vulnerable Palestinians, provides funding for fuel to operate hos-
pitals and water installations in Gaza, and operates a Trust Fund to pay for 
the operating cost of social ministries. Together with the support granted 
through international organisations such as UNRWA and numerous NGOs, 
EC support to the Palestinian people reached € 339 million in 2006.

Political relations between the EU and Syria remained tense. No progress 
could be made on the signature of the Association Agreement, the techni-
cal preparations for which had been ﬁ nalised in October 2004. However, 
the government continued to use the draft agreement as a guideline for 
its economic reform process, notably in the ﬁ eld of trade liberalisation 
(tariﬀ  reform). In May it adopted a reform agenda that should mark the 
country’s transition from a planned to a social market economy: this agenda, 
developed with assistance from MEDA, could form the basis for future ENP 
negotiations. Support for private-sector development continued with the 
transformation of the Syrian-European Business Centre into a new national 
institution for SME promotion, the Syrian Enterprise and Business Centre.

The strong partnership between Algeria and the EU was given tangible 
expression by the entry into force of the Association Agreement on 1 
September 2005. In 2006 priority was given to putting this Agreement’s 
potential into practice, and the ﬁ rst Association Council meeting on 16 May 
was an opportunity to draw up a positive political agenda. Since then, even 
before ﬁ nalisation of the procedure to set up formal subcommittees, there 
was an initial meeting of an informal ‘trade, industry and services’ working 
party in Brussels on 7 November, followed by a “justice and home aﬀ airs” 
working party in Algiers on 5-6 December. Algeria is taking full advantage 

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Improving education. Egypt  -  © EC

of the potential of the Agreement, so it would be premature to anticipate 
the adoption of a Neighbourhood Action Plan until Algeria considers this 
opportune.

The various technical subcommittees established jointly with Morocco 
under the Association Agreement met regularly and worked eﬀ ectively, 
creating a valuable framework for sectoral dialogue and ensuring consist-
ency between sectoral-policy issues and co-operation. They also provided 
an opportunity to make balanced progress on all aspects of the Action 
Plan, though with varying degrees of ambition, and helped strengthen 
mutual conﬁ dence. This enhanced political dialogue provided a forum 
for increasingly open political debate. Many political reforms, plus those 
designed to improve the transparency of the economy, have helped to 
improve governance in Morocco.

Improving the living conditions of the population remained an ongoing 
priority of Tunisian government policy. Most of the economic and social 
reforms and sectoral measures provided for in the Action Plan have made 
good progress, with meetings of ﬁ ve subcommittees, but there was less 
progress on dialogue and political co-operation. The establishment of a 
subcommittee on human rights and democracy is still at rules-of-procedure 
stage, the MEDA justice project signed in December 2005 is not yet opera-
tional, and progress on civil society projects is slow.

Libya and the EU are not yet linked by agreements. Their relations, which 
are currently based on a policy of reciprocal engagement, remain informal. 
Dialogue concentrates on the issues that both parties perceive as most 
urgent and strategic, namely migration and co-operation on HIV/AIDS. 
However, there is important potential to be developed once remaining 
issues are solved. In the area of illegal migration, Libya beneﬁ ts from two 
EC co-funded projects under the Aeneas Programme (2004 budget), with 
a total EC contribution of about € 3.5 million: their objective is to improve 
controls at the Libya-Niger border and to improve management of transit 
immigration. On HIV/AIDS, the EC initiated an Action Plan for Benghazi in 
2005, mobilising medical, psychological and technical assistance in order to 
tackle the consequences of a major infection in that city in 1998. At the end 
of the year, the total EC contribution to Libya amounted to € 2.5 million.

In the Mashreq countries of the Middle East, the Commission played an 
important role in the preparation of the International Compact for Iraq, 
launching negotiations for a Trade and Co-operation Agreement and im-
plementing the 2006 Assistance Programme, with particular emphasis on 
helping the government deliver basic services. Progress in other ﬁ elds was 
hampered by the weakness of the Iraqi administration and the worsening 
security situation. The Commission also enhanced dialogue with Iraq by 
appointing its ﬁ rst Head of Delegation to the country.

Potential areas for greater collaboration with the Gulf Co-operation Council 
were identiﬁ ed in the course of adoption of the Instrument for Industrialised 
and High-Income Countries, and progress was achieved in the negotia-
tion of the Free Trade Agreement. Support to Yemen was strengthened 
through the deployment of an Electoral Observation Mission covering the 
September 2006 Presidential elections, an increased focus on domestic 
political and economic reform, and active EU participation in the Donor 
Consultative Group meeting in London in November. The regular annual 
meetings of the EC-Yemen Joint Cooperation Committee (Sana’a, February 

2006) and the EU-Yemen Political Dialogue (Sana’a, November 2006) also 
provided opportunities for frank and open exchanges. The Commission 
continued to support the EU3 negotiations with Iran and pursued its eﬀ orts 
to engage with Iranian civil society.

2.3.2 

Regional co-operation and integration

The dialogue at regional level between the EU Member States and the 
Mediterranean countries was constant throughout the year, mainly thanks 
to Euromed Ministerial Meetings (Industry in Rhodes, Environment in Cairo, 
Women in Society in Istanbul; Foreign Aﬀ airs in Tampere) and high-level 
forums (Euro-Mediterranean Energy Forum and the Marrakech Civil Forum 
on Gender Equality). In particular, the Ministerial Conference in Istanbul 
on the role of women in society was a key moment for dialogue, with the 
EU and its Mediterranean neighbours agreeing on a set of actions for the 
promotion of women’s rights and gender equality.

Major programmes were initiated through the Regional Financing Plan 
2006, namely Justice and Home Aﬀ airs (MEDA JAI II, € 15 million), Maritime 
Safety and Security (Safemed II, € 5.5 million), Euromed Satellite Navigation 
(GNSS II, € 4.5 million), Support for the Euro-Mediterranean Energy Market 
Integration (€ 4.6 million), TEMPUS programme for Education (€ 18.5 million), 
technical  assistance  under  FEMIP  (€ 30 million)  and  a  programme  on 
avian inﬂ uenza and global inﬂ uenza pandemic preparedness in the region 
(€ 10 million).

Regional programmes such as Euromed Market, Euromed Quality, Euromed 
Innovation and Technology, FEMISE and the Euromed network of invest-
ment promotion agencies, ANIMA, reinforced co-operation on competi-
tiveness, market access, innovation and investment in the region. FEMIP 
continued its support to the private sector as well as strengthening the 
involvement and ownership of Mediterranean partner countries through 
an enhanced advisory mechanism. The regional programme “Euromed 
Bridge Programme on Civil Protection” was an important political meas-
ure promoting co-operation and interaction between regional and local 
authorities, civil populations and civil society. With terrorism and enhance-
ment of security as important concerns, EuropeAid participated with EU 
Member States and the Mediterranean partners in the preparation of a 
Code of Conduct on Countering Terrorism.

A number of signiﬁ cant sub-regional projects are being pursued in the 
context of developing a Euro-Mediterranean energy market: these include 
the progressive integration of the Maghreb countries’ electricity market 
with the EU electricity market, the integration of gas markets in the Mashreq 
region, and improvement of energy eﬃ  ciency in the Mediterranean area. 
EuropeAid also initiated a number of activities in the transport sector, in-
cluding a new MEDA GNSS project on pre-industrial demonstrations of 
the Galileo signal in the Mediterranean region, and a civil aviation reform 
project aiming to harmonise aviation safety and security rules and prepare 
the ground for a common aviation area. The ‘Mediterranean Motorways of 
the Sea’ initiative will contribute to the extension of the European transport 
networks towards its southern neighbours, while the SAFEMED project will 
help combat pollution in the Mediterranean sea. Projects funded principally 
under the regional SMAP programme are setting out steps for implement-
ing Horizon 2020, the Mediterranean de-pollution initiative.

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In  order  to  help  the  MEDA  countries  participate  in  the  Cross  Border 
Co-operation  programmes  that  are  foreseen  within  the  European 
Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), EuropeAid signed three 
Financing Agreements to fund the participation of MEDA partners in EU 
structural funds programmes (INTERREG).

The intercultural dialogue was strengthened through activities carried out in 
regional programmes such as Euromed Heritage, Euromed Youth, Euromed 
Audiovisual II (aimed at strengthening the Euro-Mediterranean audiovisual 
sector) and within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Anna Lindh 
Foundation for dialogue between cultures. The European Commission also 
made available a total of € 18 million for university co-operation projects 
involving higher education institutions from the Mediterranean countries. 
EuropeAid is also contributing, through a new regional programme, to 
the promotion of the full participation of women in economic life in the 
Euro-Mediterranean region. Regional projects within the Information and 
Communication programme aim to increase the visibility of the EU in the 
Mediterranean media through the participation of high-ranking oﬃ  cials in 
debates and interviews, as well as through the preparation of information 
for the media.

Finally, the year saw a consolidation in Mediterranean neighbouring coun-
tries of the institutional twinning instrument, which is now also available 
to other countries under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership 
Instrument. These programmes, linking administrations in beneﬁ ciary coun-
tries with partner administrations in Member States, are in place in Egypt, 
Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia; 15 twinning contracts have already 
been signed and 80 more are in the pipeline. These contracts, together 
with the TAIEX operations launched in 2006, cover such ﬁ elds as trade 
and customs, taxation, transport, health norms and consumer protection, 
money laundering, migration, competition, and land tenure.

(cid:188) MITIGATING DAMAGE TO MEDITERRANEAN 
COASTAL ECO-SYSTEMS AND LANDSCAPES

More than 50% of the Mediterranean countries’ population 
is concentrated on the coastline and more than 30% of world 
tourism is attracted to the Mediterranean region. Existing pres-
sures from human activity cause enormous damage to coastal 
eco-systems and landscapes, and emissions from municipalities 
and industries generate pollution problems in marine waters. 
There is growing awareness of the need to tackle these issues 
before it is too late.

The  regional  SMAP  programme  has  implemented  various 
projects to help resolve these problems. Among them, a re-
gional  “Project  for  the  Development  of  Marine  and  Coastal 
Protected Areas in the Mediterranean Region” aims to sup-
port conservation and promote sustainable management of 
Mediterranean marine and coastal biodiversity through seven 
pilot initiatives. Algeria, Cyprus, France, Israel, Italy, Spain, Malta, 
Morocco, Syria and Tunisia are collaborating to establish and 

45  http://www.smaponline.net/EN/index.php?subdir=sma&page=sma.php

Nablus old city renovation. West Bank  -  © EC

manage Mediterranean marine and coastal protected areas, to 
launch inventories of natural sites for conservation and to pub-
lish practical guides on species in need of special care (marine 
turtles, cetaceans, monk seals, etc.)45. (cid:187)

2.3.3 

Implementation

This was the last year of the MEDA programme and also another record 
year in terms of budgetary execution and operational implementation. 
Total commitments under MEDA amounted to € 816.7 million and total 
payments reached € 891 million. For the third consecutive year, payments 
exceeded forecasts and conﬁ rmed that the Commission’s eﬀ orts to improve 
implementation of MEDA are paying oﬀ . The payments/commitments ratio 
for all Mediterranean and Middle East budget lines has now reached 105 % 
(€ 1 218 million/€ 1 158 million).

Co-operation with the Maghreb countries

In its last year of operation, the MEDA programme continued to provide 
Maghreb countries with substantial technical and ﬁ nancial support for 
their agenda of economic and social reforms. In Tunisia, human resources 
development is one of the main priorities of EC co-operation: building on 
the achievements of a previous programme, the Commission committed 
€ 30 million to the Manform II programme to support the national voca-
tional training system. A further € 41 million was committed through the 
Programme d’appui à la Compétitivité to support reforms in the ﬁ elds of 
public administration and public ﬁ nancial management.

In Morocco, the Commission launched a major programme supporting 
the ambitious ﬁ scal reform undertaken by the government. Endowed with 
€ 80 million, the Programme d’appui à la réforme de la ﬁ scalité will accompany, 
over the next three years, the much needed process of simpliﬁ cation and ra-
tionalisation of the ﬁ scal system, focusing in particular on VAT reform. In the 
critical area of the environment, two new programmes were adopted in the 
ﬁ eld of water and waste water policy, namely Assainissement des eaux usées 
et appui institutionnel au secteur de l’eau (€ 30 million) and Assainissement 
des villes moyennes II  (€ 10 million).  In  the  transport  sector,  a  horizontal 
aviation agreement and a global aviation agreement, as well as a co-
operation agreement on Galileo, were signed.

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Basic education programme. Egypt  -  © EC

In recent years, Morocco has been successfully carrying out an important 
process of democratisation. In 2006, the traditionally strong support of the 
Commission to this process came through the earmarking of € 3 million for 
the project Appui aux actions de réparation en faveur des régions touchées 
par les violations des droits de l’homme. € 30 million were also earmarked 
for the strengthening of an ongoing programme supporting migration 
management policy, a major priority of Euro-Moroccan co-operation.

The Commission pursued its co-operation with Algeria essentially through 
technical assistance. The main objectives of this co-operation are to sup-
port the Algerian government’s eﬀ orts in implementing the EU-Algeria 
Association Agreement, modernising public administration and improv-
ing public services. To this end, the Commission adopted the following 
programmes: support to the transport sector (€ 20 million); support to 
management of the economy (€ 20 million); support to implementation of 
the Association Agreement (€ 10 million); trade facilitation (€ 5 million); and 
support to rural development (€ 11 million).

Co-operation with the Mashreq and Middle East countries 

The deepened relationship with the Mashreq countries, together with 
the evolution towards sector-reform-oriented operations in 2005, led to 
improved co-operation with the ﬁ ve partner countries, mainly within the 
framework of the MEDA programme. Egypt remained one of the main 
beneﬁ ciaries of this programme with a major allocation of € 129 million, 
bringing to € 592 million the total cumulative funding under MEDA since the 
year 2000. Priority was given to the improvement of the health sector with 
the aim of accompanying the ongoing reform of the national health system: 
€ 88 million were committed for this purpose. In addition, € 20 million were 
allocated for social development, € 11 million for research, development and 
innovation, and € 10 million for an interest-rate subsidy relating to a project 
on pollution abatement.

In Syria two existing programmes, the Syrian-European Business Centre 
(SEBC) and the national Small and Medium Enterprises Support Programme, 
provided the ground for implementing a € 12 million Quality and Standards 
Programme  in  the  key  co-operation  area  of  industrial  modernisation. 
Complementary  to  other  ongoing  actions  (HIBA:  Higher  Institute  for 
Business Administration and VET: Vocational and Educational Training) in 
the education sector, a new € 10 million MEDA Upgrading Higher Education 
Programme was launched to address the important challenges for the 
development of an eﬀ ective higher education system.

In Lebanon the war between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah signiﬁ -
cantly aﬀ ected co-operation objectives. In the aftermath of the war, during 
the Stockholm Conference in August, the Commission pledged more than 
€ 100 million (€ 54 million for humanitarian assistance and € 42 million for 
short-term needs). The Commission also assisted in the evacuation of some 
50 000 persons with an amount of € 11 million. Based on the ﬁ ndings of the 
damage assessment missions, € 18 million worth of projects were reoriented 
under the 2006 National Financing Plan, and up to € 50 million from the 
Multi-annual Indicative Programme 2007-2010 will be used for reconstruc-
tion and recovery. These interventions include a € 15 million Commission 
contribution to assist a € 100 million European Investment Bank global loan 
in support of SMEs directly or indirectly damaged by the war.

In Jordan, the EC continued to support the reform eﬀ orts of the govern-
ment by approving a National Financing Plan representing € 67 million 
worth  of  grants.  This  assistance  will  contribute  € 42 million  to  Jordan’s 
National Education Strategy programme and broaden educational op-
portunities for the most vulnerable groups. A second programme – worth 
€ 20 million and reﬂ ecting the good performance of Jordan in terms of 
democratisation – will encourage fulﬁ lment of the conditions essential to 
the eﬀ ective implementation of the National Agenda of reforms. Finally, 
a € 5 million action plan agreed in 2006 will support research and tech-
nological development in a promising area not already covered by other 
international donors.

Following the crisis situation in the Palestinian territories of West Bank 
and Gaza, the EC allocated a total of € 339 million for the beneﬁ t of the 
Palestinian people, a considerable increase on previous years: EU assistance 
has been averaging € 260 million annually since the outbreak of the second 
intifada in 2000. This increase in aid was a response to the deteriorating 
humanitarian and socio-economic situation in the West Bank and Gaza 
resulting both from a ﬁ scal crisis that worsened signiﬁ cantly after the for-
mation of the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority (PA) government in March 
and from the subsequent decision of Israel to withhold the tax and custom 
revenues they collect on behalf of the PA: these revenues represented 
broadly two-thirds of the PA budget.

Early in the year, the Commission made € 64 million available to the United 
Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to provide health, education 
and social services to Palestinian refugees. An emergency contribution of 
€ 40 million was also made to ensure essential public utilities, in particular 
electricity supplies to the Palestinian community. A further € 84 million in 
humanitarian aid was provided by the DG for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), 
and € 26 million was also allocated for food aid and food security, much of 
it implemented via UNRWA and the World Food Programme. An additional 
€ 10 million was provided to improve the living conditions of Palestinian 
refugees in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

In June, the Commission, with the World Bank, put in place a Temporary 
International Mechanism (TIM) to help alleviate the socio-economic condi-
tions that were continuing to deteriorate. This mechanism, developed by 
the EU at the request of the Quartet (EU, US, UN and Russia) and endorsed 
by the European Council, permitted direct delivery of assistance to the 
Palestinian people while avoiding ﬁ nancial links with the PA government. 
The Commission contributed € 110 million in 2006 with further contribu-
tions totalling € 87 million coming from EU Member States. Other projects 
include a € 12 million package to support the Oﬃ  ce of the President and 
more than € 3 million, allocated through NGOs, for the promotion of human 
rights and the implementation of social projects.

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2.  Geographical  focus

59

Payment of allowances to social hardship cases (TIM). West Bank  -  © EC

(cid:188) SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TIM 

On 9 May 2006, the Quartet addressed the humanitarian situa-
tion in the Palestinian Territory and asked the European Union 
to propose a Temporary International Mechanism (TIM). This 
mechanism was subsequently developed under the responsi-
bility of European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and 
was endorsed by the European Council. The main objective 
was to maintain the provision of essential public services and 
to protect ordinary Palestinians from the socio-economic crisis 
that intensiﬁ ed following the establishment of the Hamas-led 
Palestinian government.

The TIM is a European operation composed of a team of oﬃ  cials 
from the European Commission, staﬀ  from EU Member States, 
and experts. The TIM Management Unit (TIM-MU) processes 
the ﬁ nancial contributions from the European Commission, EU 
Member States and other donors. Its work, which started in 
Jerusalem on 26 June 2006 for a period of three months, was 
extended for a further three months until the end of 2006. Over 
the past year, the World Bank and the European Commission 
have supported it with a total of € 205 million; 14 Member States 
and  Norway  have  contributed  with  a  total  amount  of  over 
€ 94 million, the remaining funds coming from the Commission 
budget.

Under the TIM, essential support has been provided for the 
uninterrupted supply of public utility services (electricity, wa-
ter treatment and supply, and health facilities), especially in 
Gaza following the bombing of the power plant end-June. The 
TIM paid over € 88 million in social allowances to 71 000 pub-
lic-sector employees and pensioners with low incomes. Over 
€ 23.7 million was channelled directly to 73 000 poor and vulner-
able Palestinians seriously aﬀ ected by the crisis. In November, 
the  European  Council  extended  the  TIM  for  a  further  three 
months to end-March 2007, when it is set to be reviewed. (cid:187)

The following three non-Mediterranean countries were not eligible for 
MEDA, and co-operation was therefore implemented through dedicated 
programmes.

Aid to the reconstruction in Iraq

Since 2003, the EC has contributed to the alleviation of daily diﬃ  culties in 
Iraq as well as to better governance in the country, with an amount total-
ling € 718.5 million. As part of a multilateral and cooperative eﬀ ort with 
other donors, EC aid has been channelled mainly through the International 
Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI), despite the extremely diﬃ  cult 
operating conditions in the country, the instability and the increasing lack 
of security. The Commission approved (on 12 July and 21 November) two 
packages to support Iraq reconstruction, bringing EC support to Iraq in 
2006 to € 200 million.

These measures include assistance in improving the living conditions of 
Iraqis, furthering democracy and supporting the priorities set by the Iraqi 
government on reconstruction. EC-supported actions have focused so far 
on education, health, aid to the UN role in the political and constitutional 
process in Iraq, water, sanitation and income-generating activities for the 
vulnerable. Support to primary and intermediate school education has pro-
vided better learning conditions for about 100 000 students, and enhanced 
teaching capacity for about 20 000 primary teachers. Health services have 
also been enhanced, with improved immunisation services throughout the 
country. Finally, the EC has supported job creation through such projects 
as the Iraq Reconstruction and Employment Programs (IREP).

Co-operation with Yemen 

The EC played a particularly important role in Yemen, with an EU Election 
Observation Mission supporting the country’s presidential and local elec-
tions in September 2006, an openly-contested electoral process. This mile-
stone in the democratic development of Yemen was followed by a major 
Donors Consultative Group Meeting in London in November, where the 
EU reaﬃ  rmed its crucial support by making the most important non-Gulf 
contribution to Yemen’s 2007-2010 development plan. Complementing its 
important contributions in the health sector, the Commission approved 
a new reproductive health and population programme of € 10.5 million: 
high mortality and fertility rates have indeed been identiﬁ ed as the main 
constraints to sustainable development in what remains one of the poorest 
countries of the world. In addition, an allocation of € 6 million was made 
under the food security budget line. At the end of the year, the Commission 
and the Yemeni authorities reached agreement on the 2007-2010 strategy 
for EC development co-operation.

Co-operation with Iran

The prospects for a deepening of the EU strategy in Iran were hampered by 
the deterioration of the domestic situation and by the attitude of the Iranian 
authorities towards the EU and the international community in general. 
Despite growing diﬃ  culties, eﬀ orts continued in implementing activities 
supporting Iran’s civil society. In particular, four projects promoting the 
values of good governance and human rights, mainly carried out through 
UN agencies, progressed satisfactorily during the year.

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Table 9 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget 
managed by EuropeAid in 2006

Commitments

Payments

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

216 M€ ; 18%

681 M€ ; 58%

193 M€ ; 16%

41 M€ ; 3%

78 M€ ; 7%

113 M€ ; 10%

50 M€ ; 4%

0%

82 M€ ; 7%

146 M€ ; 12%

109 M€ ; 9%

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

705 M€ ; 57%

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only)
Region identiﬁed following geographical budget lines

Table 10 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget managed by EuropeAid
Commitments 2002-2006
in € million

1 400

1 200

1 000

800

600

400

200

0

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only)
Region identiﬁed following geographical budget lines

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

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mediterranean and near and middle east 

2.  Geographical  focus

61

Table 11 //  External aid ﬁ nanced on the General Commission Budget managed by EuropeAid 2000-2006

in € million

Commitments

Payments

2000
731

459

2001
709

488

2002
762

707

2003
782

700

2004
1 003

1 125

2005
1 075

1 122

2006
1 178

1 235

In addition, 10 projects in the area of institutional capacity-building and 
good governance focused on institutional support for the implementation 
of the Association Agreements and the reinforcement of social and ﬁ nancial 
systems. Overall, the global partnership for development targeted activi-
ties totalling € 875 million. Twenty projects to a total value of € 200 million 
directly addressed environmental sustainability issues, the 7th MDG. Fifteen 
monitored projects also ally issues of food security and sustainable devel-
opment with a strong element of community based development and 
gender empowerment.

Performance analysis 

EU assistance in the region provided a signiﬁ cant contribution towards the 
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. As analyses based 
on performance indicators for 2006 show, projects related to the MDGs in 
the Mediterranean area are performing satisfactorily. The best-performing 
MDG-related projects served the second goal: Achieving Universal Primary 
Education. The best-performing monitored projects were located in the 
Palestinian Territories, followed by Algeria and Syria.

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only)
Region identiﬁ ed following geographical budget lines

2.3.4 

Working towards the MDGs 

Deﬁ ned in the context of the Barcelona Process, the EU’s objectives for the 
Mediterranean and Middle East Region (MED) are in line with the United 
Nations’ Millennium Development Goals set in 2000 and revised in 2005. 
Launched in 2004, the European Neighbourhood Policy is complementary 
to Euro-Med co-operation and oﬀ ers to draw neighbours much closer to 
the EU. Complementing the framework of the Barcelona Process, the ENP 
oﬀ ers bilateral incentives and opportunities for the further economic and 
social integration of the Mediterranean countries, within the perspective 
of a Free Trade Market to be implemented by 2010. To this end, the ENP 
aims to reduce the emergence of new dividing lines between the enlarged 
EU and its neighbours, and to enhance co-operation in numerous areas of 
vital and common interest: economic, social, immigration, justice, environ-
ment, and so on.

Based on the outcomes of the annual monitoring exercise, 75 projects (out 
of a total of 150 monitored projects) directly or indirectly addressed one 
or more of the MDGs. Even if in absolute terms this ﬁ gure is lower than the 
previous year, this still represents 50% of the total Mediterranean portfolio. 
Moreover, the projects monitored directly addressed seven out of eight 
MDGs – one more than in 2005 – including eradicating extreme poverty 
and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender 
equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving 
maternal health, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing 
a global partnership for development. The 6th MDG - combat HIV/AIDS, 
malaria and other diseases – was the only one not addressed by these 
projects.

MDG 8, the creation of a global partnership for development, received the 
most attention in the MED region. In the context of a Free Trade Area by 
2010 and the sustained political dialogue with Mediterranean countries, 
the EU was able to increase the number of good governance projects and 
extend co-operation to new areas, such as justice and migration, with a 
total of 36 projects that directly serve the partnership for development. 
More speciﬁ cally, the objectives for a global partnership for development 
were pursued in no less than 16 projects focusing on trade enhancement 
and support to the private sector.

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2.3.5 

Governance

DEMOCRACY FACILITY

The  Commission  provided  additional  funding  through  a 
Democracy Facility to Jordan and Morocco, the two partners 
who  had  made  most  progress  in  implementing  the  agreed 
reform agenda set out in their ENP Action Plans. Based on an 
assessment of progress in implementing governance aspects 
of the ENP Action Plans, this funding was made available as a 
top-up to national allocations to support key elements of the 
reform agenda. The EC allocated an additional € 30 million to 
a border management programme in Morocco, which will in 
particular help train border police on migrants’ rights and foster 
respect for the relevant international conventions. In Jordan, the 
EC supported the national reform process through a € 20 million 
programme underpinning the “We Are All Jordan” initiative. This 
includes establishing monitoring mechanisms and reinforcing 
the capacity for reform implementation. 

SUPPORT FOR NGOS IN ALGERIA 

Since 2000 the Commission has supported civil society through 
the MEDA programme. The NGO I project was very favourably 
evaluated, while NGO II started up during the year. The overall 
objective of the programme is to promote the role of civil soci-
ety in Algerian development. The expected results are:

• 

associations will be assisted to ensure their viability and their 
operational independence;

• 

management capacity will be consolidated;

• 

• 

• 

at least 150 associations additional to those that beneﬁ ted 
under NGO I are ﬁ nanced on the basis of calls for proposals;

impetus is given to interaction between local and Mediterranean 
associations, in particular those involving young people and 
women;

link-ups and inter-association exchanges on speciﬁ c projects, 
in particular those involving young people and women, are 
organised and ﬁ nanced;

• 

grassroots networks are encouraged and supported in speciﬁ c 
areas of interest.

Argan oil preparation. Morocco  -  © EC Delegation Rabat

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mediterranean and near and middle east 

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63

2.3.6 

Overview results-oriented monitoring

Table 12 // Mediterranean and Near and Middle East Monitoring Results per ODA sector 46

3.00

2.75

2.50

2.25

2.00

.  Relevance

.  Eﬃciency

.  Eﬀectiveness

.  Impact

.  Sustainability

Social 
infrastructure 
and services

Economic 
infrastructure 
and services

Production 
sectors

Multisector - 
crosscutting

Emergency 
assistance

Commodity aid 
and general 
programme
assistance

150 ongoing projects for a total budget of € 1 886 million were monitored 
in this region, producing 18047 monitoring reports. Project performance 
shows  a  continuous  improvement  from  2.81  in  2002  to  2.89  in  2006. 
Eﬃ  ciency, although still the poorest performer among the ﬁ ve criteria, has 
continuously improved from 2.65 in 2002 to 2.83 in 2006. When consider-
ing only projects re-monitored from 2004 to 2006, this positive evolution 
is conﬁ rmed, with a strong increase between 2004 and 2005 (from 2.60 to 
2.79) and an average score of 2.81.

The social infrastructure and services sector, which represents more than half 
of the projects as well as of the budget monitored, shows good overall 
performance (2.88 for a target parameter of 2.5 for ‘on track’). The best 
performance is in the economic infrastructure and services sector (23 projects 
for € 429 million) with an impressive 2.96.

2.3.7 

Donor co-ordination

As pointed out in the Paris Declaration, excessive fragmentation of aid 
impairs aid eﬀ ectiveness. A pragmatic approach to the division of labour 
and burden-sharing among donors was therefore necessary to increase 
complementarity and reduce the transaction costs for partner countries. 
Concern for aid eﬀ ectiveness is fully reﬂ ected in Commission co-operation 
with Mediterranean partners and translates into systematic co-ordination 
with other donors.

Working together with International Financial Institutions such as the World 
Bank and the African Development Bank is a long-established practice, 
ranging from the exchange of information and analytical work to joint 
preparation and implementation of programmes. The Commission is also 
increasingly committed to improving co-operation with the EU Member 
States. Thematic working groups in areas as varied as health, education, 
water, immigration, and gender issues meet regularly, chaired by represen-
tatives of the Member States and co-chaired by Commission Delegations. 
An example of best practice in the framework of the government’s poverty 
reduction strategy is Morocco where the Commission, France’s Agence 
française de développement (AFD) and the German KfW are jointly carry-
ing out the identiﬁ cation of the INDH programme (National Initiative for 
Human Development).

A good example of co-ordination and co-operation by donors was the 
successful implementation of the Temporary International Mechanism 
(TIM). Thirteen EU countries and Norway contributed to the TIM with a 
total allocation of nearly € 95 million, while other Member States provided 
human resources in support, increasing the need for co-ordination between 
donors. Since its inception, the TIM initiative has closely involved potential 
donors, through common meetings and individual contacts, in putting 
in place the structures and processes needed to deliver direct support to 
vulnerable Palestinians. Oﬃ  cials are regular participants in EU and donor 
co-ordination forums in the West Bank and, in the past six months, TIM has 

46  Only samples of minimal 10 monitoring reports are considered statistically relevant, 
therefore no information is provided for those sectors having less than the minimum 
number of monitoring reports

47 

Including regional programmes for which more than one component is monitored. 
This explains the diﬀ erence between projects monitored and reports

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2.  Geographical  focus

acps and octs

organised two donor conferences, a consultative group meeting and two 
local donor meetings.

2.4 

ACPs and OCTs

Ad hoc brieﬁ ngs were set up for a number of visiting delegations, includ-
ing from the House of Commons, the German Ministry for Economic Co-
operation and the European Parliament. TIM established structures and 
processes to facilitate donor contributions and identiﬁ es payment needs on 
the basis of established criteria, allocating donor contributions accordingly. 
Monitoring and auditing procedures for all operational activities ensure 
an eﬃ  cient employment of donors’ contributions and precise follow-up 
of expenditures. Donors are regularly informed through both monthly 
reporting and ad hoc information on the disbursement of funds and pay-
ments to beneﬁ ciaries.

2.3.8 

Conclusions and perspectives

This  was  the  last  year  of  the  MEDA  programme,  launched  in  1995  as 
the main operational instrument for EC co-operation with the southern 
Mediterranean  countries.  Twelve  years  on  it  can  be  said  that,  reﬂ ect-
ing  the  ambitious  objectives  set  at  the  Barcelona  Conference  in  1995, 
major achievements have been achieved in a wide range of areas: polit-
ical dialogue has been reinforced in an unstable international context and 
essential institutional reforms have been implemented in several countries; 
and important breakthroughs in trade and regulatory reforms, including 
measures to prepare partners for a stake in the Internal Market, have been 
realised. Signiﬁ cant results have also been achieved in the ﬁ ght against 
poverty, providing the poorest with better access to health and education 
systems. Lastly, in this not-exhaustive list, convincing results have been 
were recorded in the ﬁ elds of justice and home aﬀ airs, energy, transport 
and environment, as well as regional integration.

The following ﬁ gures reﬂ ect the success of the Barcelona process and the 
positive results obtained through the MEDA Programme. In 2006, more than 
50% of regional trade was with the EU, which was also the ﬁ nal destination 
for 70% of many of the southern Mediterranean countries’ exports. The EU 
is the largest foreign direct investor, with almost 40% of total FDI, and the 
region’s largest provider of ﬁ nancial assistance and funding, with almost 
€ 3 billion per year in loans and grants.

The operational start-up of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership 
Instrument on 1 January 2007, replacing both the TACIS and the MEDA 
Programmes, represents an enhancement of EU-Med co-operation policy. 
An ambitious strategic programme is foreseen, with heightened objectives 
in all areas of co-operation for 10 Mediterranean countries over the period 
2007-2013. To address its objectives, the ENPI’s ﬁ nancial envelope for these 
10 Mediterranean countries will amount to some € 3.2 billion over the ﬁ rst 
three-year period of the new programme (2007-2010).

The ENPI will enhance relations with the Mediterranean partners, based 
on common vital interests. It will address challenges such as worldwide 
economic integration, sustainable development, immigration, the ﬁ ght 
against terrorism, conﬂ ict resolution and better understanding between 
neighbours sharing a common historical and cultural heritage around the 
shores of the Mediterranean basin.

2.4.1  ntroduction

I

Development ﬁ nance co-operation with the African, Caribbean and Paciﬁ c 
States (ACPs) for the period 2000-2007 is funded from the 9th European 
Development Fund. The principal focal areas across the ACP countries are 
support to infrastructure development, social sectors, agriculture and gov-
ernance. Regional co-operation has been focused on economic integration 
and infrastructure. Another major element of the 9th EDF has been devoted 
to Intra-ACP funds, which support initiatives of interest to the ACP Group 
of States at large. Its initial envelope of € 300 million reached € 2.5 billion in 
2006, funding the Africa Peace Facility but also new initiatives like the Water 
Facility and the Energy Facility.

Assistance under the 9th EDF has been implemented at a sustained rate, 
beneﬁ ting in particular from eﬃ  ciency gains from the devolution of aid 
management to Commission Delegations: virtually all funds will have been 
committed by end-2007. The ACP-EU Joint Council of 1 June agreed on 
a reallocation of € 110 million within the 9th EDF, including in particular a 
€ 60 million contribution to the newly set up Trust Fund for Infrastructure. 
The  EC  has  also  intensiﬁ ed  its  political  and  policy  dialogue  with  ACP 
countries.

In December 2005, EU Member States agreed on an overall € 22.7 billion 
envelope for the 10th European Development Fund, representing a 30% in-
crease in real terms on the 9th EDF envelope. The preparation of the 10th EDF 
started in February with six regional seminars organised by the European 
Commission, with participation by ACP countries and EU Member States. 
The strategic framework of EC assistance has also been updated on the 
basis of the European Consensus and the strategies for Africa, the Paciﬁ c and 
the Caribbean. The poverty focus of the EDF has been conﬁ rmed and the 
importance of optimising the contribution of the 10th EDF to the Millennium 
Development Goals highlighted. To increase the poverty impact of EC aid, 
emphasis has been placed on a number of principles and initiatives.

Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) is seen as key: in twelve EC pol-
icy areas, including migration and ﬁ sheries, ways and means of ensuring 
greater coherence with development goals are being examined. Better 
co-ordination with Member States and other donors is also a major principle 
of 10th EDF programming, leading to joint programming in a number of 
instances. Good governance is a prerequisite for eﬃ  ciency and eﬀ ective-
ness, and a ‘Governance Initiative’ was adopted by the EC in August: this 
consists primarily of a new incentive mechanism to promote domestic 
reforms and comprises the promotion of important issues such as good 
governance in the tax, ﬁ nancial and judicial areas. Programming guidelines 
have been established in social sectors, with speciﬁ c orientations on health, 
education, gender, HIV/AIDS and children, and two communications on 
‘Investing in People’ and the shortage of health workers. Last, but not least, 
the development dimension of the Economic Partnership Agreements has 
been elaborated on further, markedly in the context of the joint ACP-EU 
Regional Programming Task Forces.

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Like development ﬁ nance co-operation with ACP States, co-operation with 
the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) for the period 2000-2007 is 
ﬁ nanced from the 9th EDF and will be funded from the 10th EDF for the 
period 2008-2013. Implementation of the 9th EDF for OCTs got oﬀ  to a slow 
start, but has now reached cruising speed and can be judged satisfactory. 
Funds from the 9th EDF reserve were also used to make new allocations 
on the basis of the development of the needs and performance of the 
OCTs. Meanwhile the Overseas Association Decision 48 has been revised 
to ensure continued OCT access to thematic budget lines and horizontal 
programmes for the period 2007-2013 and to introduce the amendments 
needed for co-operation under the 10th EDF, the programming exercise 
for which has already started. In addition, an in-depth discussion on future 
OCT-EU relations is under way, with the view to preparing a Green Paper 
on the issue.

2.4.2 

Regional co-operation and integration

The regional co-operation and integration agenda for ACP countries was 
dominated by the uninterrupted negotiations on Economic Partnership 
Agreements (EPAs) for all six EPA regions: Eastern and Southern Africa, the 
Caribbean, the Southern African Development Community, the Paciﬁ c, 
West Africa and Central Africa. All negotiations have made progress and, 
during the year, negotiations on speciﬁ c aspects of the agreements were 
initiated.

Several EDF-ﬁ nanced activities were carried out to support the negotiating 
process. They were implemented at all-ACP, regional and national levels to 
support and accompany the negotiations with analysis, capacity-building 
and logistics. Joint EU-ACP Regional Preparatory Task Force (RPTF) or equiva-
lent meetings took place, with the aim of ensuring the link between the 
negotiation process and development co-operation programming. Work 
started on regional programming for the 10th EDF, with major attention to 
trade and EPA-related support.

In its October conclusions on Aid for Trade, the Council recognised that 
increased and more eﬀ ective AfT is needed to help the ACP countries take 
full advantage of increased trading opportunities, including those provided 
by future EPAs, and underlined the need to ensure that a substantial share 
of the EC and Member States’ newly pledged increase in trade-related as-
sistance will be devoted to the ACP countries.

2.4.3 

Implementation

The Commission ﬁ nances most development programmes in ACP countries 
and in EU Member States’ OCTs through the European Development Fund, 
with EU Member States contributing jointly. The Commission also funds 
some programmes from the general EU Budget, for example those in South 
Africa and those supporting the banana and sugar exporting states. The 
Commission provides increasing amounts of aid directly to ACP govern-
ments as budget support, rather than on individual projects. To receive 
payments, these governments must fulﬁ l clear goals.

48  Council  Decision  6104/07  of  27  February  2007  on  the  association  of  the  Overseas 

Countries and Territories

Young girl. Mali  -  © EC Delegation Mali

The Commission again cut the amount of money committed for speciﬁ c 
programmes but not spent (‘unspent commitments’): over € 590 million 
was decommitted in 2006. The Commission also continued to pay special 
attention to unspent commitments that were made more than ﬁ ve years 
ago but remained unspent, and/or were committed but neither contracted 
for nor spent in over two years. At the start of the year, these unspent com-
mitments amounted to € 1.96 billion. By year-end, this ﬁ gure had been cut 
by over 40% to € 1.15 billion, beating the year-end target of € 1.22 billion.

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Table 13  //  European Commission development aid to ACP countries – total amounts, 2006 (€ m)49

Funding source 

Indicator

2005

EDF 

EC Budget 

EDF + EC Budget 

Commitments 
Payments
Commitments 
Payments
Commitments 
Payments

3 511
2 456
182
150
3 693
2 606

Target

3 360
2 643
-
-
-
-

2006

Result

3 358
2 719
194
129
3 552
2 848

% change
year-on-year
- 4
+ 11
+ 7
- 14
- 4
+ 9

Better aid – innovating to address new challenges

The Commission is committed not just to delivering more aid, faster – but 
also to using the money to deliver better programmes with a greater impact 
on poverty. It constantly looks for new ways to support ACP countries. A 
few examples are given in the paragraphs that follow.

The Commission agreed to provide a further € 50 million for the Africa 
Peace Facility. Launched in 2004, the Facility has so far helped fund African 
Union peace operations in Darfur in Western Sudan and in the Central 
African Republic. The Commission approved a € 60 million grant to the 
new EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund, part of the EU-Africa Partnership 
for Infrastructure agreed in 2005.50 The Fund should help spur a major in-
crease in the infrastructure spending that Africa needs to boost growth. In 
addition, the Commission approved € 220 million for a new ACP-EU Energy 
Facility51 and sought more proposals for ﬁ nancing from the € 500 million 
ACP-EU Water Facility52.

The Commission also launched a € 40 million initiative on migration from, 
and development in, African countries. To tackle bird ﬂ u, the Commission 
set up a new ACP-wide programme (€ 30 million).

Since 2001, the Commission has provided over € 850 million in aid-for-trade 
to ACP countries. The existing EU-ACP trade regime expires in 2008, so 
aid-for-trade has included substantial support to ACP countries in their 
negotiations of new Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the EU. 
The Commission has also approved: a four-year € 45 million programme to 
help those countries heavily reliant on exports of cotton, bananas and other 
commodities to become more competitive, as well as major new funding 
to boost co-operation between ACP countries: € 55 million to strengthen 
the African Union and a € 41 million programme in support of Caricom, the 
Caribbean’s regional co-operation body.

Water point. Chad  -  © EC Delegation Chad

49  Financing sources: ﬁ gures show aid to ACP countries ﬁ nanced from (i) the 9th European 
Development Fund (EDF) and (ii) the general EU budget. The EDF also ﬁ nances the 
Africa Peace Facility. However, ﬁ gures in tables 13-16 exclude this funding, since it falls 
outside the deﬁ nitions of ODA and OA. The EC Budget also funds certain programmes 
implemented throughout the developing world, including ACP countries (and referred 
to as “Thematic Budget Lines”). These programmes are not ACP-speciﬁ c, so are not 
included in the ﬁ gures in this chapter. 

50  For more information, visit: http://ec.europa.eu/development/Geographical/

51 

europe-cares/index_en.html 
For more about the ACP-EU Energy Facility, visit: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/
where/acp/regional-cooperation/energy/index_en.htm

52  For more about the ACP-EU Water Facility, visit: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/

acp/regional-cooperation/water/index_en.htm

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Table 14 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget 
and the European Development Fund (EDF) managed by EuropeAid in 2006

Commitments

Payments

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

351 M€ ; 10%

1 308 M€ ; 37%

316 M€ ; 11%

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

904 M€ ; 32%

.  Production: 

237 M€ ; 7%

300 M€ ; 8%

423 M€ ; 12%

635 M€ ; 22%

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

97 M€ ; 3%

212 M€ ; 7%

933 M€ ; 26%

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

683 M€ ; 24%

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only). Excl non-ODA/OA resources (Peace Facility,...)
Budget lines South Africa, Bananas, Sugar and EDF included

Table 15 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the European Development Fund (EDF) 
managed by EuropeAid in 2006

Commitments

Payments

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

349 M€ ; 10%

1 226 M€ ; 37%

315 M€ ; 12%

237 M€ ; 7%

281 M€ ; 8%

331 M€ ; 10%

635 M€ ; 23%

933 M€ ; 28%

81 M€ ; 3%

192 M€ ; 7%

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only). Excl non-ODA/OA resources (Peace Facility,...)

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

833 M€ ; 31%

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

663 M€ ; 24%

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

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Table 16 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget 
and the European Development Fund (EDF) managed by EuropeAid 
Commitments 2002-2006
in € million

4 500

4 000

3 500

3 000

2 500

2 000

1 500

1 000

500

0

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only). Excl non-ODA/OA resources (Peace Facility,...)
Budget lines South Africa, Bananas, Sugar and EDF included

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

Table 17 //  External aid ﬁ nanced on the General Commission Budget and the European Development Fund (EDF) 
managed by EuropeAid 2000-2006

in € million

Commitments

Payments

2000
4 207

1 789

2001
2 092

1 913

2002
2 278

2 087

2003
3 867

2 484

2004
2 570

2 528

2005
3 693

2 606

2006
3 552

2 848

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only). Excl non-ODA/OA resources (Peace Facility,…)
Budget lines South Africa, Bananas, Sugar and EDF included 

Table 18 // External aid ﬁ nanced on the General Commission Budget and the European Development Fund (EDF) 
managed by EuropeAid in 2006

in € million

Africa

Caribbean

Paciﬁ c

Overseas Countries 
& Territories

ACP Unallocated

Total

Budget + EDF

2 702
307
31

76

436
3 552

Commitments

                                     Payments

EDF

2553
268
27

76

434
3 358

Budget

Budget + EDF

149
40
4

-

2
195

2 221
182
59

35

351
2 848

EDF

2 100
174
59

35

351
2 719

Budget

121

8

-

-

-

129

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only). Excl non-ODA/OA resources (Peace Facility,…)
Budget lines South Africa, Bananas, Sugar and EDF included

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The MDG focus of EC development co-operation is reﬂ ected in the 10th EDF 
programming process for the countries of Africa, Caribbean and the Paciﬁ c 
(ACP); this was initiated in 2006 and will determine the priorities of EC de-
velopment aid in ACP countries, as well as the funding modalities. Early on 
in the year, the Commission provided programming guidelines inter alia on 
health, education, gender equality, HIV/AIDS and children in development 
co-operation. The 10th EDF country and regional strategies will be the basis 
of the EC’s bilateral co-operation with ACP countries for the six-year period 
2008-2013, and represents € 22.7 billion of funding over the period.

Meanwhile, the EC pursued its action aimed at supporting progress towards 
the MDGs in ACP countries under current 9th EDF programming which 
covers the period 2002-2007. EC general budget support, representing 
around one-quarter of country aid, is focused on poverty reduction, with a 
direct link to progress measured against MDG-related indicators. Education 
and health, which represent ﬁ ve of the eight MDGs, have been prioritised 
in the poorest ACP states. Support to the MDGs involves ensuring that 
accurate and appropriate data on the MDG indicators are produced and 
published.

This eﬀ ort is complemented by the EU Strategy for Africa, which sets out 
the steps the Union will take to help Africa achieve the MDGs. This strategy 
is based on the conviction that progress towards the MDGs can only be 
achieved in a context conducive to economic and social progress. The 
EU’s contribution to the creation or consolidation of such an environment 
is based on two pillars: on the one hand, actions aimed at achieving last-
ing peace, respect of democracy and fundamental freedoms, and good 
governance; on the other, actions focused on supporting trade, regional 
integration and interconnectivity. A third pillar is speciﬁ cally devoted to 
the MDGs, with particular emphasis on education, health, gender equality 
and the environment.

2.4.5 

Governance

In the ACP region, the Commission intends to put the policy principles 
contained in the Communication “Governance in the European Consensus 
– towards a harmonised approach” 53 into practice through a detailed, struc-
tured and innovative “Governance Initiative”. This new incentive mechanism 
will give ACP partner countries access to additional funding in line with their 
commitments to achieving ﬁ rm results in their democratic governance 
reform programmes. € 2.7 billion from the 10th European Development Fund 
will be reserved for such incentives. Through this Governance Initiative the 
EU will also provide political and ﬁ nancial support to the African Peer Review 
Mechanism, while showing due regard for African countries’ ownership of 
the process. The Governance Initiative is a participatory self- assessment tool 
designed to promote reforms, mutual learning and enhanced ownership. 
The EU is prepared to continue support for the process and the reforms it 
generates at the national level.

HIV/AIDS awareness. Mozambique  -  © EC Delegation Mozambique

2.4.4 

Working towards the MDGs

Poverty eradication and the MDGs are among the core priorities of EU devel-
opment policy as enshrined in the European Consensus on Development. 
The MDG focus is of particular relevance to Sub-Saharan Africa, which has 
seen the slowest progress towards most of the MDG-related targets and 
indicators. According to the United Nations’ 2006 MDG Report, the pro-
portion of people living in extreme poverty and suﬀ ering from hunger 
is only declining marginally in Sub-Saharan Africa, and is still increasing in 
absolute numbers.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the poverty rate declined marginally, though the 
number  of  people  living  in  extreme  poverty  increased  by  140 million. 
Regarding universal primary education, the region has made signiﬁ cant 
progress in the last 15 years, yet the net primary enrolment rate is still the 
world’s lowest at 64% in 2003/04. Sub-Saharan Africa also has the world’s 
largest gender gap in education.

As far as the under-ﬁ ve mortality rate is concerned Sub-Saharan Africa, with 
only 20% of the world’s young children, accounted for half of total deaths, a 
situation that shows only modest improvement. Similarly, maternal mortal-
ity rates record little change in terms of where most deaths occur. The HIV/
AIDS epidemic still centres on the region: with just over 10% of the world’s 
population, it is home to 64% of HIV-positive people and 90% of under-15 
children living with the virus. Finally, Sub-Saharan Africa is the world’s most 
rapidly urbanising region, and almost all this growth is taking place in slums 
where people lack access to water and sanitation.

53  COM(2006) 421 ﬁ nal

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Beneﬁ ciaries of water project. Kenya  -  © Ameye David/Cecoforma

2.4.6 

Overview results-oriented monitoring

Table 19 // ACP Monitoring Results per ODA sector 54

3.00

2.75

2.50

2.25

2.00

Social 
infrastructure 
and services

Economic 
infrastructure 
and services

Production 
sectors

Multisector - 
crosscutting

Emergency 
assistance

Commodity aid 
and general 
programme 
assistance

561 projects with a total budget of € 5 218.5 million were monitored in the 
ACP region, producing 511 monitoring reports. 50 projects were the subject 
of a monitoring note. The overall performance in ACP increased signiﬁ cantly 
and is the best since ROM started (2.65), with all ﬁ ve criteria improving, most 
remarkably on impact (2.70), up from 2.45 in 2005. Projects are relevant with 
a continuously high score (2.76 in 2006). In general results in Africa are better 
than in the other sub-regions (Caribbean and Paciﬁ c), especially concerning 
eﬀ ectiveness and impact. Most of the sectors in ACP score poorly on ef-
ﬁ ciency, pointing at an overall problem in this region – a situation that has 
prevailed in recent years. The results will be closely analysed.

Half of all the projects monitored in the ACP region are in the social in-
frastructure and services sector, composed of education, health, water 
supply, government and civil society. These projects show a good overall 
performance (2.64 for a target parameter of 2.5 for ‘on track’).

2.4.7 

Donor co-ordination

The Commission worked closely with EU Member States to programme 
funds from the 10th EDF, running from 2008 to 2013, identifying priority 
policy areas in which to invest, such as governance and rural develop-
ment. Commissioner Michel launched the process in regional meetings 
with oﬃ  cials from ACP countries, EU Member States and the Commission. 
The Commission and Member States together reviewed conditions in ACP 
countries and regions, assessed past co-operation, and considered ACP 

54  Only samples of minimal 10 monitoring reports are considered statistically relevant, 
therefore no information is provided for those sectors having less than the minimum 
number of monitoring reports

.  Relevance

.  Eﬃciency

.  Eﬀectiveness

.  Impact

.  Sustainability

countries’ current existing strategies to tackle poverty and ensure that aid 
donors work together. The Commission then worked with EU Member 
States to draft the country and regional strategy papers, which set priori-
ties for EC aid.

2.4.8 

Conclusions and perspectives

The Commission faces several challenges in delivering more, better and 
faster aid to ACP countries in 2007 and beyond. Firstly, it will need to com-
mit – and in some cases recommit – all remaining funds from the current 
EDF, the 9th, in the little time left before this expires at the end of 2007. It 
must also ensure that, by the start of 2008, an initial set of proposals for 
funding from the 10th EDF is ready so that it can start deploying aid right 
away. Secondly, to match this timetable, the Commission must update and 
simplify its procedures, notably by revising the EDF Financial Regulation 
and by reviewing with ACP states arrangements for implementing devel-
opment programmes.

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(cid:188)   RELIEVING SUFFERING, WORKING FOR PEACE: 
ADDRESSING THE CRISIS IN DARFUR

2.5 

Asia

Veterinary worker. Laos  -  ©  EC Delegation Laos/Anousa Kounnavong

The crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region continued in 2006. Progress 
was achieved: the government and some rebel groups signed 
a peace agreement, and African Union peacekeepers saw their 
mandate extended to year-end.

But the ﬁ ghting continued to take its toll, threatening the stabil-
ity of neighbouring states, notably Chad and the Central African 
Republic, and forcing people to ﬂ ee. At year-end the number 
of people displaced by the conﬂ ict so far was estimated at over 
two million.

Since the crisis started, the European Commission has consist-
ently played a leading role in helping to restore peace and allevi-
ate suﬀ ering in Darfur. Indeed, the Commission has allocated:

• over € 350 million in humanitarian aid;

•  over € 240 million to fund an African Union (AU) peacekeeping 
force (AMIS) - the bulk of international funding;

•  € 100 million through UN agencies and NGOs to help families 
earn a livelihood.

In 2006 the Commission built on this support. It:

•  provided almost € 100 million in additional humanitarian aid;

•   ﬁ nanced implementation of a new Darfur Peace Agreement 
(DPA) and encouraged those rebel groups which had not done 
so to sign up;

•   supported the UN Human Rights Council’s mission to Darfur; 
and

•  funded the extension of the AU’s peacekeeping mandate to 
year-end. (cid:187)

(cid:188) UPHOLDING DEMOCRACY: 
FUNDING DR CONGO’S FIRST FREE ELECTIONS IN 40 YEARS

Voters in DR Congo turned out in huge numbers in July 2006 
to vote for their choice of president and MP - the country’s ﬁ rst 
free elections in over 40 years.

In a country almost ten times the size of the UK, with nearly 
24 million voters and few paved roads, the elections presented 
a real challenge to organisers. They had to ensure over 1 000 
tonnes of ballot papers, listing candidates for both presidential 
and legislative elections, were properly distributed and cast.

The European Commission contributed € 165 million to the pro-
cess – more than any other donor – and the EU sent its largest 
ever election monitoring team, which concluded that the elec-
tions had been free and fair. (cid:187)

2.5.1 

Introduction

Enhancing security and stability to cope with signiﬁ cant threats for the 
EU and the world, as well as stimulating sustainable development, were 
the primary objectives of EU-Asia relations in 2006. The European Union 
delivered support to initiatives for peace in several countries and for poverty 
alleviation in a region which is still home to two-thirds of the world’s poorest 
people. Fostering democracy, respect for human rights, good governance 
and the rule of law have remained signiﬁ cant issues for the Union. The EU 
and Asia are engaged in the development of a strategic regional partner-
ship aiming at establishing strong relationships in the political, economic 
and cultural ﬁ elds. Co-operation with Asian countries is also linked to the 
achievement of Partnership and Co-operation Agreements and Free Trade 
Agreements. The EU is intensifying its strategic relations with Asia through 
comprehensive partnerships with critical players – China, India, and the 
South East Asian and Asian regional organisations.

During the year the implementation of the unprecedented international 
response to the Tsunami of December 2004 strongly accelerated. The emer-
gency response was followed by reconstruction actions based on the prin-
ciple: “rebuild better” and focusing on long-term sustainable development. 
The EU played a central role in the global response to the Avian Inﬂ uenza 
crisis, ﬁ rst addressing the worrying situation in Asia, and by playing a ma-
jor role in three international conferences and delivering quickly in terms 
of commitments and payments. International research co-operation was 
synergistically active on these fronts as well.

Afghanistan’s recovery and stabilisation process came under much pres-
sure with a worsening of the security situation and an increase in opium 
poppy cultivation. In spite of this, Afghan institution- and state-building 
made progress after the inauguration of Afghanistan’s National Assembly 
and the swearing in of a new government in May. The EU aid programme 
continued  to  perform  well  and,  by  November,  the  original  pledge  of 
€ 1 billion was exceeded. One year after the adoption of the EU-India Joint 
Action Plan, the 7th EU-India Summit endorsed in October the ﬁ rst action 
plan implementation report. Positive political developments in Nepal per-
mitted a high-level EU visit to Kathmandu and the resumption of projects 
that had previously been frozen on the King’s assumption of power.

The political situation in Bangladesh remained volatile, heating up towards 
the end of the year in anticipation of parliamentary elections originally 
planned for early-2007. In Pakistan, a reconstruction programme got under-
way in the areas aﬀ ected by the devastating earthquake of 8 October 2005. 
The stalled peace process in Sri Lanka continued to limit the EC’s co-oper-
ation options in that country. The ﬁ rst-ever EU-Troika mission to Mongolia 
reviewed bilateral and international relations and encouraged Mongolia’s 
young democracy: a small Commission Technical Oﬃ  ce was opened on 
that occasion. In Burma/Myanmar the slow political process continued to 
sideline civil society, as well as major political and ethnic groups.

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Food security project. Laos  -  © EC Delegation Laos/Carine Malardeau

2.5.2 

Regional co-operation and integration

Assistance on regional co-operation in Asia focused on bringing together 
civil society actors in Europe and Asia in the areas of higher education, en-
vironmental protection and co-operation between small and medium-size 
enterprises. On the institutional side, support continued to sub-regional 
organisations. In July, the EU was granted observer status in the South 
Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC): this should provide 
room for further co-operation with the organisation in areas such as the 
implementation of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA).

The ASEAN Programme for Regional Integration entered its second phase. 
The 2003 Communication “A new partnership with South East Asia” (COM 
(2003) 399/4) introduced the concept of trilateral co-operation, meaning 
that the EC and ASEAN countries can join forces to provide assistance in a 
given sector to developing countries in the region. The EC-Singapore tri-
lateral co-operation concept was launched in 2004 and, since then, seven 
joint activities have been undertaken for the beneﬁ t of Cambodia, Laos 
and Vietnam. The possibility of further expanding trilateral co-operation 
and of engaging with other co-donors is now being explored.

2.5.3 

Implementation

The levels of disbursements and new commitments were the highest 
ever (see Table 20, below), reﬂ ecting additional funding for reconstruc-
tion after the December 2004 tsunami. The two main recipients of aid 
were Afghanistan and the tsunami aﬀ ected areas, receiving € 184 and 
€ 180 million  respectively.  For  Afghanistan  (see  (1)),  the  EC  pledge  of 
€ 1 billion from 2002 has now been realised, but much remains to be to 
done in a situation of increased insecurity and re-emerged insurgency. 
The reconstruction after the December 2004 tsunami is progressing well 
(see (2)): this programme also seeks to address structural problems which 
will need sustained attention over several years. Project implementation in 
Sri Lanka is complicated by the sharp deterioration of the security situation 
in some of the tsunami-stricken provinces.

The possibility of an avian inﬂ uenza pandemic became a serious risk in 
late-2005 and early-2006. The Commission provided a rapid response with 
an initial pledge of aid, co-organised a meeting in Beijing with the main 
actors in January, and committed € 30 million for Asia in April. In total for 
all geographical areas, the EC committed € 80 million to support eﬀ orts to 
contain and eliminate the disease.

Two partnerships with the Indian states of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, 
for € 80 million each, were signed in August. They have in common poverty 
reduction as an overarching goal, through support to governance and 
pro-poor policies. For Chhattisgarh, the partnership covers the sectors of 
health, education and environment, and provides complementary support 
to the centrally sponsored schemes in health and education. For Rajasthan, 
the water sector has been identiﬁ ed as central to achieving progress on 
human development indicators. Implementation readiness in both states 
was enhanced by provision of additional expertise to the beneﬁ ciaries: this 
included preparation of detailed action plans and medium-term expendi-
ture frameworks for sectoral policies. Disbursement conditions are linked 
to performance against agreed benchmarks in the relevant sectors in each 
state, and a ﬁ rst payment was made in December.

In  close  co-operation  with  UN  agencies  and  international  NGOs,  the 
Commission  funded  a  programme  combating  HIV/AIDS  in  Myanmar/
Burma. This is a precursor to a more substantial aid package planned for 
2007, to be delivered in the form of a contribution to the Humanitarian 
Fund for Communicable Diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria). After 
the change in the political situation in Nepal, the Commission decided in 
June to reactivate projects that had been suspended in 2005. Two new 
programmes for WTO assistance and support to vulnerable groups aﬀ ected 
by the internal conﬂ ict were also adopted.

(cid:188) EC PLEDGE FOR AFGHANISTAN (1) 

In 2002, the EC pledged to make available one billion euro in 
reconstruction aid for Afghanistan over a ﬁ ve-year period. This 
objective was reached as planned and, by end-2006, about 
75% of these funds had been disbursed, focusing on health, 
infrastructure, rural development and public administration 
reform. Among the highly visible results are health clinics, road 
improvements, and the successful elections of 2004 and 2005. 
An important part of the money has also been used for less 
conspicuous but essential services to the population, for ex-
ample general support to the public administration, including 
training and upkeep of the police as well as customs and border 
management services.

Following the London conference in early-2006 and the agree-
ment on the “Afghan Compact”, the EC will continue its support 
to Afghanistan for the next four years, albeit on a slightly lower 
level. Based on past experience, this support will focus on public 
health, administrative reform and rural development. This will 
ensure continuity of EC commitment to the development priori-
ties of the Afghan government. (cid:187)

(cid:188) TWO YEARS AFTER THE TSUNAMI DISASTER (2)

The EU played a leading role in the overall international response 
to the earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean in December 
2004, rapidly deploying substantial ﬁ nancial assistance and re-
sources. In 2005-2006 EuropeAid committed € 350 million to 
medium and long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction activi-
ties, in addition to humanitarian aid of € 123 million. Support 
focused on the three worst aﬀ ected countries: Indonesia, Sri 
Lanka and the Maldives.

In Aceh province in Indonesia, the reconstruction process is 
well underway, with total EC funding of more than € 200 million. 
Consolidation of the peace process, which has major support 
from the EU, provides a strong political basis for sustainable 
reconstruction, and eﬀ ective donor co-ordination has been 
ensured through a multi-donor trust fund. In Sri Lanka, despite 
the diﬃ  cult security situation, the EC has made available more 
than € 100 million for rehabilitating communities, rebuilding 
major infrastructure and managing the environment. 

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Irrigation project. Afghanistan  -  © EC

The Maldives, the most aﬀ ected country in per capita terms, 
has received assistance for the restart of livelihoods on aﬀ ect-
ed atolls, as well as support to longer-term regional develop-
ment strategy (the ‘safe island’ programme) with a focus on 

environmental infrastructure and community services. Finally, 
the EC is undertaking a number of projects at regional level, 
to share experiences and implement best practices in disaster 
preparedness and recovery of the environment. (cid:187)

Table 20 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget 
managed by EuropeAid in 2006

Commitments

Payments

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

223 M€ ; 26%

510 M€ ; 60%

125 M€ ; 17%

449 M€ ; 61%

10 M€ ; 1%

62 M€ ; 8%

68 M€ ; 9%

24 M€ ; 3%

10 M€ ; 1%
17 M€ ; 2%

92 M€ ; 11%

0%

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only)
Region identiﬁed following geographical budget lines

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

Table 21 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget managed by EuropeAid
Commitments 2002-2006
in € million

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only) 
Region identiﬁed following geographical budget lines

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

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Table 22 //  External aid ﬁ nanced on the General Commission
Budget managed by EuropeAid 2000-2006

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY’S GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS 
PROGRAMME IN BANGLADESH 

The EC consolidated its human governance and human rights 
programme in Bangladesh with the start-up of a project to em-
power adolescent girls. It adopted three new ﬁ nancing deci-
sions (EC funding: € 19 million): the second tranche of funding 
for the UNDP Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Facility; com-
bating traﬃ  cking of women and children through support for 
the Police Reform Programme; and further funding for UNHCR 
to support Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

2006 was also the ﬁ rst year of implementation of the EIDHR 
micro-projects, with six projects selected, and of a major project 
to build capacity in community-based organisations. The EC is 
now the largest funder combating traﬃ  cking and supporting 
the rights of indigenous people in Bangladesh. This programme 
is complemented by a strong portfolio of projects under the 
NGO co-ﬁ nancing and EIDHR macro-projects budget lines and 
will be further developed in 2007 with major initiatives in the 
local governance, judicial and public ﬁ nance reform sectors.

(cid:188)   BANGLADESH

The  Asia  Pro  Eco  Chittagong  Hill  Tracts  Improved  Natural 
Resources Management (CHARM) project was implemented 
by  ISRIC  World  Soil  Information  (The  Netherlands),  Lleida 
University (Spain), the Center for Environmental & Geographic 
Information Services (CEGIS), and the Bangladesh Centre for 
Advanced Studies (BCAS), all leading institutions in the ﬁ eld of 
land use and ecology. The project has succeeded in bringing 
together a wide range of stakeholders, including the indigenous 
inhabitants of the Hill Tracts area, local and regional authori-
ties, and the representatives of central government, and has 
developed a complete and comprehensive GIS system which 
will underpin land-use planning. It has also developed ﬁ rm 
proposals for improved slash-and-burn agriculture, oﬀ ering a 
culturally acceptable way out of the currently unsustainable 
situation. In particular, the project has linked up with the UNDP 
Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Facility, also ﬁ nanced by 
the EC, the purpose of which is to bring peace and stability to 
this remote and formerly war-torn region through sustainable 
development. (cid:187)

in € million

Commitments

2000
481

2001
407

2002
575

2003
558

2004
611

2005
834

2006
853

Payments

322

383

455

470

526

681

737

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only)
Region identiﬁ ed following geographical budget lines

2.5.4 

Working towards the MDGs

An intermediate report on MDG status found that the region as a whole 
is likely to achieve, or has achieved, a number of the targets55. Using the 
US$1/day indicator, 10 out of 19 Asian developing countries have achieved 
or are on track to meet the poverty target, while three are moving slowly 
or actually regressing. Information is not available for the other six coun-
tries, including Afghanistan, North Korea and Burma/Myanmar. The primary 
objective of EC assistance is the eradication of poverty in partner countries 
and regions; the pursuit of the MDGs is included in this objective. Particular 
emphasis is placed on targets in health and basic education: today; too 
many countries that score low on the progress or status of these targets 
commit only a small portion of their GDP to them. It is essential that these 
countries increase their own eﬀ orts to tackle funding.

2.5.5 

Governance

SUPPORT TO GOOD GOVERNANCE IN AFGHANISTAN

For  many  years  the  government  has  no  longer  been  an 
instrument  for  providing  even  modest  services  to  its 
people. The country’s state institutions have had to be revived 
and reformed. Support for the country’s recovery and public 
administration reform has been at the core of the Commission’s 
external assistance programme since 2002, when the interim 
authority’s  most  immediate  budget  needs  received  ﬁ nan-
cial aid. In 2006, EC interventions in support of governance 
continued to address public administration and security sector 
reform through Trust Funds.

The EC is the third largest contributor to the Afghan Recons-
truction Trust Fund, ﬁ nancing the salaries of 266 000 civil serv-
ants. It is also the largest contributor to the Law and Order Trust 
Fund, ﬁ nancing the salaries of 58 000 police personnel and sup-
porting police reform. Additionally, the EC is administering a 
public administration programme in three vital areas of gov-
ernance: (i) administrative and civil service reform; (ii) customs 
administrative reform; and (iii) provision of institutional support 
to the Ministry of Health.

55  Millennium Development Goals: Progress in Asia and the Paciﬁ c 2006, produced through 
a regional partnership between ADB, United Nations Development Programme, and 
UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Paciﬁ c: 
http://www.mdgasiapaciﬁ c.org/

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Maternal health project. Bangladesh  -  © UNICEF/ Naser Siddique

(cid:188)   BANGLADESH

(cid:188)   TRANS-EURASIA INFORMATION NETWORK

Although  TEIN2,  the  second  phase  of  the  Trans-Eurasia 
Information Network involving nine Asian countries, runs un-
til 2008, it already rates as an unqualiﬁ ed success story. The 
network connects European and Asian research and education 
communities and contributes to EU objectives in the areas of 
development co-operation, the promotion of a global informa-
tion society and EU objectives on research and development. 
Currently TEIN2 has the most impact in the ﬁ elds of education, 
(tele-)medicine and the environment. Member countries are 
enthusiastic about the project and further (geographical) ex-
pansion and development are under review. (cid:187)

(cid:188)   THE ASEM 6 SUMMIT IN HELSINKI

The 6th ASEM Summit was held in Helsinki on 10-11 September 
2006 in the presence of Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner and 
President Barroso. During the 10th Anniversary of this high-level 
informal dialogue, the many achievements of ASEM were re-
viewed and a forward-looking agenda for the coming decade 
established: this is reﬂ ected in the succession of ministerial 
meetings already scheduled for the next two years.

The Summit was also a landmark in that it included the an-
nouncement of an ambitious Declaration on Climate Change, as 
well as a second Declaration on the future of ASEM determining 
general thematic priorities for the coming period. The partners 
demonstrated their renewed conﬁ dence in the process, as they 
look towards ASEM 7 in October 2008 in Beijing. Furthermore, it 
was decided that Bulgaria, Romania, India, Pakistan, Mongolia 
and the ASEAN Secretariat would formally join the partnership 
at the Beijing Summit. (cid:187)

In  2002,  BRAC  established  the  ‘Challenging  the  Frontiers  of 
Poverty Reduction: Targeting the Ultra-Poor Targeting Social 
Constraints’ (CFPR) programme, which is designed to address the 
constraints aﬀ ecting rural women who live in extreme poverty 
and are by-passed by mainstream development programmes, 
including micro-ﬁ nance. The programme has an initial budget 
of US$ 53 million ﬁ nanced through a donor consortium of DFID, 
CIDA, EC, NOVIB, WFP and BRAC itself. The EC is the main funder 
of the ﬁ rst phase with a contribution of € 28.7 million.

BRAC is one of the largest southern development organisations, 
employing more than 97 000 people, of whom 61% are women. 
In implementing its twin objectives of poverty alleviation and 
empowerment of the poor, again mainly women, BRAC works 
mostly but not exclusively through community partnerships 
and institution-building.

The project’s purpose is to improve the livelihood of the poor, 
especially the ultra-poor, and to establish a replicable model 
among development agencies at the national level. The pro-
gramme comprises four main components in the areas of tar-
geting the ultra poor, employment, social development and 
essential health.

Approximately six million people beneﬁ t from the project, in-
cluding training, social development and health programmes 
implemented across the country. The majority of resources go 
to 15 of the poorest districts in the country.

An independent international review team concluded that CFPR 
Phase I was positive and had “largely achieved” its purpose 
with most of the expected outputs either entirely or largely 
achieved.

Some interest has been expressed by NGOs in Haiti, India and 
Bangladesh, and the model has been successful replicated by 
the Bangladesh Government’s Fourth Fisheries Project. (cid:187)

(cid:188)   INDONESIA-EC SUPPORT TO THE PEACE PROCESS IN ACEH

The European Commission has provided strategic support to 
the peace process in Aceh, contributing to the end of a decade-
old conﬂ ict. After the successful – Commission-funded – me-
diation by former Finnish President Ahtisaari, it helped fund 
implementation of the agreed Disarmament, Demobilisation 
and Reintegration (DDR) policy. A coherent set of ﬂ anking meas-
ures helps ensure the integration of former GAM combatants 
and  political  prisoners,  as  well  as  the  democratisation  pro-
cess, the rule of law and respect for human rights, especially 
in the areas of police and local government. For the ﬁ rst-ever 
direct elections of a provincial governor and district chiefs, the 
Commission deployed an EU Election Observation Mission.

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Safe water supply. Afghanistan  -  © EC Delegation Afghanistan

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Marathon against landmines. Thailand  -  © EC Delegation/ Handicap International

2.5.6 

Overview results-oriented monitoring

Table 23 // Asia Monitoring Results per ODA sector 56

3.00

2.75

2.50

2.25

2.00

Social 
infrastructure 
and services

Economic 
infrastructure 
and services

Production 
sectors

Multisector - 
crosscutting

Emergency 
assistance

Commodity aid 
and general 
programme 
assistance

A total of 191 ongoing projects for a total budget of € 910 million were moni-
tored in this region, resulting in 189 monitoring reports. The social infrastruc-
ture and services sector (education, health, water supply, civil society, etc), 
which represents more than one-third of these projects (by number and 
by budget), shows the best performance of all: 2.82 with a target parameter 
of 2.5 for ‘on track’. Asia also gives very good results on sustainability (2.76), 
reasons behind this being strong ﬁ nancial and political support, strong 
ownership and better needs assessment of target groups.

Project performance from 2002 to 2006 shows good improvement in im-
pact and no major changes occurring in the other criteria since last year, 
indicating that projects in Asia are generally on track with a high score for 
sustainability (2.79). Eﬃ  ciency is the weakest criterion with 2.64 – still well ‘on 
track’. One of the reasons seems to be that many of the projects monitored 
were in their starting phase, with inherent take-oﬀ  problems: high staﬀ  
turnover, communication shortcomings and ﬂ edgling co-ordination.

56  Only samples of minimal 10 monitoring reports are considered statistically relevant, 
therefore no information is provided for those sectors having less than the minimum 
number of reports

.  Relevance

.  Eﬃciency

.  Eﬀectiveness

.  Impact

.  Sustainability

2.5.7 

Donor co-ordination

The  co-ordination  of  aid  with  the  EU  Member  States  was  particularly 
topical as the Commission prepared its Strategy Papers and other pro-
gramming documents for Asia for the 2007-2013 period (see 2.5.8). This 
work was initiated at country level, in consultation with the local repre-
sentatives of the Member States, as well as governments and civil society 
whenever possible. The formal consultation of the Member States started 
in late 2006 at Brussels level in the committee created under the new 
development instrument (DCI).

The level and quality of day-to-day co-ordination in the ﬁ eld also pro-
gressed. In Afghanistan, the Commission actively engaged in strategy co-
ordination of the Afghan Compact, and the donor co-ordination group 
was  reorganised  to  align  with  the  sectors  in  the  Afghanistan  National 
Development Strategy. In India, where the government endorsed the Paris 
Declaration on Aid Eﬀ ectiveness, the Commission has a strong track record 
of co-ordination through sector support interventions in education and 
health. In its role as co-chair of a multi-donor fund in Indonesia, it played 
an important role in Aceh post-tsunami reconstruction, and also hosted the 
ﬁ rst policy dialogue focused on forestry and environmental issues, pushing 
for greater co-ordination.

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2.5.8 

Conclusions and perspectives

The agreement on the Financial Perspectives for 2007-2013 and the adop-
tion of a new legal base for co-operation with developing countries ensured 
continued assistance to Asia. Planned development aid to Asia over the 
next seven years amounts to about € 5.2 billion. However, as the 2005/2006 
spending levels had to take account of the temporary demands of the 
tsunami reconstruction programme, the overall funding level for Asia for 
2007 will be somewhat lower than the previous two years. Over 55% of 
assistance was delivered through sector policy support programmes, and 
this share will increase in coming years, further boosting aid eﬀ ectiveness 
and strengthening co-ordination with other donors. The intention is to 
increase sector budget support – a special form of sector policy support 
programme – as used this year on the India State Partnership programmes 
mentioned earlier.

Aqueduct. Afghanistan  -  © EC

57  COM(2005) 636 ﬁ nal
58  Financing Instrument for Development Co-operation (DCI); Regulation nº 1905/2006

Integrated development of indigenous communities. Venezuela  -  © Red Cross

2.6 

Latin America

2.6.1 

Introduction

The Latin American and Caribbean economy grew by 5.3%, the fourth 
consecutive year of economic growth and the third year of growth of over 
4%. The region’s per capita income is estimated to have risen by about 3.8%, 
while the unemployment rate fell to 8.7% on the basis of the ECLAC (UN 
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) preliminary 
analysis. However, even if there has been a slight decrease, poverty rates 
remain too high at over 40%. On the political front, elections took place 
in 11 Latin American countries over the last eighteen months. EU Electoral 
Observation Missions were deployed in Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua and 
Venezuela.

2006  was  a  positive  year  in  terms  of  the  overarching  objectives  of 
Commission policy towards Latin America: (i) to build a strategic partnership 
between the EU and Latin America, as deﬁ ned in the EC Communication 
on “A Stronger Partnership between the European Union and Latin America” 57, 
(ii) to support social and political stability, regional integration and stability 
and the harmonious insertion of Latin America in a globalised world, and 
(iii) to contribute to increased social cohesion in Latin America and general 
support for co-operation.

In  May  the  fourth  European  Union-Latin  America  and  the  Caribbean 
Summit (EU-LAC) was held in Vienna with clear and politically relevant 
outcomes, including the unanimous adoption of the Final Declaration, 
and the decision to launch negotiations on an Association Agreement 
with Central America and continue eﬀ orts to achieve the same objective 
with the Andean Community (CAN), as well as set up an EU/Latin America 
Parliamentary Assembly. Follow-up to the Vienna Summit included the 
adoption of negotiation directives for Association Agreements with Central 
America and the Andean Community, and the ﬁ nalisation of the program-
ming of Commission development co-operation for 2007-2013 for Latin 
America whose two main priorities – to increase social cohesion and to 
further promote regional integration – reﬂ ect the Commission’s strategic 
objectives in the region.

To support EU relations with Latin America, € 2 690 million have been allo-
cated to the region in the 2007-2013 Financial Perspectives, and a new legal 
base was adopted for this ﬁ nancing58. The Commission worked throughout 
the year on the programming exercise that will conclude with the elabo-
ration of the Regional and Country Strategy Papers to be adopted at the 
beginning of 2007 for the period 2007-2013. Twenty-one programming 
documents were prepared for 17 countries, three sub-regions (Central 
America, Andean Community and Mercosur) and the Latin-American region 
as a whole. The Strategy Papers were submitted to Member States and to 
Parliament for their opinion.

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Wetland conservation. Colombia  -  © EC Delegation Colombia and Equador/Ana Maria Mojica

The Commission moved towards a new agenda in its relations with key 
countries of the region, particularly Mexico and Brazil, setting out a com-
prehensive approach – in the case of Brazil complementary to the Mercosur 
negotiations – based on sectoral dialogues covering diverse and important 
issues ranging from environment to social policy. President Barroso’s visit 
to Brazil and Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner’s visits to Uruguay, Argentina 
and Chile have opened prospects of closer and stronger bilateral relations 
with these countries.

2.6.2 

Regional co-operation and integration

The  Latin  American  countries  have  embarked  on  regional  integration 
processes that have already had a considerable impact, and the region is 
in lead position on the integration path within the developing world. As 
highlighted in the Final Declaration of the EU/LAC Summit held in Vienna 
in May, regional integration is a priority area for Commission support.

Three initiatives were approved to strengthen such integration within 
Mercosur. The ﬁ rst will support a Macroeconomic Convergence Plan, and 
will serve as a regional integration element for the four member coun-
tries of the group, strengthening the bloc’s institutions. The second will 
back the establishment of the Mercosur Parliament, taking into consid-
eration European experience and best practices, mainly on the European 
Parliament’s role in the construction of Europe. The third initiative is the 
promotion of an equivalent harmonised food control system that removes 
sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) barriers between the Mercosur countries 
and the EU.

In spite of Venezuela’s withdrawal from the Andean Community – which 
will lead to a thorough reﬂ ection on all projects between the Commission 
and the Andean Community – there will be a ﬁ rst co-operation action to 
develop methodologies and tools for the elimination of illicit synthetic 
drugs. Activities on regular statistical harmonisation were also pursued. The 
Commission also approved a programme that will facilitate consolidation 
of the Central American customs union, supporting the decision at the 
IV EU-LAC Summit to launch negotiations for an Association Agreement 
with Central America.

2.6.3 

Implementation

Bilateral Co-operation

The EC approved a total of 18 bilateral co-operation actions. These seek 
to foster social cohesion and regional integration, strengthen institutional 
capacities and reinforce economic co-operation, bearing in mind the vary-
ing situations of countries. In Central America the EC continued its move 
towards budget support as a privileged aid delivery method. Currently 
three budget support programmes, amounting to € 84 million, are running 
in Nicaragua. In Mexico, the EC approved funding to increase scientiﬁ c and 
technological capacity, in order to help solve environmental and socio-

59  http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/latin-america/regional-cooperation/

eurosocial/index_en.htm

economic problems and, at the same time, foster scientiﬁ c and technologi-
cal co-operation between this country and the EU Member States.

In the Andean Region, the EC continues to support displaced populations 
and the peace process in Colombia: the III Peace Laboratory, focusing on 
the regions of Meta and Montes de María, will contribute to building the 
conditions for a durable peace and peaceful coexistence, based on a life 
with dignity and opportunities for everyone. Peru received funding to 
reorient vocational and technical education to the demands of the labour 
market and the socio-economic requirements of the country.

(cid:188)   ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT IN BOLIVIA

From 1998 to 2006, the PRAEDAC programme successfully ﬁ -
nanced economic activities, as alternatives to illicit coca pro-
duction,  and  the  strengthening  of  local  municipalities.  EC 
co-operation with the Bolivian government in alternative de-
velopment made a signiﬁ cant contribution to the reduction of 
illicit coca-growing. According to oﬃ  cial data, the total culti-
vated area has been reduced from 40 000 hectares in 1997 to 
approximately 26 000 hectares.

The  EC  approach  focuses  on  supporting  state  policies  that 
promote sustainable regional development both in the coca-
growing regions of Chapare and Yungas, as well as in the labour 
out-migration mining zones of the economically depressed 
Bolivian Altiplano. (cid:187)

In the Southern Cone Argentina beneﬁ ts from two initiatives, one to pro-
mote trade and investment ﬂ ows with the EU and the other to boost the 
protection of human rights and good governance. Brazil also received fund-
ing through two programmes, one to improve the capacity of municipal 
administrations, mainly in small and medium-size municipalities and the 
other to contribute to the prevention and control of deforestation in the 
Brazilian Amazon.

Regional Programmes

The regional co-operation programmes aim to develop closer links be-
tween civil society, in the broad sense of the term, in Latin America and 
Europe. Interest in continuing and reinforcing these programmes, which 
deal with the fundamental topics of social cohesion and regional integra-
tion, has been repeatedly stressed by Latin-American governments, EU 
Member States and civil society.

EUROsociAL (EC contribution € 30 million, 2004-2008)59. This programme 
aims to develop Latin America national authorities’ capacities in the formu-
lation and management of public policies on social cohesion. 25 exchanges 
of best practices and experiences were organised, involving 283 institutions 

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and a total of 731 participants, of which 90% were from 17 LA countries. The 
programme has promoted the creation of sectoral networks of institutions 
and administrations active in public policy-making and advocacy. In June, 
a ﬁ rst network meeting was organised in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, 
attended by 330 oﬃ  cials from 26 diﬀ erent countries.

Alßan (Programme of High Level Scholarships for Education/Training in the 
European Union of Latin American citizens: EC contribution € 88.5 million, 
2002-2010). Up to 2006, the Programme had awarded 2 513 grants to nation-
als of the 18 Latin American participating countries. In 2006, a total of 930 
students were awarded scholarships for an average of two years study in 
a European institution.

ALFA  (Latin  America  Academic  Training  Programme:  EC  contribution 
€ 52 million, 2000-2006). Additional funds for an amount totalling € 3.5 million 
were approved to co-ﬁ nance 11 projects in the 10th call for proposals. These 
projects, which are due to start in 2007, bring the total number of ALFA 
projects to 225. At present, co-operation in the ﬁ eld of higher education 
involves a total of 1 750 institutions from the European Union and Latin 
America, encompassing a diverse range of disciplines.

(cid:188)   STUDYING IN THE EUROPEAN UNION 
WITH AN ALßAN GRANT

The Alßan programme ﬁ nances studies in European universi-
ties for highly qualiﬁ ed postgraduates, as well as training for 
professionals and future decision-makers. Currently over 1 000 
young Latin Americans are studying for a postgraduate degree 
(Master or PhD), or being trained at one of Europe’s many tech-
nical institutes. 

In September, the Alßan programme celebrated an important 
milestone as Ms Andrea Leal, a Guatemalan national currently 
studying at Delft University, became the programme’s 2000th 
grantee for which she was awarded an honorary certiﬁ cate by 
Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner. The Commissioner also con-
ferred Alßan Certiﬁ cates of Excellency on Pablo Marmol from 
Argentina, who did a Master’s degree at Cranﬁ eld University, 
and Lucas Freitas and Juliana Loureiro from Brazil who studied 
at the London School of Economics and Political Science and 
at Porto University respectively.

Beyond reinforcing EU-Latin American co-operation between 
academic institutions, the programme encourages grantees 
to  establish  permanent  working  and  professional  relations 
with  their  host  universities  and  countries.  Former  grantees 
are actively participating in the Alßan alumni network (www.
alban-alumni.org), as well as collaborating in the creation of a 
compendium of their theses.

Children at the sea. Nicaragua  -  © EC Delegation Nicaragua

The results show that 54% of these scholarships were awarded 
for the study of Master’s degrees and 43% for PhD studies. The 
remaining 3% were granted for specialised studies.

Given the excellent results of this programme, the EC will rein-
force its co-operation in higher education with Latin America 
and will boost student exchange programmes. (cid:187)

@LIS (Alliance for the Information Society Programme: EC contribution 
€ 63.5 million, 2002-2006). The programme achieved signiﬁ cant results in 
2006 in terms of policy dialogue and the creation of networks, as well as 
the implementation of demonstration projects in the four priority areas 
(e-Education, e-Health, e-Government and e-Inclusion). @LIS continues to 
play a key role in the development of an inclusive Information Society and 
in the reduction of the digital divide in Latin America.

AL-INVEST (EU-Latin America Trade and Investment Promotion Programme: 
EC contribution € 38.5 million, 2003-2007) 60. During the year, 218 projects 
were approved for the beneﬁ t of SMEs. Activities included the organisation 
of business meetings as well as capacity-building projects for private-sector 
organisations. In 2006 alone, over 10 000 SMEs received assistance under 
the programme which, since its creation 12 years ago, has generated more 
than € 490 million worth of EU-LA business.

URB-AL (Latin American Urban Partnerships: EC contribution € 50 million, 
2000-2006)61. The programme aims at encouraging the transfer of tech-
nology between European and Latin American local authorities. A net-
work meeting was held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2006. The Observatory of 
Decentralised Co-operation and the Programme’s Documentation Centre 
are expected to continue their respective activities, namely training for 
local authorities and disseminating URB-AL results.

OBREAL (Observatory of EU-AL Relations: EC contribution € 1.35 million, 
2005-2008) 62. The Observatory is a network set up by 23 academic institu-
tions and research centres from Europe and Latin America. It aims to identify 
partnerships between the two regions in several key policy areas: trade 
and ﬁ nancial relations, regional integration, democracy, human rights and 
the rule of law, social and development co-operation, governance and 
multi-regionalism, civil society and institution-building.

EURO-SOLAR (EC contribution € 24 million, 2006-2010) 63. Euro-Solar is a 
Commission initiative that aims to reduce poverty, allowing remote rural 
communities hitherto without access to electricity to beneﬁ t from renew-
able electric energy. Approved in May, the programme’s total budget is 
€ 30 million, of which € 6 million will be provided by the eight beneﬁ ci-
ary countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, 
Bolivia and Paraguay).

60  http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/latin-america/regional-cooperation/

62  http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/latin-america/regional-cooperation/obreal/

al-invest/index_en.htm

index_en.htm

61  http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/latin-america/regional-cooperation/urbal/

63  http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/latin-america/regional-cooperation/

index_en.htm

euro-solar/index_en.htm

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Table 24 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget 
managed by EuropeAid in 2006

Commitments

Payments

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

24 M€ ; 7%

33 M€ ; 9%

121 M€ ; 34%

53 M€ ; 15%

0%
50 M€ ; 15%

114 M€ ; 32%

43 M€ ; 13%

24 M€ ; 7%

39 M€ ; 11%

33 M€ ; 10%

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only)
Region identiﬁed following geographical budget lines

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

164 M€ ; 48%

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

Table 25 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget managed by EuropeAid 
Commitments 2002-2006
in € million

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only) 
Region identiﬁed following geographical budget lines

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

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Table 26 //  External aid ﬁ nanced on the General Commission Budget managed by EuropeAid 2000-2006

in € million
Commitments

Payments

2000
277

195

2001
301

152

2002
333

182

2003
342

290

2004
312

314

2005
329

376

2006
356

343

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only)
Region identiﬁ ed following geographical budget lines

2.6.4 

Working towards the MDGs

A 2005 UN report on achievement of the MDGs in Latin America stressed 
that domestic and external resources are needed to complement eﬀ orts 
in those countries that are lagging furthest behind. Various programmes 
and projects ﬁ nanced by the EC in 2006 will contribute to achievement of 
the MDGs in the region.

MDG 1, eradication of extreme poverty and hunger: in Paraguay, the 
Commission is supporting a “Targeted Poverty Reduction Programme”, 
the ﬁ rst general budget support for that country. Its objective is to con-
solidate implementation of the Social Protection Network, initiated by the 
Paraguayan Government, which is focused on the 64 municipalities with 
the highest poverty indices in the country.

MDG 2, achieve universal primary education: in Honduras the EC sup-
ports the primary education system with the aim of duplicating net cov-
erage of pre-school children aged ﬁ ve to six, achieving a net coverage of 
95% on access to the two ﬁ rst courses (grades 1-6) and 70% on access to 
the third course of basic education (grades 7-9), allowing 50% of the new 
labour force to complete secondary education.

MDG 7, environmental sustainability: also in Honduras, the EC provided 
funding for the restoration and maintenance of the ecology and economy 
of the Biological Corridor of the Honduran Caribbean. This project will par-
ticularly improve environmental management of protected areas at local 
level. The third tranche of a water and sanitation programme for Bolivia 
aims to increase the number of municipalities and houses with appropriate 
water supplies and sanitation.

2.6.5 

Governance

2006 can be considered a positive year in terms of the consolidation of 
democratic principles in Latin America. The 12 electoral processes of the 
last months were by and large transparent and legitimate. However, the 
situation was also characterised by a high level of social discontent and 
tension, in some cases linked to electoral processes. This situation to a large 
extent reﬂ ected the perception that much remains to be done to improve 
transparency, probity and responsible public administration.

The need to make headway on good governance was publicly acknow-
ledged by the leaders of the EU and LA regions. The Final Declaration 
of the May EU/LAC Summit explicitly refers to the need to consolidate 
democratic governance and achieve greater social justice and sustainable 
development, and also mentions the need to promote corporate social 
responsibility. In the same vein, good governance and development of a 

knowledge-based society was the theme of the 2006 General Assembly 
of the Organization of American States.

Good governance remains one of the items regularly discussed by the EU 
and the LA countries and regions in the various policy dialogue forums. 
The Commission has highlighted the need to cooperate further on such 
subjects as promotion of dialogue between social partners, access to jus-
tice, strengthening the judiciary, building security force capacities, ensuring 
security forces are subject to the rule of law, decentralisation and good 
governance, tackling corruption and anti-impunity initiatives.

Good governance features prominently in two ways in the Country Strategy 
Papers for Latin America for the period 2007-2013. In some countries, such 
as Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Peru, it is identiﬁ ed as one of the 
focal points of the Commission’s future co-operation programmes. In many 
other countries there are areas of intervention directly linked to good gov-
ernance as a crosscutting issue. It is expected that the EU/Latin America 
Parliamentary Assembly, created in 2006, will have a signiﬁ cant impact in 
developing democratic governance in the region.

Inauguration of a school. Nicaragua  -  © EC Delegation Nicaragua

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2.6.6 

Overview results-oriented monitoring

Table 27 // Latin America Monitoring Results per ODA sector 64

3.00
3.00

2.75
2.75

2.50
2.50

2.25
2.25

2.00
2.00

.  Relevance

.  Eﬃciency

.  Eﬀectiveness

.  Impact

.  Sustainability

Social 
infrastructure 
and services

Economic 
infrastructure 
and services

Production 
sectors

Multisector - 
crosscutting

Emergency 
assistance

Commodity aid 
and general 
programme 
assistance

A total of 203 projects with a budget of € 1 192 million were monitored, 
resulting in 200 monitoring reports and 3 monitoring notes. The overall 
average note of 2.73 reﬂ ects good performance (based on a target of 2.5 
for ‘on track’). Despite a small decrease of the overall note compared with 
results in 2004 and 2005, projects still show very good relevance (2.81), 
impact (2.80) and sustainability (2.81). The best results were attained in the 
commodity aid and general programme assistance sector (2.85), while 
emergency assistance with a score of 3.08 was based on a sample too small 
to be representative. Approximately half the projects monitored correspond 
to the sectors multi-sector/crosscutting issues (i.e. environment related, 
urban and rural development projects) and social infrastructure and ser-
vices (education, health, water supply, civil society, etc.), which also show a 
good overall performance, scoring 2.77 and 2.72 respectively. The criteria 
with  the  best  scores  in  all  sectors  are:  relevance,  impact prospects  and 
potential sustainability.

The social infrastructure and services sector (education, health, water supply, 
civil society etc), which represents nearly half the projects and the budget 
monitored, shows good overall performance (2.72). The commodity aid and 
general programme assistance sector oﬀ ers the best results (2.85), but the 
sample of 12 projects is small. The second best performer is multi-sector/
crosscutting (environment-related, urban and rural development projects) 
with 2.77. The production sector is below the regional average, apparently 
aﬀ ected mainly by centrally managed regional programmes and regional 
integration/trade projects. The strongest criteria in all sectors are relevance, 
impact prospects and potential sustainability. It is worth emphasising that cen-
tralised operation regional Latin America 65 registers particularly high scores, 
achieving an average performance of 2.72.

64  Only samples of minimal 10 monitoring reports are considered statistically relevant, 
therefore no information is provided for those sectors having less than the minimum 
number of monitoring reports

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2.6.7 

 Donor co-ordination

2.6.8 

Conclusions and perspectives

The EU’s strategic partnership with Latin America and the Caribbean has 
been forged at the summits of heads of state of both regions in Rio, Madrid, 
Guadalajara, and was most recently renewed in May in Vienna. The main 
priorities for co-operation for the period 2007-2013 are the ﬁ ght against 
poverty, the promotion of social cohesion, and strengthening regional 
integration.

Co-operation will be tailored to the needs of the countries concerned. 
For low-income and lower middle-income countries, funds will primarily 
be used to support the implementation of reforms aimed at achieving 
the MDGs, in particular promoting the social cohesion that is an essen-
tial condition of poverty reduction. Acknowledging the role that middle-
income countries play in political, security, stability and trade matters, the 
Commission will continue to support these countries through economic 
and development co-operation.

On aid delivery methods, the EC will prioritise budget support as a means 
of strengthening ownership, supporting partners’ national accountability 
and procedures whenever the appropriate conditions are met.

Co-ordination with other donors continues to be a priority, with particular 
attention to co-ordination with Member States. The Commission promotes, 
organises and is involved in regular meetings with Member State repre-
sentatives and other donors, to exchange lessons and to ensure coherence 
of EC policies with other co-operation activities and programmes. Sector 
approaches have encouraged a more harmonised and eﬀ ective pooling 
of development potential. For instance, in Nicaragua the EC is a mem-
ber of the Donor Quintet (EC, World Bank, Japan, Sweden, and Canada), 
a high-level group which discusses and identiﬁ es priorities and aims to 
promote common positions at the donor roundtable. The Commission 
is also a founder member of the mixed Government-donor/civil society 
working group on harmonisation and alignment.

In Honduras, the EC was nominated to chair the working group monitoring 
the Poverty Reduction Strategy. This group aims to strengthen dialogue 
with the government, other donors and civil society in all priority sectors. 
The results of its work will provide the basis for future political demarches 
between the G16 (donor countries, development banks and the UN) and 
the government.

Among  the  regional  programmes,  EUROsociAL  illustrates  well  the 
Commission’s eﬀ orts to enhance co-operation with other partners: a reg-
ular consultation mechanism between the Commission, Inter American 
Development Bank (IDB), the Economic Commission for Latin America and 
the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the United Nations Development Programme 
(UNDP) supports EUROsociAL in developing a strategy aimed at building 
up sectoral networks of public administrations engaged in improving so-
cial cohesion. The recently approved EUROSOLAR programme will devote 
special attention to the organisation of annual meetings and seminars 
with Member State representations in the country, with Delegations and 
with the National Co-ordination Units (CNCs) in which civil society and the 
private sector participate.

Rehabilitation of people displaced by conﬂ ict. Colombia  -  © EC Delegation Colombia and Ecuador/Ignacio Burrull

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Thematic
programmes
and mainstreaming 

of 
crosscutting issues 

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3.  Thematic programmes and mainstreaming 

86

of crosscutting issues

introduction 

The  NGO  co-ﬁ nancing  programme  as  well  the  small  decentralised  co-
operation programme are ‘actor-based’ programmes devoted to co-
ﬁ nancing the operations of European NGOs in developing countries and 
to decentralised co-operation with non-state actors. These programmes are 
based on the “right of initiative” of these organisations and consequently 
the projects ﬁ nanced cover many areas, but these are all related to poverty 
reduction, participation and the protection of vulnerable groups.

A number of smaller thematic pilot lines and actions complement the 
above-mentioned programmes. They are used to test a new approach or 
initiative, so that this can be conﬁ rmed under a speciﬁ c thematic line with its 
own legal basis, or integrated into country and regional strategies. Examples 
are the Conﬂ ict Prevention Network, De-mining and action on small arms 
and light weapons (SALW), Cultural co-operation with developing countries, 
Fighting Nuclear, Biological and Chemical weapons, and information and 
communication technology for development.

Queuing to vote. Gambia  -  © Fausto Perini

Introduction

The crosscutting issues identiﬁ ed as strategic priorities for EC develop-
ment co-operation are addressed both through mainstreaming in all EC 
co-operation programmes as conﬁ rmed in the European Consensus for 
Development and by speciﬁ c interventions, funded either under geograph-
ic programmes or under one of the speciﬁ c thematic programmes.

Speciﬁ c policy developments as well as concrete international commit-
ments in the ﬁ eld of development have led to the establishment of thematic 
programmes. These programmes provide the Commission with an instru-
ment to make a distinct contribution in areas such as environment, ﬁ ghting 
AIDS or promoting democracy and human rights, in complementarity with 
country and regional programmes. The thematic programmes also provide 
for EC contributions to global initiatives such as the Global Health Fund or 
the World Food Programme. In the same vein, they allow for support to 
the international standard setting framework such as the Commission’s 
signiﬁ cant annual contribution to the Oﬃ  ce of the High Commissioner for 
Human Rights. In ﬁ nancial terms these programmes represent between 
10 and 15% percent of the overall external assistance budget managed 
by the Commission.

In 2006 the following programmes were implemented:

 ■ The European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights

 ■ Aid to ﬁ ght poverty diseases including HIV/AIDS and aid for policies 
and actions on reproductive and sexual health and rights in develop-
ing countries

 ■ Promotion of gender equality in development cooperation

 ■ Promotion of sustainable development through environmental and 

tropical forests programmes

 ■ The Food Security and Food Aid Programme

 ■ AENEAS programme in the area of migration and asylum

 ■ Decentralised co-operation programme

 ■ NGO co-ﬁ nancing programmes

 ■ Fight against drugs via Action Plans in Latin America, the Caribbean, 

Central Asia and the Balkans

The thematic programmes are to a large extent implemented in partnership 
with civil society organisations and are therefore an important part of the 
Commission’s relations with civil society. A broad range of actors are included 
in the group of organisations that implement the programmes and with 
whom the Commission undertakes consultations during the programming 
cycle, both at Headquarters and at Delegation level. When implementing 
speciﬁ c projects, these civil society organisations are selected through calls 
for proposals managed by EuropeAid or by EC Delegations.

Co-operation with international organisations often takes place within 
the framework of an institutional arrangement such as a memorandum of 
understanding between the Commission and the organisation and joint 
priorities are established over a longer period of time.

Capacity building against landmines. Colombia  -  © EC Delegation Colombia and Ecuador

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democracy and human rights

3.   Thematic programmes and mainstreaming 
Chapter title

of crosscutting issues

87

Voting. Mauritania  -  © EC Delegation Mauritania

3.1 

 Democracy and 
human rights

Support to development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of 
law, and of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is one of 
the main priorities of the EC’s development policy and economic, ﬁ nancial 
and technical co-operation. It is reﬂ ected in all Association Agreements 
the EU has concluded and is expressed in the political dialogue at coun-
try and regional level, as well as in concrete co-operation programmes 
funded under the geographical ﬁ nancial instruments in diﬀ erent regions 
of the world.

3.1.1 

European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR)

The “European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights” (EIDHR) inter-
vened as a complementary, but independent, global ﬁ nancing instrument 
mainly targeted at countries most in need of support in these areas. Its 
main beneﬁ ciaries are civil society organisations engaged in human rights 
activities and in the promotion of democratisation processes. The EIDHR 
is uniquely placed to promote the founding values of the European Union 
by addressing global, national and local human rights and democratisation 
issues in partnership with civil society (which is understood to span all types 
of social action by individuals or groups that are independent from the 
state and active in the ﬁ eld of human rights and democracy promotion). It 
ensures a fair measure of political visibility for the European Union in these 
sensitive policy ﬁ elds.

The  annual  global  amount  in  2006  was  €  135.1  million,  of  which 
€ 133.6 million for EIDHR implementation and an additional € 1.5 million 
allocated by the European Parliament to preparatory action on a “Conﬂ ict 
Prevention  Network”.  This  preparatory  action  was  agreed  on  by  the 
European Parliament in December 2005. A sum of € 1.5 million was allo-
cated in 2006 and a call for proposals was launched in November to select 
a network. The overall objective of the Conﬂ ict Prevention Network is to 
increase, develop and collate international knowledge and expertise on 
conﬂ ict prevention in order to ensure that all actors, including EU institu-
tions, have access to strong and independent analyses to facilitate better 
informed and more evidence-based policy decisions.

To maximise the eﬀ ectiveness of the limited programme funds and to better 
deﬁ ne its thematic scope, the EIDHR is structured in four global campaigns. 
Each campaign is implemented through global calls for proposals (32%), 
country-speciﬁ c calls for proposals managed by Commission Delegations 
and targeted projects (23%), Election Observation Missions (35%), and stra-
tegic co-operation with international partner organisations (10%).

Campaign 1, “Promoting justice and the rule of law”, covers the overall 
objectives of: i) eﬀ ective functioning of the International Criminal Court 
and  other  international  criminal  tribunals,  including  their  interaction 
with national justice systems; ii) progressively restricting the use of the 
death penalty and ensuring its eventual universal abolition – the EIDHR 
has encouraged civil society coalitions in this ﬁ eld, including supporting 

participation of NGOs from developing countries in the 3rd World Congress 
against the Death Penalty, held in Paris in February 2007; and iii) reinforcing 
the work of international human rights mechanisms.

Campaign 2, “Fostering a culture of human rights”, covers the overall ob-
jectives of: i) advancing the rights of marginalised and vulnerable groups 
– the EIDHR has focused on children and women as the main victims of 
such modern forms of slavery as traﬃ  c in human beings, an increasing glo-
bal phenomenon, and of gender/age-based violence, including domestic 
violence and all forms of coercion; ii) reducing the occurrence of torture, 
eﬀ ectively implementing international instruments against torture and 
providing support for the rehabilitation of victims of torture; and iii) enhanc-
ing education, training, monitoring and awareness-raising on human rights 
and democratisation issues. 

Campaign  3,  “Promoting  the  democratic  process”,  covers  the  overall 
objectives of: i) underpinning and developing democratic electoral pro-
cesses; and ii) strengthening civil society dialogue and the democratic 
discourse through the promotion of freedom of expression and freedom 
of association.

Campaign 4, “Advancing equality, tolerance and peace”, covers the overall 
objectives of: i) securing equal rights and treatment of persons and people 
belonging to minorities, irrespective of racial, ethnic or caste origin, or of 
language and religion; ii) enhancing intercultural and interethnic under-
standing; iii) securing respect for the rights of indigenous peoples; and 
iv) reinforcing the engagement of civil society in conﬂ ict prevention and 
resolution.

Four global calls for proposals were launched by EuropeAid at the end of 
2005 and early-2006 for a total amount (drawn from the 2005 and 2006 
budgets) of € 74.6 million. 776 proposals were received and some 130 
projects will be ﬁ nanced. In parallel, Commission Delegations launched 
109 country-speciﬁ c calls for proposals, both under the 2005 and 2006 
budgets and adapted to the needs and priorities of the countries con-
cerned. This led to the signature of about 480 grant contracts for EIDHR 
micro-projects over the year.

Strategic partnerships with international organisations include support 
for the work of the UN Oﬃ  ce of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 
(OHCHR ﬁ eld activities, the Treaty Bodies, the Special Procedures and pro-
grammes on Antidiscrimination and Gender). They also include partnerships 
with the special courts for Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, as 
well as the International Criminal Court. Four new projects (South Caucasus, 
Ukraine and Russia) were initiated with the Council of Europe.

A network of seven schools of political studies in Eastern European coun-
tries and the Balkans is also being co-ﬁ nanced. Two contracts were signed 
with, respectively, the OSCE’s Oﬃ  ce for Democratic Institutions and Human 
Rights (ODIHR) and the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission in Central 
Asia. These projects cover a wide variety of themes such as enhancement of 
the rule of law (support and training of legal professionals and law enforce-
ment oﬃ  cials; promotion of justice; constitutional reform), enforcement of 
children’s and women’s rights, gender equality, freedom of expression, of 
religion and belief, of assembly, dialogue between civil society and govern-
ments, promoting tolerance as well as prevention of terrorism.

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democracy and human rights

Human rights demonstration. Colombia  -  © EC Delegation Colombia and Ecuador /Cimarrόn

Speciﬁ c human rights issues

The reﬁ ning of the thematic scope of the EIDHR into four campaigns and 
the associated calls for proposals conﬁ rms that fundamental human rights 
issues remain central to the EIDHR. Civil society continues to develop its 
response strategies and activities in support of human rights promotion 
and protection. Freedom of expression and the ﬁ ght against torture were 
key elements in 2006.

Freedom of expression

Recent events have emphasised the role of independent media in pre-
venting conﬂ icts and building peace. This issue was one of the priorities 
for the EIDHR under Campaign 3 on “Promoting the Democratic Process”. 
Special emphasis was placed on freedom of expression and the media 
environment. In October, proposals were selected for an amount exceed-
ing € 7 million.

Torture

The practice of torture is one of the most serious human rights violations. 
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, no one shall be 
subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punish-
ment. No exceptions are permitted under international law. Unfortunately, 
despite the eﬀ orts of the international community, torture occurs all over 
the world. The progressive prevention and eradication of all forms of torture 
and ill-treatment is a strongly held policy view of all EU Member States. 
Promotion and protection of this right is a priority of the EU’s human rights 
policy. 

In its work to this end, the EIDHR provides support for projects aimed at: the 
physical and psychological rehabilitation of torture victims; various forms 
of training in diﬀ erent areas directed at professionals (health practitioners, 
jurists, police, etc.), government oﬃ  cials, NGO staﬀ  and the general public; 
awareness campaigns about torture; identiﬁ cation of industrial and com-
mercial ﬁ rms specialising in torture instruments; the application of the 
Istanbul Protocol by the signatory countries; ratiﬁ cation of the optional 
protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT Protocol); adminis-
trative and legal accompaniment of relatives of torture victims, refugees 
and unaccompanied children; and advocacy for reparations as well as for 
combating impunity.

Lessons learned for the EIDHR

During the year, the EIDHR was the subject of a series of evaluations. A study 
on Generating Impact Indicators was ﬁ nalised in 2005 and its results were 
implemented in 2006. The study formulates indicators to be included in the 
guidelines for calls for proposals, in order to give applicants guidance on 
the overall objectives and indicative results expected for each campaign. A 
second evaluation concerned the “Programa Andino de derechos humanos 
y democracia” (Andean Programme on Human Rights and Democracy), a 
regional programme carried out between 2002 and 2005. This evaluation 
conﬁ rmed the added value of regional actions and showed that the pro-
gramme had led to closer collaboration and interaction between NGOs and 
grassroots organisations by creating positive synergies and enhancing the 
involved organisations’ knowledge of other organisations in the Andean 
region. Finally a thematic evaluation, ﬁ nanced by EIDHR over a period of 

more than ten years, was carried out of projects aimed at the abolition of 
the death penalty. The results will be available in 2007.

3.1.2 

 Election Observation Missions and electoral assistance

Thirteen EU Election Observation Missions (EU EOM) were mobilised to 
observe elections in Haiti, West Bank Gaza, Uganda, Fiji, Mexico, Bolivia, 
DR Congo, Yemen, Zambia, Nicaragua, Mauritania, Aceh (Indonesia) and 
Venezuela. An EU EOM was also launched tentatively to observe the elec-
tions in Bangladesh that were due to take place in January 2007. The total 
budget for these EOMs amounted to € 35.1 million, and some 1 400 EU 
observers were deployed.

These missions contributed by their very presence to reducing the pos-
sibility of fraud, manipulation, intimidation and election-related violence. 
They increased transparency and public conﬁ dence in the election process 
and therefore provided signiﬁ cant support to progress in democracy and 
governance. In some cases, the missions played a role in conﬂ ict prevention, 
as in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where the most important 
EU EOM ever deployed (300 observers) observed the preparation, conduct 
and follow-up of the two rounds of Presidential, Legislative and Provincial 
elections that took place in July and November. These elections paved the 
way for a return to civil peace, re-establishment of governance, sustainable 
development in the DRC and the stabilisation of the Great Lakes region.

Projects to assist the electoral process were also implemented in the DRC; 
these were the most important ever, both in terms of funding and chal-
lenge. The EC contributed € 165 million to an overall budget exceeding 
€ 450 million to support the Congolese Independent Electoral Commission 
in all steps of the organisation of the electoral cycle, from legal reform 
to the registration of 25 million voters, training of election oﬃ  cials, voter 
education, polling activities, electoral dispute resolution, post- and inter-
election activities, etc.

This focus on a long-term approach and support for the successive steps 
of the electoral cycle, rather than on projects aimed at speciﬁ c electoral 
events, can be seen in the Electoral Assistance projects adopted and im-
plemented in 2006. Whenever possible, rather than limited to supporting 
logistics and operations for election day, assistance focuses very much 
on the development of the capacities of national electoral management 
bodies and civil society organisations. The NEEDS (Network of Europeans 
for Electoral and Democracy Support) project was further developed, with 
a series of training sessions for EU observers, and two regional forums in 
third countries for local domestic observers.

With a two-year contract, an amount of € 950 000, and increased collabo-
ration and input from its services, the EC is supporting the ACE Electoral 
Knowledge Network, undoubtedly the most important initiative in the area 
of administration of elections and a reference for all those working in this 
ﬁ eld. This Commission support will contribute to the creation of a global 
knowledge network in the ﬁ eld of elections that promotes professional, 
eﬀ ective and sustainable electoral administrations worldwide through the 
generation, sharing and application of electoral knowledge.

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Chapter title

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89

3.1.3 

Indigenous peoples

The protection of indigenous peoples’ rights ﬁ gures high on the human 
rights agenda of the Commission. Activities in this ﬁ eld were carried out 
both under EIDHR and in the context of geographical instruments. EIDHR 
Campaign 4 led to the selection of 11 projects targeting indigenous peoples 
in seven diﬀ erent countries for a total amount of more than € 6 million. 
The selection criteria strongly emphasised the need to foster and sustain 
genuine partnerships between European or international organisations 
and local indigenous organisations: selected proposals demonstrated that 
recommended partnerships were robust, empowering and transparent.

As regards the results and impact of ongoing projects, positive steps were 
taken in August by the Nepalese House of Representatives towards the 
ratiﬁ cation of ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. An 
EIDHR grant contract signed with the ILO in 2005 allowed the building of 
capacity for dialogue on indigenous peoples’ rights, as part of the peace 
process in Nepal. Ratiﬁ cation of Convention 169 became the main rallying 
point for indigenous organisations in the country. 

Another important impact of EIDHR projects was the adoption of the UN 
Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the UN Human 
Rights Council in June. Support provided through EIDHR projects to the 
capacity-building of indigenous peoples’ organisations and representatives 
in contributing to, as well as participating in, this international standard-
setting process was instrumental in inﬂ uencing key decisions. The next 
challenge will be the formal adoption of this declaration by the UN General 
Assembly. 

Speciﬁ c attention was also devoted to mainstreaming indigenous peoples 
under geographic instruments. A good example, as it serves multiple objec-
tives, is a contract awarded under the ALA66 regulation to the Philippine 
NGO “Earth Rights – Peoples’ Rights” to assist and support indigenous peoples’ 
communities in developing sustainable development and protection plans 
for their ancestral lands, as a realisation of the Philippine law on the rights 
of indigenous peoples as well as the achievement of MDG 7 (ensuring 
environmental sustainability). 

3.1.4 

Child rights and children in development co-operation

The Commission remained committed to promoting the universal applica-
tion of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as the prime international 
human rights instrument for children. To underpin this commitment, the 
Commission uses around 75 diﬀ erent instruments related to children poli-
cies and programmes both within and outside the borders of the EU. 

To improve the coherence of these instruments and to maximise their syner-
gies and increase their collective impact in improving the rights of children, 
the Commission adopted the Communication “Towards a strategy on the 
rights of the child” 67. This Communication deﬁ nes a long-term and in-depth 
process, and also deﬁ nes new mechanisms to ensure internal co-ordination 
and consultation (such as a European Forum for the Rights of the Child), 
with prescriptions for the eﬀ ective participation of children themselves. 

Furthermore, in developing an Action Plan on Children in Development 
Co-operation at the end of the year, discussions on extending the scope 
of this document to external relations in general were held. This Action 
Plan will translate the principles of the Communication into speciﬁ c tools 
to enhance the Commission’s work at the country and global levels. During 
the year, the draft Action Plan was discussed and prepared with the relevant 
stakeholders.

In the framework of the Financial Perspectives 2007-2013, two thematic pro-
grammes will be particularly relevant to children’s rights: the new European 
Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights and “Investing in People”. 
Protection of children and youth, and the promotion of their participation 
in development, are “Investing in People” priority areas for action, with a 
ﬁ nancial allocation of € 90 million for the period 2007-2013. 

The Commission supported initiatives in several areas, for example assisting 
Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) aﬀ ected by HIV/AIDS. In Lesotho, 
under the European Development Fund, € 12 million were devoted to ac-
tions aiming at enabling OVCs to cope with their trauma and loss, and to 
assist them in accessing services and in acquiring life skills as well as formal 
and vocational skills. 

The  European  Consensus  places  special  emphasis  on  the  situation  of 
working children, including those engaged in the worst forms of child 
labour. The follow-up strategies adopted by the Commission reﬂ ect the 
Commission’s commitment to protecting children from poverty, margin-
alisation and abuse. This is in line with the EC strategic partnership with the 
International Labour Organisation (ILO), whereby the Commission supports 
the latter’s “decent work” agenda, which includes ﬁ ghting child labour in 
all its forms as per ILO conventions nos. 182 on the worst forms of child 
labour and 138 on the minimum age for admission to employment. These 
important commitments were also mirrored in the broader Commission 
Communication on decent work68 adopted in May. The Commission also 
made signiﬁ cant progress with the ILO in preparing a basic education 
and training programme that will provide € 15 million to ﬁ ght all forms 
of child labour in African, Caribbean and Paciﬁ c countries. Furthermore, 
in the framework of the strategic partnership with the Council of Europe, 
a project of € 200 000 to enforce the rights of the child and to re-integrate 
children at risk in Russia was signed at the end of 2006.

While the wellbeing of children and their rights are deﬁ ned as crosscutting 
issues under the EIDHR, Campaign 2 had a speciﬁ c focus on children. 
Following a call for proposals under this Campaign, 18 projects for a total 
of some € 10.8 million were selected. In Zimbabwe, through a contribution 
to UNICEF, support is being provided to protect vulnerable children from 
violence, abuse and exploitation by addressing cross-border movement/
child traﬃ  cking and birth registration. 

Development of eﬀ ective policies and practices against traﬃ  cking in chil-
dren in Southeast Asia, Southeast Europe and Latin America in particular 
is also the focus of an EIDHR-supported project run by the NGO Terre des 
Hommes. Although several of the projects under Campaign 2 focused on 

66  Financial and Technical Assistance to, and Economic Co-operation with, the Developing 

68  COM(2006) 249 – “Promoting decent work for all: The EU contribution to the implementa-

Countries in Asia and Latin America (ALA), Council regulation n° 443/92

tion of the decent work agenda in the world”

67  COM(2006) 367

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human and social development

women’s rights, it is undeniable that protecting women from violence and 
discrimination will improve the situation of their children. 

3.2 

Implementation of the EU guidelines on children and armed conﬂ ict was 
further strengthened, and several of the selected EIDHR projects focused 
on children in conﬂ ict areas (e.g. Columbia and the Horn of Africa). In Nepal, 
in line with UN Security Council resolution 1612 on children in armed con-
ﬂ ict, the establishment of a Taskforce for the Monitoring and Reporting 
Mechanism was co-chaired by the EC-funded Monitoring Mission of the 
Oﬃ  ce of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The objec-
tive of this task force is to promote eﬀ ective responses to violations against 
children in the context of conﬂ ict.

In the Philippines, the focus has been Mindanao for several years now. The 
overall goal is to contribute to the eradication of poverty and the general 
development of the area. This approach beneﬁ ts the children in conﬂ ict 
areas through stabilisation and normalisation of people’s lives. Children are 
also the main beneﬁ ciaries, together with women, of the Access to Justice 
Project which started its eﬀ ective ﬁ eld implementation in 36 communities 
of ﬁ ve provinces (two in Mindanao) in November. In Uganda, the 9th EDF 
Northern Uganda Rehabilitation Programme was underway, with a speciﬁ c 
component (€ 5 million) devoted to the most vulnerable groups, including 
child-mothers and returnees.

HIV/AIDS awareness. Mozambique  -  © EC Delegation Mozambique

 Human and social 
development

Health

The areas for EC support ﬁ nanced through thematic budget lines are the 
ﬁ ght against poverty-related diseases, sexual and reproductive health, and 
closing the ‘human resource for health’ gap69. 

Poverty-related diseases

A call for proposals addressing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, with 
priorities  on  technology  transfer,  strengthened  prevention  and  sup-
port for clinical trial sites, led to grants of a total of € 80.3 million to 21 
projects, as well as several targeted actions. The International Partnership 
for Microbiocides beneﬁ ted from a € 4.2 million grant, while the Global 
Fund to Fight HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) received an additional 
€ 90 million (€ 62 million from the EDF and € 28 million from thematic budget 
lines). The EC representative on the GFATM Board was nominated as Vice 
Chair in April 2006.

As stated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child by reason 
of his/her physical and mental immaturity needs special safeguards and 
care. However, some children are particularly vulnerable to poverty and 
discrimination, for example refugee children, children from indigenous 
or minority backgrounds, disabled children, and children who suﬀ er from 
caste-based discrimination. In this context, a joint project with UNHCR 
will be supporting the Montagnard returnees in the Central Highlands of 
Vietnam. This project, funded by the geographical instrument, will enable 
disadvantaged families to enjoy increased standards of living while their 
children have equitable and unrestricted access to much-needed quality 
pre-school education. 

An EC/ACP/WHO70 Partnership on Health Millennium Development Goals 
was signed (€ 25 million from the EDF) to enhance national capacity for the 
formulation and implementation of health policies and to strengthen the 
engagement of the health authorities in PRSPs, SWAPs and budget support 
processes in order to scale up programmes and accelerate achievement 
of the MDGs. The EC contribution to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and 
Immunisation (GAVI) represented € 40 million (including the EDF contribu-
tion) to introduce new and underused vaccines, mostly in Sub-Saharan 
Africa. The EC also supported the World AIDS Campaign in Sub-Saharan 
Africa, as well as other major international and regional events, in particular 
the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto.

3.1.5 

Towards a renewed EIDHR ﬁ nancing instrument

Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRH)

In the context of the Financial Perspectives for 2007-2013, a regulation estab-
lishing a speciﬁ c Instrument for the promotion of democracy and human 
rights worldwide was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council 
at the end of 2006. It provides the basis for increased involvement of the 
Commission in the support of democracy and human rights in particular 
in countries where civil society is most in need of support, as well as at 
the international level through support to international mechanisms for 
human rights promotion and protection, and in securing EU observation 
of electoral processes. 

A call for proposals was launched in July for € 18.6 million, with priority given 
to activities meeting the need of uprooted people for sexual and reproduc-
tive health services and commodities in conﬂ ict and post-conﬂ ict settings. 
Some 10 proposals will be selected by the Commission by the end of the 
ﬁ rst quarter of 2007. As part of its commitment to increasing availability of 
reproductive health commodities, the EC supported a Joint Programme 
for Assistance to ACP Countries by allocating € 15 million through UNFPA. 
It also ﬁ nanced the African Union Ministerial Conference on Reproductive 
Health Commodity Security that took place in Maputo in September 2006, 
when African Union Health Ministers adopted a Plan of Action on the im-
plementation of AU Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights policies: 
in particular this includes a commitment to secure funds from national 
budgets for reproductive health commodities and services.

69  Budget lines 21.02.07.02, 21.02.07.03, 21.02.07.04

70  World Health Organization

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91

Minority pupils in new school building. Laos  -  © EC Delegation Laos

Human resources for health

Responding to recommendations made in the Communication on the 
health workforce crisis71, and to the Council Conclusions of 12 April, the EC 
funded consultative meetings in Asia and Africa on strengthening politi-
cal support for action on this issue: these high-level meetings are building 
political consensus and developing networks with the aim of mobilising 
long-term and predictable ﬁ nancing to support country, regional and glo-
bal initiatives on a strengthened health workforce and progress on the 
MDGs. The Communication “A European Programme for Action to tackle the 
critical shortage of health workers in developing countries (2007–2013)” (PfA)72, 
which was adopted in December, sets out future EU actions. The PfA was 
developed in full consultation with EU Member States and will be ﬁ nanced 
with € 40 million of EC funding, in addition to resources from Member States 
and from the 10th EDF. EC funds will be used for coherent and co-ordinated 
EU (EC and Member States) action. 

Education

Apart from bilateral co-operation with various countries and regions, EC 
support to the education sector has focused on the FTI Partnership and the 
Tempus programme, as well as on the new Erasmus Mundus and Edulink 
programmes in the ﬁ eld of higher education.

Under the Erasmus Mundus programme, the European Commission con-
tinued to promote the EU as a centre of excellence in learning around the 
world, mainly through support to European top-quality Masters Courses 
and scholarships for third- country nationals. Development co-operation 
funds (€ 57.3 million) were injected into Erasmus Mundus in 2005 to ﬁ nance 
additional scholarships for students coming from speciﬁ c Asian countries or 
regions; these will allow the funding of scholarships to study in Europe for 
approximately 1 500 Asian students (already 353 in 2005 and 636 in 2006). 
These Asian ‘windows’ are implemented in line with Erasmus Mundus im-
plementing rules for the period 2005-07. Other Erasmus Mundus windows 
were prepared in 2006 for the Western Balkans (with enlargement funds) 
and the ACP countries (with development funds).

The EC continues to implement commitments made in the Paris Declaration 
to improve donor harmonisation and alignment with country strategies 
in the sector. An important element in this is continued support for the 
Education  for  All  Fast  Track  Initiative  (FTI)73.  As  from  June,  the  EC  has 
been the co-chair of the FTI. At the FTI Partnership Meeting in Cairo (13-
14 November), the EC emphasised the importance of strengthening the 
quality of country-level processes, from endorsement of sector plans to 
continued engagement and follow-up in policy dialogue.

Putting the right policies and strategies in place from the start, and fol-
lowing through with eﬀ ective implementation, will be the key to success-
ful education reforms. The FTI promotes more eﬀ ective use of resources 
through strong sector strategies, improved harmonisation and alignment of 
external ﬁ nancing, and the increased predictability and longer-term nature 
of domestic and external ﬁ nancing. Aside from country-level support, the 

Commission is contributing to the FTI Catalytic Fund, along with other 
donors. The Commission is supporting eﬀ orts under FTI to increase and 
improve aid eﬀ ectiveness in education in fragile states, and is also seeking 
to build a joint programme for donor staﬀ  training in order to support donor 
harmonisation in the education sector.

In the ﬁ eld of Higher Education, a call for proposals for the new Erasmus 
Mundus External Co-operation Window was launched in October. The 
main  objective  of  the  programme  is  to  enhance  the  international  co-
operation capacity of universities in third countries by facilitating the trans-
fer of know-how and good practices in the ﬁ eld of student and academic 
staﬀ  mobility. For the call for proposals 2006, which covers mobility activities 
starting at the latest in April 2008, the geographical coverage includes the 
following countries: Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, West Bank and 
Gaza, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, 
Moldova,  Belarus,  Yemen,  Iran,  Iraq,  Kazakhstan,  Kyrgyzstan,  Tajikistan, 
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Under  the  Tempus  programme,  institutional  co-operation  between 
European universities and their counterparts in 26 non-EU partner coun-
tries continued. Tempus, a funding programme that deals with all aspects 
of higher education, supports university and structural reforms in partner 
countries, including the necessary changes that emerge from the Bologna 
process such as the three-level cycle, quality assurance and the introduc-
tion of the European Credit Transfer System. The programme has been 
a  great  help  in  building  co-operation  between  non-EU  and  European 
universities.

The ﬁ rst ACP-EU Co-operation Programme in Higher Education, EDULINK, 
launched its ﬁ rst call for proposals: this programme aims to foster capacity-
building and regional integration in the ﬁ eld of higher education through 
institutional networking, and to support a quality higher education system 
that is relevant to the needs of the labour market and consistent with ACP 
socio-economic development priorities. The programme is open to all ACP 
countries and to the 15 EU Member States that are signatories to the 9th 
European Development Fund. 

Employment, social cohesion and decent work

Reducing poverty by enhancing employability and decent work74 and en-
suring social inclusion featured high on the international agenda, as well 
as in EU development and co-operation policies. The European Consensus 
clearly identiﬁ es decent work as crucial to achieving a high level of social 
cohesion and eradicating poverty. The EC adopted a number of policies 
proposing a stronger and more coherent EU commitment to a decent 
work agenda and contributing to the social dimension of globalisation. 
The strategic partnership with the ILO on development co-operation is 
also considered crucial for all regions. In May, the Commission adopted the 
Communication “Decent work for all”, which includes an annex providing 
practical examples of activities promoting decent work that can be used 
in external assistance programmes.

71  COM(2005) 642
72  COM(2006) 870

73  http://www.fasttrackinitiative.org/
74  Decent work covers: employment, rights at work, social protection and social dialogue 

as well as the gender dimension

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equality between men and women

3.3 

 Equality between 
men and women

On 8 March, the Commission issued a Communication entitled “A Roadmap 
for equality between women and men”, outlining six priority areas for EU 
action on gender equality for the period 2006-2010. These include: equal 
economic independence for women and men; reconciliation of private and 
professional life; equal representation in decision-making; eradication of all 
forms of gender-based violence; elimination of gender stereotypes; and 
promotion of gender equality in external and development policies.

The year saw major initiatives in promoting gender equality in the Euro-
Mediterranean Partnership. At the policy level and for the ﬁ rst time, the 
partners met at the ministerial level to discuss how to improve the sta-
tus and participation of women in the region (Ministerial Conference on 
“Strengthening the role of women in society”, Istanbul, 14-15 November). 
They agreed on a comprehensive set of initiatives to promote women’s 
rights and gender equality in the civil, political, social, economic and cultural 
spheres. Ministers also agreed to put in place a system to ensure account-
ability and monitoring of the results achieved.

A Euro-Mediterranean ad hoc Committee will be held to review imple-
mentation  of  the  Istanbul  Conclusions  and  Framework  of  Action.  The 
Ministerial Conclusions will be the most important political reference on 
promoting women’s rights and gender equality in the Euro-Mediterranean 
Partnership for the next ﬁ ve years. The Commission played a leading role 
in preparing the Ministerial Conference and its Conclusions. Last June, a 
civil society consultation conference in Rabat, which brought together 
130 participants (representatives of governments, parliaments and civil 
society), paved the way for preparation of the conclusions of the Istanbul 
Ministerial Conference76.

The Commission made grants to seven regional NGO consortia in the MEDA 
countries for projects Enhancing Opportunities of Women in Economic Life 
(EOWEL) through training and capacity-building, information, communica-
tion and networking. These provide technical assistance for studies, data 
collection, capacity-building and dissemination of project results77. The 
recently published brochure “Euro-Med Partnership: Acting for Gender 
Equality” provides an overview of projects supported by the EC in the 
region78.

The  year  was  also  marked  by  the  preparation  of  the  10th  European 
Development Fund and the next generation of aid programmes to be 
implemented within the framework of the Financial Perspectives 2007-2013. 
Gender equality has been mainstreamed into the 10th EDF programming 
process, with guidelines to help Commission Delegations formulate country 
strategies in a more gender-sensitive way, a gender screening of part of 

Training on community shops. Mauritania  -  © EC Delegation Mauritania

These principles are mirrored in the EC regional strategies adopted for 
Africa, Latin America (2005), the Caribbean and the Paciﬁ c Islands (2006). 
Employment, decent work and strengthening the social dimension of 
globalisation feature prominently in regional strategy papers. These not 
only call for more decisive intervention, but also stress the need to take 
employment and social inclusion issues into consideration in all relevant 
programmes and policy areas. The programming exercise initiated in the 
context of the Financial Perspectives 2007-2013 indicates that the EU will 
continue to support initiatives promoting investment in human resources 
(in particular demand-driven vocational training to qualify young people 
for jobs, and measures to improve adult mobility in the event of industrial 
restructuring), social protection, gender equality and social dialogue.

Perspective 2007-2013: “Investing in People”

In January, the EC adopted a Communication entitled “Investing in People” 75 
on  the  thematic  programme  for  human  and  social  development  and 
the  Financial  Perspectives  2007-2013.  The  Development  Co-operation 
Instrument foresees € 1.06 billion for this programme, which is designed 
to support initiatives in areas that directly aﬀ ect people’s living standards 
and wellbeing, with a focus on the poorest and least developed countries 
and the most disadvantaged sections of the population. A strategy for this 
thematic programme has been prepared in consultation with the relevant 
stakeholders, with a view to helping partner countries achieve the MDGs. 
This strategy support activities under four main pillars: Good Health for All; 
Education, Knowledge and Skills; Gender Equality; and Other Aspects of 
Social and Human Development (including social cohesion, employment, 
decent work, children and youth, and culture).

75  COM(2006) 18 ﬁ nal
76  All documents related to both the Istanbul Ministerial Conference and the Rabat 

77  For more information on EOWEL: 

http://www.roleofwomenineconomiclife.net/index.html

Conference are available on: 
http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/euromed/women/index.htm

78  http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/library/publications/27_women_equal.pdf 

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equality between men and women

3.   Thematic programmes and mainstreaming 
Chapter title

of crosscutting issues

93

the 9th EDF Country Strategy End of Term Reviews, and a more thorough 
assessment of one-third of the new 10th EDF country strategies.

Two thematic programmes will be particular relevant to gender equality 
in the next generation of aid programmes: the Instrument for the promo-
tion of democracy and human rights worldwide, and Investing in People. 
The latter foresees four areas for priority action: one of these is gender 
equality, with a ﬁ nancial allocation of € 57 million for the period 2007-2013. 
The Commission has also continued implementing the Gender Budget 
Line. Following a call for proposals published in late-2005, eight grants 
were provided to civil society organisations and local authorities active 
in Botswana, Malawi, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Croatia and the Philippines 
for a total amount of about € 4 million. These projects focus on promoting 
values that contribute to changing behaviours between boys and girls and 
addressing gender stereotypes as root causes of gender-based violence. 

national approaches, with speciﬁ c focus on women in peace-building and 
the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, and 
will include a national component with focused activities in 12 countries. 
Knowledge and documentation generated through these activities will be 
used to inform partners in other countries. 

In the implementation of UNSCR 1325, the Commission and the Council 
Secretariat jointly prepared a reference document entitled “EU Concept 
for support to Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration” (DDR). 
This document has a strong gender focus and provides the framework 
for DDR initiatives by the Commission and EU Member States. In line with 
the November Council Conclusions on promoting gender equality and 
gender mainstreaming in crisis management, the Commission has progres-
sively incorporated the gender perspective in the election observation 
methodology. 

Within Campaign 2 of the EIDHR, Lot 1 “Advancing the rights of margin-
alised  or  vulnerable  groups”,  women’s  rights  were  addressed  through 
the themes of traﬃ  cking in women and the rights of vulnerable groups 
in  armed  conﬂ ict,  with  the  focus  on  gender-based  violence.  A  call  for 
proposals was launched early in the year and the project selection ﬁ nal-
ised in October. Eighteen projects were selected for an overall amount of 
€ 10.8 million.

Under the European Development Fund, the EC also ﬁ nanced a programme 
in Swaziland designed to create an environment eliminating discrimination 
against women: this programme supports capacity-building activities to 
help key state and non-state actors implement and monitor the Convention 
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 
through a multi-sectoral and integrated approach.

In addition to women-speciﬁ c projects, gender equality is mainstreamed 
throughout  projects  and  programmes  under  geographical  instru-
ments. In terms of ﬁ nancial resources, the total amount of commitments 
where  gender  is  a  signiﬁ cant  objective  of  the  intervention  represents 
€ 3 482 million  or  some  35%  of  the  total  amount  of  ODA  (bilateral  + 
multilateral) commitments in 2006 (€ 9 832 million).

A project entitled “Engendering HIV prevention: reducing the vulnerability 
of women and girls to HIV infection” has also been initiated in Zimbabwe, 
with the participation of community leaders and volunteers, male teachers 
and health staﬀ . Its aims are to strengthen community capacity to promote 
HIV prevention through behavioural change, encourage male participation 
in eﬀ orts to reduce the vulnerability of females, and increase the latter’s 
use of HIV prevention services. Women and girls will be empowered to 
access these services, while the responsiveness of these services will be 
enhanced.

The mainstreaming of gender equality also requires action on a technical 
level to improve staﬀ  capacity. Over the last three years, considerable eﬀ ort 
has been invested in raising awareness and developing the expertise of 
Commission staﬀ . Over 1 000 people received gender training, 25 work-
shops were held in Commission Delegations, and a package of methodo-
logical tools is available for both Headquarters and Delegation staﬀ . The 
Commission entered a partnership with UNIFEM to build partner country 
capacity and improve accountability. This initiative applies regional and 

In co-operation with UNFPA and the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Aﬀ airs, the 
Commission organised an International Symposium on Sexual Violence in 
Conﬂ ict and Beyond, held from 21-23 June in Brussels, which attracted more 
than 250 participants from 30 countries. At the end of the Symposium a 
Call to Action was endorsed that highlights the reinforcement of linkages 
between relief and development funding, the inclusion of indicators on 
violence in incentive tranches of budget support, the need to ensure eﬀ ec-
tive legal redress, the role of men and boys as partners in ﬁ ghting violence, 
and the economic and political empowerment of women. 

Mobile youth centre. Cambodia  -  © EC

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94

3.   Thematic programmes and mainstreaming 
Chapter title

of crosscutting issues

non-state actors in development

Conservation and sustainable development. Colombia  -  © EC Delegation Colombia

3.4 

 Non-state actors in 
development

Ownership and participation are core principles of EU development policy, 
as stated in the European Consensus on Development. The Commission 
has a key role to play in facilitating and promoting dialogue between state 
and non-state actors on development priorities and strategies in partner 
countries. The Commission continued its eﬀ orts to promote participatory 
approaches, including the adoption of a new thematic programme “Non-
State Actors and Local Authorities in Development” to succeed the NGO 
co-ﬁ nancing and decentralised co-operation budget lines. The overarching 
objective is poverty reduction in the context of sustainable development, 
including pursuit of the MDGs and other internationally agreed targets. It 
is an “actor-oriented” programme aimed at capacity-building through sup-
port to “own” initiatives by non-state actors and local authorities in both 
the EU and partner countries.

Throughout the year, the Commission engaged in discussions with Council 
and the European Parliament on the scope, objectives and priorities of 
the programme, in the context of negotiations on the Development Co-
operation Instrument. In parallel, the Commission launched discussions 
on the strategy paper that makes the programme operational, reﬁ ning the 
orientations set out in the initial Communication79 and deﬁ ning detailed 
strategic priorities for an initial four-year period (2007-2010). The Commission 
also held a six-week external consultation focused on the added value of 
eligible actors and their potential contribution to the objectives of the 
programme.

A summary report was then drafted reﬂ ecting 175 contributions received 
from a range of non-state actors and local authorities. The need to promote 
non-state actor and local authority participation has been included as a 
fundamental principle of the ongoing 10th EDF programming process for 
ACP countries, and an overview of the consultation will be annexed to 
the Country Strategy Papers. The programming guidelines were widely 
distributed and placed online to facilitate the participation of a broad range 
of stakeholders. 

On the implementation side, the Commission continued systematically to 
involve the key stakeholders in the Palermo process – Member States rep-
resentatives, Members of the European Parliament, and representatives of 
civil society – expressing its growing diversity and inﬂ uence in development 
issues. More than merely consulting implementing partners, the Commission 
services began in 2002 to engage all the actors in the aid delivery chain, 
from donor to beneﬁ ciary, in a participative deliberative framework. This 
culminated in a series of key events that included the Palermo seminar on 
Co-ﬁ nancing (2003), the Paris seminar on Impact (2004), and the Brussels 
conference on Awareness Raising (2005).

79  COM(2006) 19 ﬁ nal

This structured “quadrilogue” with the Commission services enables all 
parties to create the conditions for more eﬃ  cient aid delivery, and improves 
the policy formation process. Concrete results were achieved in simplifying 
certain administrative procedures for the award of projects, taking on board 
suggestions made by development non-governmental organisations with 
regard to ﬁ nancial rules and procedures. On-line registration of potential 
applicants on a new data base, PADOR, which will be launched gradually 
in 2007, will ease the administrative burden for applicants and provide the 
Commission with a tool to improve knowledge management.

On 12 December the Commission also launched DECIM, a mechanism aim-
ing to improve donor co-ordination in those countries where institutional 
support to civil society organisations can beneﬁ t from a systematic attempt 
to achieve project synergies and ﬁ ll development gaps in ﬁ ve critical areas: 
legal framework; public advocacy, policy dialogue and governance; delivery 
of social services and creation of social capital; ﬁ nancial sustainability; and 
capacity-building, knowledge-sharing and networking. 

The Commission selected 224 projects and 24 block grants proposed by 
European Development non-governmental organisations, reﬂ ecting the 
solidarity of the European taxpayer with the most vulnerable populations 
in the world, for a total contribution of € 155.5 million and € 18,1 million 
respectively (EU Budget). In addition, activities raising the awareness of the 
European public were supported for a total contribution of € 22.7 million 
(EU budget).

3.5 

 Environment 
and sustainable 
development of 
natural resources

Progress was again made in promoting the integration of the environmental 
dimension in the programming and implementation of external assistance. 
Programming guidelines for the 10th EDF stressed the importance of consid-
ering the environment systematically as part of the country analysis feed-
ing into the new generation of country strategies. As a result, a signiﬁ cant 
number of draft country strategy papers for 2007-2013 contain a new or 
updated environmental proﬁ le of the partner country or region concerned. 
A similar outcome was achieved for non-ACP countries.

An ambitious training programme on environment mainstreaming was 
implemented throughout the year: this targeted both Commission External 

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environment and sustainable development of natural resources

3.   Thematic programmes and mainstreaming 
Chapter title

of crosscutting issues

95

Fishermen’s association. Colombia  -  © EC Delegation Colombia and Ecuador/Jaime Ruibal

Relations Directorates-General personnel and staﬀ  from the relevant insti-
tutions in partner countries, and involved sessions in Brussels and over-
seas. Awareness-raising talks for Commission staﬀ  and the wider public 
focused on environmental issues such as climate change, an Environmental 
Integration Handbook for EC staﬀ  was launched, as well as an Environment 
Helpdesk that is increasingly used to provide technical and methodological 
guidance during the diﬀ erent phases of the operations cycle.

Environment and tropical forests

The EC approved 67 new projects worldwide, mainly identiﬁ ed through a 
call for proposals and representing a total EC contribution of € 103.7 million 
(€ 79.8 million under the programme for Forests and € 23.9 million under the 
programme for Environment). Projects approved under the Environment 
programme focus on capacity-building for developing countries imple-
menting Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), in particular the 
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The programme 
contributed € 1 million to the 12th Session of the Conference of the Parties 
to the Convention in Nairobi.

Initiatives under the Forests programme continued to build on a long-
standing commitment to supporting local eﬀ orts to develop participa-
tory models of resource utilisation, based on the recognition of the value 
of forests to society and on more equitable forest tenure arrangements. 
Projects relating to forests and governance received €31 million, of which 
€ 13.3 million was directly linked to the development co-operation com-
ponent of the EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) 
Action Plan.

Sustainable Utilisation of Coastal and Marine Resources

As part of the external ﬁ sheries policy, for which the EC has exclusive com-
petence, the Commission pursued its action for the promotion of the sus-
tainable use of marine resources outside EC waters. At bilateral level, since 
the Council Conclusion of 2004 on the integrated framework for ﬁ sher-
ies partnership agreements with third countries80, the Commission is re-
negotiating the current agreements to reﬂ ect these conclusions. To date, 
the EC has negotiated new Fisheries Partnerhip Agreements (FPAs) with 
Morocco, Solomon Islands and Micronesia. The ﬁ sheries agreements with 
Comoros, Seychelles, Cap Verde, Gabon, São Tomé, Madagascar, Greenland, 
Mauritania, Mozambique and Kiribati were renegotiated in order to trans-
form them into FPAs. For 2007, the Commission will renegotiate the ﬁ sheries 
agreements with Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast and Mauritius.

The emphasis in the new FPAs is clearly on partnership. All the agreements 
the EU has signed since 2004 are fully in line with the Council Conclusion 
on Fisheries Partnership Agreements, which aims to ensure the economic, 
social and environmental sustainability of ﬁ sheries wherever EU vessels are 
engaged in ﬁ shing activities. The idea is not just to secure access for the 
European ﬂ eet, but to assist developing countries in establishing ﬁ sheries 
policies that can help them meet their development objectives while pro-
tecting ﬁ sh resources, with the accent on the ﬁ ght against illegal ﬁ sheries 
and on enhanced scientiﬁ c advice.

In this way, the EC contributes to the implementation of sustainable ﬁ shery 
activities in the waters of third countries’ Exclusive Economic Zones extend-
ing up to 200 nautical miles from their coasts. The Commission also initiated 
a € 30 million programme under the 9th EDF with a view to strengthening 
ﬁ sheries management in ACP countries and promoting regional co-oper-
ation. This approach is based on a permanent political dialogue, whereby 
both parties agree to devote a large part of the ﬁ nancial contribution under 
the ﬁ sheries agreements to the support of the sectoral ﬁ sheries policy of 
the partner country. The formulation of this sectoral ﬁ sheries policy has to 
be consistent with EC development strategy. Taking into account all the 
FPAs initialled or renegotiated, the overall budget of the FPAs amounted 
to about € 160 million. 

At multilateral level, in line with the provisions of the World Summit on a 
Sustainable Development Plan of Implementation, the Commission con-
tinued to strive for better governance of high seas ﬁ sheries. The Commission 
plays a leading role in 13 regional ﬁ shery organisations covering various 
parts on the high seas worldwide, and its involvement was instrumen-
tal in promoting the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries81. The 
Commission also supported, with € 28 million, regional organisations in 
their eﬀ ort to reinforce control and surveillance systems and to establish 
sustainable coastal zone management. The Commission has a key role in 
international negotiations on marine issues in international forums such as 
the UN General Assembly and the FAO, where it supported the ﬁ ght against 
illegal ﬁ shing and the constitution of protected areas in the high seas. 

Dried ﬁ sh. Eritrea  -  © EC Delegation Eritrea

80  Council  Conclusions  on  Fisheries  partnership  agreements  with  third  countries; 

81  http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/v9878e/v9878e00.htm

Agriculture and Fisheries Council of 19 July 2004

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96

3.   Thematic programmes and mainstreaming 
Chapter title

of crosscutting issues

migration and asylum

Water and sanitation

Under the 9th EDF € 475 million were allocated for water and sanitation in 
14 ACP countries and a further € 500 million through the ACP-EU Water 
Facility. The Water Facility is part of a response to the objectives of the EU 
Water Initiative (EUWI), catalysing additional funding to boost the sustain-
able delivery of water and sanitation services and improving Integrated 
Water Management practices in ACP countries. The results of the ﬁ rst Water 
Facility call for proposals were announced and a second call for proposals 
launched. Regional water management and hydraulic infrastructure will 
also be supported by the EU-Africa Partnership for Infrastructure. Water and 
sanitation are priority areas in the new EU development policy, allowing 
countries and regions to select them as a focal or non-focal sector for the 
current programming phase for the 10th EDF.

Through the EUWI, the EU has also been able to mobilise funding with 
global impact potential. The € 500m ACP-EU Water Facility targeted at 
developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Paciﬁ c is a response 
to the need to generate additional funding and to work directly with those 
aﬀ ected by water shortages and inadequate sanitation. The ﬁ rst call for 
proposals led to grant awards in early-2006, and the results of a second call 
will be known in early-2007.

3.6 

 Migration and 
Asylum

The year 2006 has been a year of agenda-setting with Africa. The linkage 
between migration and development was debated in various forums, with 
partnership with third countries as the key principle of the EU approach. 
The July Ministerial Conference in Rabat brought together 60 countries 
located along West and Central African migration routes. September saw 
the UN High Level Dialogue on migration and development in New York, 
while an EU-Africa Ministerial Conference on migration and development 
in Tripoli in November brought together all the EU and African states to 
formulate a joint approach. The Commission attended all three events and 
was represented at the Rabat and Tripoli conferences at Commissioner level: 
both conferences also beneﬁ ted from EC ﬁ nancial support. The December 
European Council82 adopted the Global Approach on Migration and identi-
ﬁ ed Priority Actions to give adequate importance to, and focus on, migra-
tion from Africa and the Mediterranean.

This new approach was immediately reﬂ ected in all relevant EU-funded 
programmes. In 2006, the 9th EDF Programme allocated € 40 million to foster 
the link between migration and development in Africa, while the MEDA 

Irrigation system. Mauritania  -  © EC Delegation Mauritania

programme awarded assistance to Morocco (€ 67 million) in the ﬁ eld of 
border management. The Rapid Reaction Mechanism was instrumental 
for the ﬁ rst time in 2006 in reacting to short-term crisis situations related 
to migration, with ad hoc support to Mauritania (€ 2.4 million) and Senegal 
(€ 1.8 million). The emphasis on migration from Africa and the Mediterranean 
countries was also reﬂ ected in the AENEAS programme which provides as-
sistance on all migration issues, including the ﬁ ght against illegal migration, 
readmission and return, asylum and international protection, well-managed 
labour migration, migrants’ rights, and the fostering of the links between 
development and migration.

With a yearly budget of € 45 million, 39 projects were contracted in 2006 
through a call for proposals: support is being provided, for example, for 
co-operation on maritime border controls in the Atlantic, the Ghana immi-
gration service, counselling of migrants in the Maghreb, and the leveraging 
of remittances to promote migrant entrepreneurship. A targeted project 
was also concluded with UNHCR to support their activities in North Africa. 
In 2006 a further call for proposals will distribute up to € 45 million through 
a competitive procedure to be completed in 2007. 

Moreover, further to a Communication by the Commission83, the Council 
and the Parliament decided84 to create a successor to the AENEAS pro-
gramme within the context of the EU ﬁ nancial framework 2007-2013. The 
new thematic programme for co-operation with third countries in the ﬁ eld 
of asylum and migration has been allocated € 384 million for seven years: 
this represents a substantial increase when compared with the AENEAS 
programme (€ 120 million in three years).

The Council Conclusions, adopted in December 200685, assessed the imple-
mentation of the priorities agreed one year earlier and decided to apply the 
global approach to migration from the eastern and south-eastern regions 
neighbouring the EU.

82  European Council Conclusions, 14-15 December 2006
83  COM(2006) 26 of 25 January 2006

84  Regulation 1905/2006 of 18 December 2006
85  European Council Conclusions, 14-15 December 2006

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conﬂ ict prevention, crisis management and mine actions, 
including peace facility and drugs

3.   Thematic programmes and mainstreaming 
Chapter title

of crosscutting issues

97

3.7 

 Conﬂ ict prevention, 
crisis management 
and mine actions, 
including peace 
facility and drugs

Conﬂ ict Prevention

Rehabilitation of landmine victims. Angola  -  © Mathieu Bousquet

The  Commission  continued  its  implementation  of  the  Commission 
Communication on Conﬂ ict Prevention86 by mainstreaming EC policies and 
programmes through information-sharing, training, programming tools 
and policy development. In the area of Security Sector Reform (SSR), the 
Commission put forward a Communication87 complementing eﬀ orts under 
the European Security and Defence Policy: this resulted in the adoption of 
an overarching policy framework by the European Council in June, enabling 
the EU to take a more comprehensive approach to SSR in its operational 
support, as in the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The  Commission  continued  to  work  with  other  donors  in  the  OECD/
DAC to develop a joint Implementation Framework for SSR. In addition, 
the Commission and Council developed an EU Concept for support to 
Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration88 and continued to sup-
port DDR processes in diﬀ erent parts of the world, including West Africa, 
the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa, Colombia and Aceh. Particular 
eﬀ orts were made to address the issue of child soldiers, especially through 
operational support to West Africa and revision of the so-called Cape 
Town Principles. Jointly with the Secretariat-General of the Council, the 
Commission also adopted a proposal for an “EU concept for strengthen-
ing African capabilities for the prevention, management and resolution of 
conﬂ icts”. The paper aims to provide an overall framework for enhanced and 
co-ordinated EU support for the African peace and security agenda.

The Commission served as Vice-Chair of the Kimberley Process Certiﬁ cation 
Scheme (KPCS), the multilateral initiative to eradicate conﬂ ict diamonds, 
and will chair the KPCS in 2007. The Commission funded the provision 
of high-level policy advice to Ghana at the end of the year, when a UN 
report identiﬁ ed it as a possible exit route for conﬂ ict diamonds from Cote 
d’Ivoire. The EC also contributed to development of tighter control stand-
ards for participating countries, and chaired the working group overseeing 
implementation.

The Commission also launched a study on the linkages between natural 
resources management and conﬂ ict to help improve its ability to address 
these issues in its external relations.

Mine Action/Conventional Disarmament

Policies in the areas of Landmines and Conventional Weapons were pursued 
through a number of instruments. The 2005-2007 Mine Action Multi-annual 
Strategy and Programming was implemented as programmed, and an 
amount of € 17.4 million was committed. Mine action projects were also 
carried out under geographic instruments in pursuit of both geographic 
priorities and thematic strategy objectives. The total value of EC mine ac-
tion under all instruments should be about € 60 million: precise data will 
be collected in 2007. Closer co-ordination with Member States through 
ad hoc meetings, including in the ﬁ eld, has enhanced the overall policy 
coherence of EU action as well as practical co-ordination of activities in 
mine-aﬀ ected countries.

The implementation of the EU Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) 
strategy was the other focus of activities. A large number of projects, both 
regional and national for a total value of € 50 million, was accompanied 
by seminars and initiatives to increase participation of the Commission in 
policy debates, to enhance coherence between CFSP and EC-funded initia-
tives, and to permit a higher level of EC activities in this ﬁ eld. In parallel, the 
Commission implemented Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) 
projects in this area to a total value of € 1.7 million.

The  two  pilot  projects  on  SALW  and  Anti-Personnel  Landmines  and 
Explosive Remnants of War (APL-ERW) were completed with satisfactory 
results. The ﬁ rst, focused on South East Europe, initiated the establishment 
of the legislative, administrative and political capacity to control the supply 
side of SALW. The second produced a sweeping set of 40 studies providing 
guidance and best practices for the various policy segments that contribute 
to the ﬁ ght against the illicit traﬃ  cking, spread and accumulation of SALW, 
and the ﬁ ght against Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War. A pre-
paratory action on SALW and ERW, to a value of € 1.5 million and aimed at 
strengthening the framework controlling illicit traﬃ  cking of SALW in South 
East Europe, was agreed by the Commission.

86  COM(2001) 211 ﬁ nal
87 

“A Concept for European Community Support for Security Sector Reform” SEC(2006) 658

88  EU Concept for Support to Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration, approved 

by the Commission on 14 December 2006 and by the Council on 11 December 2006

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98

3.   Thematic programmes and mainstreaming 
Chapter title

of crosscutting issues

conﬂ ict prevention, crisis management and mine actions, 
including peace facility and drugs

Afghanistan  -  © P.Zaporowski

The Commission acted to mainstream the repealed APL thematic instru-
ment and budget line into the new instruments, strategies and program-
ming. This process of mainstreaming, not yet completed, has been enlarged 
to include explosive remnants of war and small arms.

Crisis Management

The Commission policy on crisis management now focuses on four main 
areas: i) supporting peace, mediation and reconciliation processes around 
the world; ii) promoting post-conﬂ ict stabilisation through implementa-
tion of undertakings agreed in peace processes, re-establishment of ba-
sic state services, demobilisation and reintegration of combatants, and 
reform of security systems; iii) supporting the development of the AU’s 
Africa Peace Facility; and iv) improving support for early recovery from 
natural disasters.

In the course of the year, the Commission used its Rapid Reaction Mechanism 
in support of the peace processes in Sudan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. As 
part of its conﬂ ict prevention work it provided emergency support to fragile 
electoral processes in Madagascar, Mauritania, Guyana and Zimbabwe. The 
Commission also funded a major stabilisation package after the violence 
in East Timor.

EC programmes are now closely dovetailed with initiatives taken in the 
framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, with joint assess-
ment missions and co-ordinated programmes of assistance. Examples of 
this are EU support to the African Union for its peace-keeping operations, 
and stabilisation eﬀ orts such as the security system reform programmes 
in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Stability Instrument

During 2006, at the proposal of the Commission, the European Parliament 
and the Council adopted a major revision of the Community’s crisis re-
sponse instruments. The Rapid Reaction Mechanism will be replaced by 
a new Instrument for Stability combining the speed and ﬂ exibility of the 
RRM with a signiﬁ cant increase in funding (€ 2.06 billion over seven years). 
The new instrument recognises that crisis response measures need to be 
sustained for a relatively long period: emergency response measures will 
now have an initial duration of 18 months, and can be followed up by 
interim response programmes long enough to ensure a smooth transition 
from relief to reconstruction and development.

Peace Facility

The  Commission  continued  to  support  African  eﬀ orts  to  stabilise  the 
continent and build capacities in this area through the Peace Facility for 
Africa. The Facility provided further support to the AU Mission in Sudan 
(AMIS) in Darfur (€ 242 million committed by end-2006), and to the FOMUC 
(Force Multinationale en Centrafrique) peace support mission in the Central 
African Republic (€ 18.9 million committed since the start of the operation). 
Financial backing (€ 5 million) was also oﬀ ered to AMISEC, the African Union 
Mission in the Comoros deployed to stabilise the country during the 2006 
elections.

The Commission also provided support through the Facility to the establish-
ment of the African Standby Force (nearly € 1 million) and worked closely 
with African partners on the assessment of the African Union Commission’s 

and sub-regional organisations’ needs, with a view to further Capacity 
Building support. A programme of € 7.7 million was also drawn up to sup-
port conﬂ ict prevention activities, funded with a contribution from the 
South Africa budget line to Peace Facility objectives. In view of urgent 
ﬁ nancial needs and at the request of the African Union, the Peace Facility 
was replenished with an additional € 50 million, bringing the total allocation 
to € 300 million. In April, the EU agreed to provide the future Peace Facility 
with an amount of € 300 million under the 10th EDF, for an initial three-year 
period (2008-2010). 

International co-operation against drugs

Development co-operation eﬀ orts in the area of drugs are a complement to 
the political and policy dialogue that the EU maintains in the international 
institutions and forums (including the Dublin and Major Donors Groups and 
the Paris Pact Process) and bilaterally with, inter alia, beneﬁ ciary and other 
countries that are key players in the ﬁ ght against drugs.

Although most assistance in the area of drugs is provided on a bilateral 
basis and to a narrow number of narcotics-producing countries, the most 
novel feature in this area during 2006 was the launch – for the second year 
in a row and through funding from the North/South Drugs Budget Line – 
of several inter-regional initiatives that seek to respond to the global and 
multi-country challenges posed by drugs. At the same time, this approach 
allows EC co-operation against drugs to extend to some transit or consum-
ing countries and sub-regions that do not beneﬁ t from the main anti-drugs 
eﬀ orts, as this is not a top co-operation priority.

In this regard, and in compensation for the previous year’s more supply-
oriented focus of the initiatives funded by the North-South Drugs budget line, 
in 2006 the EC launched three inter-regional demand- and harm-reduction 
projects: one emphasising drug prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and 
harm reduction in the Muslim world; another strengthening city-to-city 
partnerships with the Latin America/Caribbean region to combat drug use 
and its eﬀ ects; and a third focused solely on supporting harm reduction in 
Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia.

As traﬃ  ckers seek new routes to bypass controls on more traditional routes, 
Sub-Saharan Africa is becoming an important link in drug traﬃ  cking, which 
has a serious impact on crime, governance and the development of the 
region. To address this challenge, in 2006 the EC launched the ﬁ rst interna-
tional initiative ever to address the emerging problem of drug traﬃ  cking 
between West Africa on one side and Latin America and the Caribbean on 
the other. In order to inﬂ uence the policy direction of the Paris Pact Process, 
which helps coordinate international eﬀ orts along the heroin route, the 
EC has become the major donor behind this initiative. Two other policy-
oriented and global projects are support for an NGO Forum on Drugs and 
the ﬁ nancing of an Expert Group for a more evidence-based assessment 
of the international community’s achievements since the Special Session 
of the UN General Assembly on Drugs in 1998.

At the bilateral level, Afghanistan and the Andean region continue to be 
the major beneﬁ ciaries of EC assistance in the area of drugs. While most of 
the funding in these regions has been focusing – and will continue to focus 
under the 2007-13 ﬁ nancial perspectives – on alternative development and 
rural reconstruction, funding for the Andean region also includes a project 

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food security

3.   Thematic programmes and mainstreaming 
Chapter title

of crosscutting issues

99

to combat synthetic drugs. In Afghanistan the EC also contributes to a Police 
Trust Fund and to a Counter-Narcotics Trust Fund. A border control project 
on the Afghan-Tajik frontier has also been launched, while a parallel project 
on Afghanistan’s frontier with Iran is ongoing. 

Eﬀ orts mostly focused on drug supply control, but with demand reduc-
tion  components,  continue  under  three  regional  programmes  in  the 
former  Soviet  Union:  BUMAD  (Belarus,  Ukraine,  Moldova  Anti-Drugs), 
SCAD (Southern Caucasus Anti-Drug) and CADAP (Central Asia Drug Action 
Programme). Some components of the ongoing BOMCA project (Border 
Management for Central Asia) also have a direct impact in reducing drug 
traﬃ  cking. In contrast, anti-drugs funding made available recently under 
the new regional programme for the Caribbean will be devoted exclusively 
to addressing drug-demand concerns.

Market stall. Sudan  -  © EC

3.8 

Food security

Despite progress in reducing hunger at the global level, the MDG1 target 
remains elusive in Sub-Saharan Africa, where persistent food insecurity is 
compounded by conﬂ icts, poor governance, adverse climatic conditions 
and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. These add to chronic poverty which is still 
overwhelmingly rural, despite the growing phenomenon of urban food 
insecurity, particularly in Latin America and Asia.

A key challenge in meeting food security objectives has emerged in recent 
years in situations of crisis, particularly those of a complex and protracted 
nature, as well as in situations of political and climatic instability. A new 
Communication to the Council and the European Parliament entitled “A 
thematic strategy for food security – Advancing the food security agenda 
to achieve the MDG” 89 recognises the need for a comprehensive EC ap-
proach to state fragility and innovative food security responses at macro, 
meso and micro levels. 

In the year under review, hunger hotspots of particular concern were in 
Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for 16 of the 18 countries throughout 
the world with a percentage of undernourished90 population above 35 and 
a higher rate of chronic malnutrition91. EC response in 2006 was substantial 
(€ 429.5 million through the Food Security budget line plus humanitarian 
food aid through ECHO and long-term assistance through geographic 
instruments). The year was characterised by serious food security degra-
dation in the Horn of Africa, while the situation improved slightly in the 
Sahel and Southern African regions, which beneﬁ ted from more favourable 
weather conditions. In Eastern and Southern Africa, the number of food-
insecure people is still very high, despite an improvement in the percentage 
of undernourished (from 46 and 48% respectively down to 40% in recent 
years). Although the region is exposed to climatic hazards, with serious 
drought and ﬂ oods in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia this year, political turmoil 
and weak agricultural policies have largely contributed to the food crises 
(Somalia, Sudan). Constant tribal conﬂ icts have restricted community access 
to land, pasture, ﬁ shing grounds and markets. Trade – from sorghum to 
livestock – and in particular border trade is a key aspect of food security.

In most of the countries concerned (Eritrea, Sudan, and Ethiopia), food 
security is now a focal sector for the new programming cycle 2007-2013 or 
an area of intervention within a multi-sectoral approach (Somalia). Support 
programmes on food security reached more than € 130 million this year 
and will remain high in the near future. Continued food aid to meet acute 
needs is a humanitarian necessity, but the EC ensures that such assistance 
is appropriate to identiﬁ ed needs and does not undermine the longer-term 
coping mechanisms of the targeted population. Other instruments in situa-
tions of crises, such as re-stocking of herds, distributing seeds and tools, and 
improving animal health, also contribute to long-term food security.

89  COM (2006) 21
90  Undernourishment: describes the status of people whose food intake does not include 
enough calories (energy) to meet minimum physiological needs (less than an average 
of 2 200 kg/calories food intake)

91  Malnutrition: deﬁ ned as a state in which the physical function of an individual is im-
paired to the point where he or she can no longer maintain natural bodily capacities 
such as growth, pregnancy, lactation, learning abilities, physical work and resisting and 
recovering from disease. Malnutrition is measured not by how much food is eaten but 
by physical measurements of the body - weight or height - and age

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3.   Thematic programmes and mainstreaming 
Chapter title

of crosscutting issues

sugar accompanying measures

Particular attention has been paid to the complex set of factors that con-
tribute to food insecurity in Southern Africa, e.g. the inter-linkages between 
natural calamities such as droughts, pandemics such as HIV/AIDS, and man-
made disasters such as conﬂ icts and the consequences of poor governance. 
EC assistance on food security in this region (Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, 
Zambia and Zimbabwe) reached € 80.0 million in 2005 and 2006.

Over the last decade, Central Africa is the region where food insecurity has 
deteriorated most (malnutrition rate up from 36 to 55%), in particular due to 
conﬂ ict and political instability (e.g. in the DRC). In Western Africa, chronic 
poverty and malnutrition resulting in high vulnerability are prevalent in the 
Sahel. Both regions beneﬁ ted in 2006 from substantial support on food 
security (about € 34 and € 31 million respectively).

Chronic food insecurity in Asia and Latin America appears to be more close-
ly linked with widespread inequality and economic or political crises. Access 
to natural resources, including land, and/or capital is a main concern. South 
Asia shows the highest food insecurity rates on the continent (558 million 
people in Asia are undernourished). Chronic poverty is the root cause of 
hunger in Bangladesh, where one-third of the population is undernourished 
and over 50% of children are underweight. Other main recipients under this 
instrument in Asia include Afghanistan and DPRK (North Korea). In Latin 
and Central America and the Caribbean, food insecurity aﬀ ects particular 
countries, e.g. Bolivia (21% malnourished), Nicaragua (27%) and Haiti (47%). 
In total, EC-funded food security programmes for Latin America and Asia 
amounted to € 14.8 million and € 101 million respectively.

Orao boy in traditional dress. Education project. Bangladesh  -  © S. H. Suza

3.9 

 Sugar 
accompanying 
measures

The reform of the EC sugar regime was agreed by the Council in November 
2005 and entered into force in July 2006. The reduction of the EU price 
by 36% over the period 2006-2007 to 2009-2010 will require the 18 ACP 
countries traditionally exporting sugar to the EU (namely the signatories to 
the Sugar Protocol) to adjust to these new market conditions. For some of 
them, the challenge is major, as their sugar sector plays an important role 
in their economy, and relies heavily on the EU market.

In  2005,  the  Commission  presented  a  proposal  to  establish  accompany-
ing measures to help these countries in their adaptation process. The two 
legal bases for these measures, which oﬀ er long-term support from 2006 
to 2013, were adopted by the Parliament and the Council92. A budget of 
€ 40 million  was  approved  for  these  measures  for  2006,  whereas  the 
Development Co-operation Instrument (DCI) envisages € 1 244 million for 
this purpose for 2007-13. This budget is distributed among the beneﬁ ciary 
countries according to their needs, depending on the level of impact of the 
reform and the importance of the sector in their economies.

Country-speciﬁ c assistance covers measures aimed at strengthening the 
competitiveness of the sugar sector, where this is a sustainable process, 
at supporting the development of alternative activities, or at mitigating 
broader impacts, in particular social and environmental ones. Thirteen 
countries93 established an adaptation strategy in 2006. Some took the deci-
sion to wind up the sugar sector (for example St Kitts), others to reduce the 
number of mills (Mauritius or Jamaica), and yet others aim at economies of 
scale through expansion (for example Guyana and several southern African 
countries). Diversiﬁ cation is less developed in most countries’ strategies, 
although diversiﬁ cation within sugarcane products, in particular electricity 
and ethanol, is being considered or under analysis by many of them.

On the basis of their adaptation measures, the Commission adopted sup-
port strategies for these countries for the 2006-13 period, as well as a ﬁ nanc-
ing decision for actions funded by the 2006 Budget. Under the new legal 
basis for the accompanying measures from 2007 onwards (the DCI), further 
programming work will be necessary. Five of the 18 eligible countries94 have 
not yet established their own strategic choices in terms of adaptation to 
the sugar reform. The EC has provided them with technical assistance for 
this purpose, so that they can fully beneﬁ t from the support scheme from 
2007 onwards.

92  For 2006 regulation (EC) No 266/2006, and for 2007-13, the Development Co-operation 

94  Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Trinidad and Tobago

Instrument (DCI)

93  Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Fiji, Barbados, 

Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis

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outlook 2007

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Chapter title

of crosscutting issues

101

Horticultural project. Nicaragua  -  © EC Delegation Nicaragua

Under  the  DCI,  the  programmes  are:  Investing  in  People  (covering 
health, education and other aspects of human and social development), 
Environment and sustainable management of natural resources including 
energy, Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development, and Food 
Security. The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights will 
translate into a separate programming document that is self-standing but 
complementary to other programmes.

3.10 

Outlook 2007

Complementary to the main ﬁ nancial instruments that exist for external 
action, such as the European Development Fund and the co-operation pro-
grammes for each region or country, a number of thematic programmes en-
able the EC to ﬁ nance activities on speciﬁ c strategic themes and to fulﬁ l the 
EU’s commitment to the Millennium Development Goals and the promo-
tion of crosscutting issues. Measures ﬁ nanced under thematic programmes 
may either reinforce activities funded under geographic programmes or 
add value through activities in other areas95. At the international level, the-
matic programmes provide the Commission with a highly visible and co-
ordinated approach to the multilateral actors and instruments involved in 
key development issues like human rights, the environment, health, and 
food security. 

Currently, discussions are underway on the four-year multi-annual strate-
gies for the thematic programmes in the context of the next Financial 
Perspectives 2007–2013. The legal bases, in the form of the Development Co-
operation Instrument and the separate European Instrument for Democracy 
and Human Rights, provide a harmonised framework for programming and 
implementation. In 2006 the thematic programmes managed by EuropeAid 
were based on 13 diﬀ erent regulations and 10 programming documents, 
whereas in 2007 there will only be two regulations (DCI and EIDHR) and six 
programming documents, one for each of the new programmes. 

Table 28 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget 
managed by EuropeAid in 2006

Commitments

Payments

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

207 M€ ; 20%

281 M€ ; 27%

126 M€ ; 16%

291 M€ ; 38%

0%
35 M€ ; 3%

302 M€ ; 29%

232 M€ ; 22%

264 M€ ; 34%

3 M€ ; 0%

26 M€ ; 3%

65 M€ ; 8%

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only)

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

95  Development Co-operation Instrument, art 11

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102

3.   Thematic programmes and mainstreaming 
Chapter title

of crosscutting issues

outlook 2007
outlook 2007

Table 29 // Breakdown by sector of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget managed by EuropeAid
Commitments 2002-2006
in € million

1 200

1 000

800

600

400

200

0

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Others - including emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only)

Table 30 // External aid ﬁ nanced on the General Commission Budget managed by EuropeAid 2000-2006

in € million

Commitments
Payments

2000

836
709

2001

929
771

2002

949
815

2003

942
851

2004

1 001
789

2005

1 055
932

2006

1 056
774

Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA (EuropeAid only)

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3.   Thematic programmes and mainstreaming 
Chapter title

of crosscutting issues

103

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  Fea -
ture
a
r
t
i
c
l
e
s

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106

4.  Feature articles

supporting an innovative partnership: the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, 
Tuberculosis and Malaria. The progress made so far

of resources was recognised by G8 leaders at their meeting in Okinawa 
in 2000 and by African leaders at a Summit in Abuja in April 2001. At the 
Abuja meeting, United Nations Secretary General Koﬁ  Annan called for the 
creation of a Global Fund “to bring about a quantum leap in the scale of 
resources available”97. In June 2001 the United Nations General Assembly 
Special Session on AIDS concluded with a commitment to create such a 
fund, which the G8 leaders endorsed and helped ﬁ nance at their Genoa 
meeting in July 2001. In January 2002, the Secretariat for the Global Fund 
to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) was established 
and operations commenced.

A new ﬁ nancing mechanism

The purpose of the Global Fund is deﬁ ned as “to attract, manage and dis-
burse additional resources through a new public/private partnership that 
will make a sustainable and signiﬁ cant contribution to the reduction of 
infections, illness and death, thereby mitigating the impact caused by HIV/
AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in countries in need, and contributing to 
poverty reduction as part of the Millennium Development Goals” 98.

The Global Fund was from the onset deﬁ ned as a purely ﬁ nancing mecha-
nism, and not as an implementing agency. The ambition was not to set 
up a new vertical structure, to compete with multilateral agencies such 
as UNAIDS and WHO, or to absorb other sources of funding, but simply 
to focus on mobilising and channelling additional resources as quickly as 
possible and with minimal overhead.

The Global Fund distinguishes itself by a range of innovative characteristics, 
which are fully in line with the principles embodied in the policy framework 
of the Commission.

Basic health unit. Mauritania  -  © EC Delegation Mauritania

4.1 
Supporting an 
innovative partnership: 
the Global Fund to Fight 
AIDS, Tuberculosis 
and Malaria. 
The progress made so far

Introduction

With six million people dying from AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria every 
year, the three poverty-related diseases remain among the most potent 
threats to human security globally. HIV/AIDS continues to expand in every 
region of the world. In 2006, 4.3 million people became newly infected, 
bringing the number of people living with HIV to a staggering total of 
39.5 million people – with two-thirds (63  %) living in sub-Saharan Africa96. 
Young people in their most productive age, and increasingly women, are 
particular aﬀ ected.

As  for  TB,  the  emergence  of  extensively  drug-resistant  strains  in  2006 
demonstrated the latest dangerous turn in the development of this classic 
communicable disease, which continues to have a high death toll and to 
put a major strain on the health care systems and economies of the most 
aﬀ ected regions: Africa, South-East Asia and Western Paciﬁ c. Nearly one 
million children die from malaria every year, most of them in Africa. Global 
climate change threatens to bring about a resurgence of the disease in 
areas of the world where it had long vanished.

These three diseases, individually and collectively in their deadly synergy 
as dual or triple infections, constitute major barriers to the attainment of 
the internationally agreed development goals. They are at the same time 
often a consequence and a cause of poverty. The three diseases also have 
in common that they are both preventable and treatable. TB and malaria 
can be eﬀ ectively cured, and HIV/AIDS has in the past decade changed from 
a fatal disease to a manageable chronic disease for those who have access 
to eﬀ ective antiretroviral treatment. While progress has been made in con-
fronting the three diseases, eﬀ orts have been too small in scale, short-term 
and fragmented, and have thus failed to make a lasting impact.

The signiﬁ cance of these three poverty-related diseases was recognised 
by their inclusion in the Millennium Development Goals agreed by all the 
world’s countries, the European Union and leading development institu-
tions. The MDGs set speciﬁ c targets for combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and 
other communicable diseases by 2015. The need for a massive increase 

96  AIDS epidemic update 2006, page 3
97  Press Release SG/SM/7779/Rev.1

98  The Framework Document of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, 

page 1

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supporting an innovative partnership: the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, 
Tuberculosis and Malaria. The progress made so far

4.  Feature articles

107

Project for internally displaced persons. Philippines  -  © Citizen’s Disaster Response Center

Table 31 // Individual donors and constituencies to the Global Fund 
Contributions 2003-2006
Total US$ 6 billion

7%

29%

1% 4%

5%

7%

12%

8%

8%

6%

14%

.  Germany

.  France

.  Italy

.  European Commission

.  United Kingdom

.  Other EU Member States

.  U.S.

.  Japan

.  Canada

.  Other DAC

.  Private sector

Financial support from the Global Fund is country demand-driven, honour-
ing principles of country ownership and leadership. Its funding decisions, 
through its independent Technical Review Panel, are based on the quality 
of the proposals and increasingly on past performance, leaving the priori-
ties and design of the programmes to country partners represented in the 
Country Co-ordinating Mechanisms. These bring together representatives 
of governments, people living with the three diseases, civil society organisa-
tions and the private sector, reﬂ ecting the ambition to encourage new and 
innovative partnerships. The same ambition is apparent in the composition 
of the Board of the Global Fund, which includes representatives of donor 
and recipient governments, non-governmental organisations, the private 
sector and aﬀ ected communities, along with key international develop-
ment partners including WHO, UNAIDS and the World Bank.

While the bulk of ﬁ nancial support comes from governments, the Global 
Fund has recently demonstrated its ability to attract additional resources 
from the private sector. In August 2006, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 
made a US$ 500 million commitment, providing a substantial boost to the 
size and predictability of the Global Fund’s income. Other initiatives include 
Product(RED) launched by Bono, Bobby Shriver and leading private corpora-
tions to harness the power of corporate marketing and consumer spending 
to beneﬁ t the Global Fund and its beneﬁ ciaries. By January 2007 this initiative 
had channelled a total of US$ 11 303 926 to the Global Fund.

The Global Fund ensures accountability by recipients of the grants through 
performance-based funding, linking resources to the achievement of clear, 
measurable and sustainable results. This principle is not new, but the Global 
Fund is pioneering practical systems to implement this approach on a large 
scale and in a way that balances eﬃ  ciency and the need for accountability.

The role and contribution of the European Union in support of the 
Global Fund

Honouring its MDG commitments, the European Union is increasingly en-
gaged in combating poverty-related diseases in the context of poverty 
reduction. Current actions are guided by the 2004 Communication of the 
Commission on “A Coherent European Policy Framework for External Action 
to Confront HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis” 99, implemented through 
the European Programme for Action to Confront HIV/AIDS, Malaria and 
Tuberculosis through External Action (2007-2011)100. The ﬁ ght against HIV/
AIDS is also centrally positioned as a crosscutting issue in the European 
Consensus on Development. A vast array of instruments and channels of 
ﬁ nancing is being deployed, in particular through bilateral programmes 
ﬁ nanced by the EC Budget and through the European Development Fund, 
reaching an approximate € 245 million a year, excluding general budget 
support101.

In recognition of the urgent need to generate additional public and private 
resources to confront the three diseases, the Commission became a founding 
member of the Global Fund during its inception in 2001-2002. Subsequently 
the EU has played a pivotal and visible role in the development of this new 
and innovative part of the international ﬁ nancing architecture, highlighting 
its strong commitment to combating the three diseases.

Collectively the Commission and the EU Member States have become the 
largest contributors to the Global Fund, providing 53 % of the cash contribu-
tions in the period 2003-2006. With the weight and importance of Europe 
as an international partner in development, its political support has been 
critical to the successful development and operation of the Global Fund, 

99  COM(2004) 726
100  COM(2005) 179

101  Principles for an EU contribution to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS; Tuberculosis 
and Malaria with a view to the 2006-2007 Replenishment Process, Commission Staﬀ  
Working Document, SEC (2005) 374, page 6

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108

4.  Feature articles

supporting an innovative partnership: the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, 
Tuberculosis and Malaria. The progress made so far

Rural health centre. Mauritania  -  © EC Delegation Mauritania

for example in its eﬀ orts to ensure more predictable funding ﬂ ows through 
the replenishment process. The European Union has vigorously defended 
and maintained the focus of the Global Fund in supporting evidence-based 
approaches to the three diseases. In March 2006, the EU’s political inﬂ uence 
was consolidated through the representative of the Commission becoming 
Vice-Chair of the Board of the Global Fund. Furthermore, the EC and several 
Member States are involved in the four committees reporting to the Board.

Making impact

The impetus generated by establishment of the Global Fund created a new 
wave of enthusiasm and vigour in eﬀ orts to confront the three diseases 
at country level, but similarly gave rise to expressions of concern over the 
Global Fund itself and the way it operates.

Yet the Global Fund has already demonstrated its added value. By November 
2006, it had raised total assets, including ﬁ rm pledges and cash contribu-
tions, of US$ 9.6 billion, whereas in 2001 the total international commitments 
for the ﬁ ght against the three diseases amounted to less than US$ 1 billion. 
By end-2006, projects for a total of US$ 6.9 billion had been approved in 
support of country programmes in all but six low and lower-middle income 
countries in the world as well as in 23 upper-middle income countries 
with high or rapidly growing burdens of the diseases. The majority of the 

ﬁ nancing was granted to low-income countries (67 %), sub-Saharan Africa 
(57 %), and the ﬁ ght against AIDS (56 %)102.

Equally important, the steep increase in ﬁ nancing is making a real diﬀ erence 
for the individuals and communities in need, as exempliﬁ ed by the follow-
ing ﬁ gures: in June 2006, grants from the Global Fund gave 544 000 people 
access to life-saving antiretroviral treatment, brought 1.43 million people 
with TB onto the eﬀ ective DOTS treatment (Directly Observed Treatment, 
Short course), and provided treatment for malaria for 7.3 million people. 
Moreover 5.7 million people gained access to HIV counselling and test-
ing, and community outreach for HIV prevention was made available to 
12 million. 11.3 million insecticide-treated bed nets were supplied to protect 
against malaria, 560 000 children orphaned by the three diseases received 
basic care and support, and 1.5 million service deliverers were trained in 
prevention, treatment, care and support. The number of people receiving 
services is doubling every year, demonstrating the Global Fund’s contribu-
tion to an unprecedented and rapid buildup.103

In the inception phase of the Global Fund, concerns were expressed over 
the perceived lack of absorption capacity of recipient countries, with the 
principle of performance-based funding penalising the poor and fragile 
states in most need. However, recipients have by and large demonstrated 
surprisingly strong performance. 75 % of the 177 grants which entered the 

Table 32 // Global Fund Assets 2001-2006
in $ billion

Total assets1

9.6

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

1 Includes both contributions paid into the Global Funds trustee account and pledges 
for subsequent years through 2008 

.  Outstanding ﬁrm pledges

.  Contributions paid

102  Report of the Executive Director, Fourteenth Board Meeting of the Global Fund to Fight 

103  Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria: Investing in Impact, Mid-Year Results Report 

AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

2006, pp 11-12

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Tuberculosis and Malaria. The progress made so far

4.  Feature articles

109

Road sign by the Chad Cameroon border 

 -   © EC Delegation Chad

review for phase two of grant agreements, met or only fell just short of their 
programmatic targets. Only 3 % demonstrated unacceptable performance. 
In total, these grants had achieved, on average, 92.6 % of their targets for the 
ten most important services. Studies show that the performance of grants 
made to low-income countries or fragile states does not diﬀ er signiﬁ cantly 
from grants to middle-income countries or more stable states.

Challenges and ways forward

In  spite  of  the  successful  results  of  the  Global  Fund  –  and  to  some 
extent due to its success – a wide range of challenges has emerged. While 
the establishment and operations of the Global Fund have prompted an 
array of concerns, few of these issues existed before it was created. In many 
cases the emergence of the Global Fund has merely served to accentuate 
problems and has therefore also reinforced eﬀ orts to address and solve 
them. The European Union, both the Commission and the Member States, 
has been in the forefront of eﬀ orts to identify and address constraints, 
bottlenecks and issues arising from Global Fund operations.

The arrival of a new player such as the Global Fund with its massive ﬁ nancial 
inﬂ ow has, in the overall context of increased aid volumes, heightened 
the need to address fragmentation and duplication of eﬀ ort at country 
level, articulated in the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid eﬀ ective-
ness104. Similar principles were articulated in the so-called “Three Ones” 
principles in support of country ownership and leadership of responses 
to HIV/AIDS105.

The Global Fund has fully endorsed these principles and, to a great extent, 
applied them in its operations, although tensions and frictions have been 
apparent in some areas. In a number of countries the Global Fund require-
ment of Country Co-ordinating Mechanisms led to duplication with existing 
national AIDS co-ordination committees, undermining the authority and 
decision-making power of both. Gradually, however, countries are merging 
their duplicate mechanisms into one, often incorporating the better parts 
of both, for example with a stronger civil society involvement as encour-
aged by the Global Fund.

While the principles of the Global Fund explicitly express respect for country-
led processes on the formulation and implementation of programmes, 
the reality of unpredictable Global Fund project rounds has been out of 
sync with national programming cycles. Combined with a lack of capacity 
in many countries for developing annual, costed operational plans, this 
renders harmonisation and alignment diﬃ  cult. The situation may improve 
with the development of more stable and predictable resources through 
the replenishment process, and with eﬀ orts to strengthen country capacity 
on the elaboration of operational plans.

The Global Fund also raises concerns about its vertical approach through 
the strong focus on the three diseases, whereas the MDGs for example 

were formulated on the understanding that all poverty-related issues are 
interconnected and demand crosscutting solutions. These concerns have 
been highlighted by the situation in some countries, where people living 
with HIV have beneﬁ ted from antiretroviral treatment, but lack access to 
food and basic health services. Similarly, the inﬂ ow of resources has under-
lined the urgent need for long-term development and reforms of health 
systems in many countries. 

These are legitimate concerns and issues, but it may not be opportune to 
expect the Global Fund to broaden its mandate to tackle these problems, 
or to develop itself into another broad-based implementing agency. On the 
contrary, support from the Global Fund may itself serve as the impulse for 
improvements, catalysing, inspiring and triggering eﬀ orts in other areas.

The experience of Mozambique, where the Global Fund is piloting pooling 
of its funds through its participation in a Sector Wide Approach and entry 
into Mozambique’s common health fund, may represent a way forward in 
this respect, and should be followed closely.

In spite of the signiﬁ cant progress made by the Global Fund and other 
donors in increasing the volume of ﬁ nancing for the three diseases, their 
continued proliferation shows that the response to HIV/AIDS, malaria and 
TB remains under-funded. The same recognition underlined the commit-
ments from the G8 Summit in Gleneagles mid-2005, the World Summit 
2005 and the recent 2006 High Level Meeting on AIDS: to help countries 
in scaling up towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care 
and support in 2010. In 2007, the projected annual resource gap for all three 
diseases is expected to reach US$ 14.7 billion106, and this will continue to 
grow in the years to come.

Table 33 // AIDS Resource Needs107

US$ billion

2006

2007

2008

Total for 
2006-2008*

Prevention
Treatment 
and care
Orphans and 
vulnerable 
children

Programme 
costs
Human 
Resources
Total

8.4

3.0

1.6

1.5 

0.4

14.9

10.0

4.0

2.1

1.4

0.6

18.1

11.4

5.3

2.7

1.8

0.9

22.1

29.8

12.3

6.4

4.6

1.9

55.1

*  The totals for 2006-2008 have been rounded to the ﬁ rst decimal place with the result 
that there may be small diﬀ erences with the ﬁ gures for subtotals in the text because 
of rounding 

104  Paris Declaration on Aid Eﬀ ectiveness, High Level Forum, Paris, 28 February-2 March 

106  The Global Fund, Addressing HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis: The Resource Needs 

2005

105  The principles of the “Three Ones” were agreed at a high-level meeting in Washington, 
April 2004. The “Three Ones” are i) one agreed AIDS action framework that provides the 
basis for co-ordinating the work of all partners, ii) one single national AIDS co-ordinating 
authority with a broad-based multi-sectoral mandate, iii) one agreed AIDS country-level 
monitoring and evaluation system

of the Global Fund 2005-2007, 2005

107  Resource needs for an expanded response to AIDS in low- and middle-income countries, 

UNAIDS 2006, page 3

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The resource gap and the need to ensure predictable and sustainable ﬁ -
nancing of country responses to the three diseases will, along with increased 
domestic funding, require continued and longer-term commitments by 
Europe and other donor governments. Similarly, the momentum in mo-
bilising private funds must be maintained. New innovative mechanisms 
– such as the international drug purchase facility UNITAID, the International 
Finance Facility (IFF), the Airline Solidarity Contribution and debt conver-
sion – should be explored and developed further.

As mentioned earlier, the performance of Global Fund grant recipients has 
been strong, to some surprisingly so. However, in the context of the new 
and ambitious goals for scaling up towards universal access, there is urgent 
need to build sustainable local capacity in order to enhance the scale, pace 
and quality of implementation and attract further investments.

This is another area falling beyond the mandate of the Global Fund as a pure 
ﬁ nancing mechanism. Along with the United Nations, the EU has already 
taken a number of complementary initiatives to increase access to technical 
capacity and support capacity-building at country level. Most recently, the 
Commission and UNAIDS initiated a strategic partnership to strengthen 
country capacity for implementation of Global Fund grants.

Conclusions

Four years into the life of the Global Fund, it is evident that grants made, 
along with other international ﬁ nancing initiatives, have fundamentally 
changed the scale of response to the three diseases at country level. “Fund 
the Fund” is the clear message from people and communities aﬀ ected by 
the three diseases. It is also obvious that the Global Fund in isolation cannot 
make the money work: it has to build on and create partnerships with a wide 
range of international development partners, and explore how its support 
can best be integrated into and strengthen broader development work. 
The European Union, the United Nations and other partners have crucial 
roles to play in supporting the Global Fund in the broader development 
context of the MDGs.

Crossing the river. Papua New Guinea  -  © EC

4.2 

Migration

Introduction

In recent years increasing attention has been paid to international migration, 
to its management and to its impact on economic and social develop-
ment in the countries of origin of migrants or countries of transit, as well 
as in their countries of residence – not least in the context of demographic 
change, ageing societies and skill shortages in the industrialised world, and 
strong population growth combined with often insuﬃ  cient job creation 
potential, low career prospects and persistently high unemployment in 
the developing world.

The consequences of migration for the migrants themselves, their rights 
and their welfare, have also become an important concern for the inter-
national community. This has been reﬂ ected at the UN level: international 
migration and its links with development was one of the main subjects ad-
dressed during the 1994 Cairo Conference on Population and Development 
and, in the aftermath of the Conference, the issue has been tackled on 
various occasions within the UN framework, notably the Economic and 
Social Council. More recently, in September 2006, a High Level Dialogue 
took place at the UN, dealing speciﬁ cally with the issue of migration and 
development. 

International migration is an expression of the trend towards globalisation. 
The European Union is progressively developing an EU policy on immigra-
tion and asylum, as common challenges call for common responses. The EC 
has also become an important actor in the global debate on international 
migration, not least because EU immigration policy includes a signiﬁ cant 
external dimension. Within this framework the Commission, represent-
ing the European Community, has started a comprehensive dialogue on 
migration-related issues with a broad range of third countries and regional 
organisations, covering such issues as the linkages between migration and 
development, labour migration, the ﬁ ght against illegal immigration and 
human traﬃ  cking, and the strengthening of protection for asylum seekers 
and refugees.

In addition, the EC is providing ﬁ nancial assistance to a number of non-EU 
countries to help them increase their capacity to manage international 
migration, notably in the framework of the AENEAS funding programme108 
(which will be superseded by a new thematic programme on migration and 
asylum from 2007). In partnership with the countries concerned, it is also 
working towards integrating migration concerns within its geographical 
co-operation and development programmes, addressing the root causes of 
emigration, notably through an external programme for human and social 
development109. Successful implementation depends on close collabora-
tion with Member States, because only by working together and pooling 
resources together can tangible results be achieved. 

108  Regulation (EC) No 491/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council of 10 March 
2004 establishing a programme for ﬁ nancial and technical assistance to third countries 
in the areas of migration and asylum (AENEAS)

109  “Investing in people: Communication on the thematic programme for human and social 
development and the ﬁ nancial perspectives for 2007-2013” - COM(2006) 18 ﬁ nal of 25 January 
2006

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111

Beneﬁ ciaries of rural development project. Angola  -  © Mathieu Bousquet

Capacity-building underpins this political dialogue. Third countries have 
to deﬁ ne common objectives and working arrangements between their 
national administrations and all stakeholders, including civil society, to re-
spond to the challenges of migration. They can be assisted in a process that 
is designed to result in national migration strategies and action plans with 
a clear timeframe and related budgetary planning. 

Co-operation in the area of migration since the turn of the 21st century has 
been mainly with the EU’s eastern and southern neighbours, but working 
with African states and regional organisations is now a priority for the EC, 
as conﬁ rmed by European Council Conclusions in December 2005 and 
December 2006. The objective is to increase dialogue and co-operation 
between the EU and Africa111 on a broad range of migratory issues, and to 
bring together the countries of origin, transit and destination, in particular 
those along given ‘migration routes’.

The Commission supported and participated in the Rabat Conference on 
Migration and Development which took place in July 2006 at the initiative 
of Morocco, Spain and France. This conference provided a unique oppor-
tunity to give positive expression to initiatives tailored to speciﬁ c migratory 
routes. The EU-Africa Ministerial Conference on Migration and Development 
hosted by Libya on 22-23 November 2006 also identiﬁ ed priorities for co-
operation and adopted an ambitious declaration that paves the way for 
joint action between Africa and the EU at the continental, regional and 
national levels on such issues as the ﬁ ght against illegal migration to fa-
cilitation of regular movements of people and action to address the root 
causes of migration.

In December 2006 the Commission presented a Communication entitled 
“The Global Approach to migration one year on: towards a comprehensive 
European migration policy”112 which reports on progress in implementing 
the ﬁ rst phase of the Global Approach and the priority actions focusing 
on Africa and the Mediterranean. It also proposes ways to make the EU’s 
approach truly comprehensive and suggests including other policy areas 
that were not part of the December 2005 Global Approach, such as legal 
migration and integration measures.

The Commission proposes many additional initiatives to make the partnership 
with third countries more speciﬁ c. These include the creation of co-operation 
platforms; elaboration with developing countries of the migration proﬁ les 
needed to develop measures in the ﬁ eld of migration and development; 
establishment of migration support teams to provide assistance to African 
states; promotion of the link between policy and research on migration; 
twinning measures; mobility packages; creation of labour migration centres; 
implementation of voluntary return programmes, and so on.

The EU is also committed to ensuring that the fundamental rights of mi-
grants and refugees are respected and that migrants in host societies are 
able to beneﬁ t from a mutual process of adaptation and integration. It sup-
ports the full implementation of UN conventions in the areas of the ﬁ ght 
against intolerance, promotion of cultural diversity in society and, more 
generally, all UN initiatives aimed at nurturing a human rights culture based 
on mutual respect and understanding between civilisations.

Co-operation with UNHCR stands out as an example of how to join forces 
to drive forward the protection agenda for one of the most vulnerable 
groups of migrants, namely refugees. EC-UNHCR co-operation on non-
crisis assistance for refugee protection has been provided in Central Asia, 
Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, and recently also started in North Africa 
within a particularly challenging political context. This tailor-made assist-
ance can include the review of legislation, training, refurbishment of open 
reception centres for asylum seekers, and co-operation with civil society 
organisations. 

Partnerships for a shared responsibility

The EU believes that managing migration is a shared responsibility of the 
countries of origin, transit and destination, with the distinction between 
these three categories of countries becoming increasingly blurred. Shared 
responsibility calls for enhanced co-operation between States to manage 
migration, taking into account the interests and concerns of all involved. The 
Commission believes that such mechanisms oﬀ er a ﬂ exible, non-binding 
framework to identify solutions to shared challenges, from ﬁ ghting traf-
ﬁ cking in human beings to channelling migrants’ remittances, fostering 
‘brain gain’ and ‘brain circulation’, managing labour migration better, and 
ensuring sustainable refugee protection and asylum. 

The EU has developed a dialogue on migration-related issues within the 
framework of its broader co-operation agreements with various countries 
and regions of the world. The European Neighbourhood Policy, which covers 
countries in Eastern Europe, the Southern Caucasus and the Mediterranean, 
is a case in point: migration in all its dimensions has been an issue with 
many of these countries for years now, and this is reﬂ ected in the political 
dialogues with these countries. It also translates into concrete orientations 
for co-operation in the context of the Neighbourhood Action Plans.

Other dialogue processes are underway with partners in Africa, Asia, Latin 
America and the Caribbean110. Such dialogues typically cover a broad range 
of issues, for example the linkages between migration and development, 
integration and treatment of migrants in their countries of destination, 
economic migration, the ﬁ ght against illegal migration and traﬃ  cking in 
human beings, the situation of asylum seekers and refugees, the impact 
of refugee situations on development and, more generally, joint eﬀ orts 
to manage economic migration. They can lead to EU assistance through 
thematic and country-speciﬁ c programmes, helping partner countries build 
their capacity to manage migration ﬂ ows and maximise the positive link-
ages between migration and development.

110  A parallel dialogue is also underway with the ACP (African, Caribbean and Paciﬁ c) 

111 

grouping as such

‘Global  Approach  to  Migration:  Priority  action  focusing  on  Africa  and  the 
Mediterranean’,  Presidency  Conclusions,  European  Council,  Brussels,  15  and  16 
December 2005

112  COM(2006) 735 ﬁ nal

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national level is EC support given for co-operation between the Moroccan 
and Spanish local authorities in regulating existing seasonal migration pat-
terns to, for example, the strawberry ﬁ elds of southern Spain. Here again, 
the Moroccan and Spanish authorities beneﬁ t from the legal migration of 
these seasonal labourers, while the migrants themselves are less exposed 
to abuse. 

In some cases economic migration to developed countries can create prob-
lems for the countries of origin by causing human resource bottlenecks in 
speciﬁ c sectors or occupations. The Commission has started to identify 
possible responses, in particular mechanisms to discipline recruitment and 
promote ethical recruitment practices, monitoring mechanisms and sup-
port to partnerships between institutions in EU Member States and in the 
developing countries: it has made speciﬁ c proposals regarding the health 
care sector in a separate Communication115. Dealing with brain drain is-
sues and mitigating skills losses is one of the topics in the dialogue on 
migration-related issues between the EC and the African Union, as well 
as with a number of African countries, on the basis of article 13 of the 
Cotonou Agreement.

Economic migration is also a South-South reality, as it frequently applies 
between developing countries, notably in the framework of regional inte-
gration initiatives that the EU actively supports. While it can bring signiﬁ cant 
beneﬁ ts, such migration raises issues of administrative capacity in develop-
ing countries that demand adequate support.

Directly related activities include joint eﬀ orts to strengthen the social di-
mension of globalisation, foster employment, monitor the social impact 
of trade policies and market liberalisation, and promote decent work as 
a global goal.116 

EUBAM. Moldova/Ukraine  -  © EC/Konstantin Grosdev

Managing economic migration in the mutual interest of countries of 
origin and destination 

The management of economic migration is closely linked to the task of 
harnessing migration and development synergies. While economic mi-
gration, if well managed, beneﬁ ts individual migrants and the countries 
of destination, it can also contribute to the development of the countries 
of origin – in the short term, through the transfer of remittances, and in 
the medium or long term through the skills, experience and social capital 
acquired by migrants in their host countries. This can be achieved in various 
ways including voluntary return migration. However, deﬁ nitive return is not 
always an attractive option for migrants, hence the current interest in the 
concept of circular migration with a view to promoting ‘brain circulation’. 
Such migration can take several forms, from temporary or seasonal migra-
tion to temporary or virtual migration schemes.

The Commission has set out orientations to facilitate voluntary return migra-
tion and encourage circular migration in its Communication on migration 
and development113 and its policy plan on legal migration114. The latter, 
which sets out the Commission’s work plan for coming years in areas related 
to the admission of legal migrants, also includes orientations that can be 
of interest to countries of origin: these range from information on the op-
portunities and conditions for legal employment in the EU to assistance 
to institutions that would provide training to would-be migrants in their 
countries of origin so that they match the labour needs of EU Member 
States. The deﬁ nition of clear and well-deﬁ ned admission procedures for 
labour migrants would also contribute to better managed migration ﬂ ows 
in the interest of all those concerned.

To make this political agenda work in practice, the Commission agreed with 
its Moroccan partners on a € 7.7 million project (EC contribution: € 5 million) 
to set up an international division within the Moroccan National Agency 
for Employment and Competence Promotion. After one year of existence, 
the Agency’s international division is able to position itself on the interna-
tional labour market as a competent interlocutor for potential employers 
of Moroccan citizens and for Moroccans themselves. With the information 
and pre-departure training it provides to its citizens in Casablanca, but also 
at the decentralised level, it makes not only an important contribution to 
fostering a culture of legal migration but also to protecting migrants from 
the inherent dangers of illegal migration. Complementary to this project at 

113  COM(2005) 390 ﬁ nal of 1 September 2005
114  COM(2005) 669 ﬁ nal of 21 December 2005
115 

“EU Strategy for Action on the Crisis in Human Resources for Health in Developing 
Countries”, COM(2005) 642 ﬁ nal of 12 December 2005

116  “The Social Dimension of Globalisation - the EU’s policy contribution on extending the 
beneﬁ ts to all” - Commission Communication adopted on 18 May 2004 COM(2004) 
383; Communication “Promoting decent work for all: The EU contribution to the 
implementation of the decent work agenda in the world” (COM(2006) 249) and its 
Annex (SEC(2006) 643), both dated 24 May 2006

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113

Integration of third-country nationals 

Eﬀ ective integration policies are the key to ensuring that migration works 
to the beneﬁ t of both the host countries and the migrants themselves. 
With more and more countries becoming host countries, the Commission 
believes there is a case for encouraging exchange of experience on policies 
that promote integration.

The EC and its Member States have developed comprehensive policies 
for the integration of migrants, and a set of common principles has been 
identiﬁ ed by the Council117 and developed by the Commission118. The 
Commission has published a Handbook on Integration for policy-makers 
and practitioners119; a new edition of which is foreseen for end-2006. Several 
elements of EC legislation recently put into eﬀ ect will also contribute to 
better integration. 

Integration policies, and in particular the rights and treatment of third-
country nationals, are the subject of regular discussions between the EC and 
third countries, in the context of a broader dialogue on migration-related 
issues. The EC is ready to share its experience and practices with other 
interested countries and in international forums.

COMBATING ILLEGAL MIGRATION AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING 
IN FULL RESPECT OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

The distinction between legal and illegal migration is a fun-
damental feature of EC immigration policy, and combating il-
legal migration in all its dimensions is a necessary element of 
a managed migration approach. Since 2001, a comprehensive 
approach has been developed that encompasses all stages of 
the migration chain, including co-operation with countries of 
origin and transit, border control, measures taken after illegal 
entry, and readmission and return policy. This approach is laid 
down in several Communications and Action Plans on illegal im-
migration, integrated border management and return policy.

An eﬀ ective policy to reduce illegal immigration demands a 
mixed strategy of measures aimed at both further harmoni-
sation of Member State legislation and enhanced operational 
co-operation, as well as appropriate policies and incentives 
promoting economic growth and job creation in the countries 
of origin. External factors also have to be addressed through co-
operation with the countries of origin and transit. All measures 
proposed by the Commission are subject to an in-depth scru-
tiny to ensure that they are fully compatible with fundamental 
rights as general principles of EC law as well as international 
law, including refugee protection and human rights obligations 
derived from the European Convention on Human Rights.

An integrated approach is also needed to address the issue of 
human traﬃ  cking, taking into account its global nature120 and 
based on respect for fundamental human rights. The needs and 
rights of the persons concerned are at the centre of EU policy 
in this area, while combating human traﬃ  cking is an essential 
element of EC eﬀ orts to improve checks and surveillance at its 
external borders and enhance the ﬁ ght against illegal immi-
gration. Moreover, in accordance with EC legislation, Member 
States are encouraged to grant those third-country nationals 
who intend to testify against traﬃ  ckers a special residence per-
mit and additional rights for the duration of criminal proceed-
ings121. The EC has also just ratiﬁ ed the UN Protocols on human 
traﬃ  cking and migrant smuggling. 

The European Union is eager to intensify exchange of experi-
ence with interested third countries on best practices in the 
ﬁ ght against human traﬃ  cking and the treatment of its victims, 
and to cooperate with them in this area. The EC is expected to 
launch an initiative aiming at promoting the implementation of 
the Palermo Convention and its Protocols shortly.

117  Common Basic Principles on Integration adopted by JHA Council of 

120  “Fighting traﬃ  cking in human beings - an integrated approach and proposals for an action 

19 November 2004

118  “A Common Agenda for Integration: Framework for the Integration of Third-Country 
Nationals in the European Union”, COM(2005) 389 ﬁ nal of 1 September 2005
119  http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/doc_centre/immigration/integration/

doc_immigration_integration_en.htm

plan”, COM(2005) 514 ﬁ nal of 18 October 2005

121  Council Directive 2004/81/EC of 29 April 2004

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Assistance in the ﬁ ght against illegal migration usually takes 
the  form  of  transfer  of  know-how  and  technical  assistance. 
Improving the security of travel documents, as currently im-
plemented in Ukraine and Ghana, is a good case in point, il-
lustrating the complexity of the issue. It calls for trainers who 
can almost only be found in the relevant administrations of 
the Member States, and for equipment which meets the re-
quirements  of  the  partner  country  and  is  at  the  same  time 
compatible with equipment used in the EU. The issue touches 
on fundamental human rights, such as the storage of personal 
data, and the links with wider reform needs have to be taken 
into account in order to ensure impact (e.g. civil registry in the 
case of document security).

Making migration work for development

The potential for migrants to make a positive contribution to the develop-
ment of their countries of origin is increasingly recognised. These issues 
have been the subject of discussions in various international forums, includ-
ing the UN High Level Dialogue (UNHLD) held in New York in September 
2006, and will continue to be debated, especially on the occasion of the ﬁ rst 
meeting of the Global Forum on international migration and development 
hosted by Belgium in Summer 2007, which will follow up the UNHLD. The 
Commission is ready to contribute actively to that forum.

Issues such as migrants’ remittances and their contribution to the devel-
opment of countries of origin, the role that can be played by diasporas in 
contributing to the economic, social and human development of these 
countries, and the promotion of circular migration are all areas where the 
beneﬁ ts of co-operation between countries of origin and destination can 
be greatest. For example, minimising the costs of remitting money can be 
best achieved if the countries of origin and destination work hand-in-hand. 
Likewise, diaspora mobilisation is most eﬀ ective if eﬀ orts are undertaken 
at both ends.

The Commission summarised the orientations it intends to follow in this 
area in a Communication adopted on 1 September 2005122. Whereas some 
of the measures contained in this document can be introduced by the EU 
unilaterally (for example moves to increase competition and transparency 
in the market for remittance services, or measures in the area of residence 
rights), most can only be implemented in co-operation with the countries 
of origin. Funding has already been provided through the Aeneas pro-
gramme, for example by supporting diaspora communities in contributing 
to the economic and social development of their home communities and 
facilitating the use of remittances for productive investments and devel-
opment initiatives. The thematic programme on migration and asylum, 
which is replacing Aeneas, will continue to provide support to activities 
in these areas.

To take advantage of these links and synergies, short-term measures will 
have to go hand-in-hand with a long-term approach, with migration policy 
and development policy properly integrated. Migration issues are therefore 
being progressively incorporated into the Country and Regional Strategy 
Papers that constitute the main framework within which EC assistance is 
channelled to its developing country partners.

Furthermore, the availability of decent jobs, income opportunities and 
working conditions in countries of origin, as well as the absence of conﬂ ict 
or unsustainable pressures on the environment can help ensure that, when 
an individual migrates, he or she does so out of choice. The EU’s develop-
ment policy, the European Consensus on Development, addresses these 
and other ‘push’ factors of migration through its contributions – in partner-
ship with developing countries – to poverty eradication, conﬂ ict prevention, 
economic development, trade promotion, promotion of human rights and 
good governance, protection of the environment and support directed to 
attaining the Millennium Development Goals. The EU provides over half of 
the world’s aid and has committed itself to increase this assistance, together 
with its quality and eﬀ ectiveness. 

The Commission believes the links between migration and development 
oﬀ er signiﬁ cant potential for furthering development goals, without con-
stituting a substitute for Oﬃ  cial Development Assistance. 

Promoting asylum and international protection worldwide

Asylum-related issues have risen in priority in the EU’s external relations and 
development co-operation with those third countries that are confronted 
with the movement of refugees. The EU shares UNHCR’s view that solutions 
to refugee problems should be found ﬁ rst and foremost in the regions 
of origin, which often host the largest refugee populations. The EU also 
considers that many countries of transit are heavily aﬀ ected by the task of 
responding to the requests of large ﬂ ows of asylum seekers. 

These origin and transit countries often lack the institutional and ﬁ nancial 
capacity to address the challenges on their own. The enhancement of 
the capacity to provide eﬀ ective protection and durable solutions in the 
regions of origin – through asylum capacity-building, local integration, 
repatriation and resettlement – is an objective that the Commission pro-
motes in its external assistance. This is also reﬂ ected in the EU approach 
to the international protection regime delivered through pilot Regional 
Protection Programmes like those for the Western NIS and the Great Lakes 
region in Africa. 

While the situation for refugees is very diﬀ erent from that of economic 
migrants, many of the initiatives to be developed under the other strands of 
this programme – for example encouraging the contributions of diasporas, 
facilitating the transfer of remittances, protection against discrimination, 
etc. – should also beneﬁ t refugees.

122  “Migration and Development: some concrete orientations”, COM(2005) 390 ﬁ nal. The an-
nexes to this Communication include numerous examples of good practices developed 
in EU Member States and elsewhere

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Aid

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n
t

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118

5.  Aid management

developments in aid delivery modalities and channels

Garden day. Eritrea  -  © EC Delegation Eritrea

5.1 

 Developments 
in aid delivery 
modalities and 
channels

European external assistance is implemented through three main delivery 
modalities, the choices depending on a joint EC/government analysis of 
the country and sector environment.

The project approach is used in situations such as support to non-state 
actors and regional programmes, or where conditions do not allow for com-
plete use of government systems, for example in conﬂ ict or post-conﬂ ict 
situations. Projects are implemented using the EC’s procurement and grant 
award procedures.

The sector approach, where a Sector Policy Support Programme (SPSP) 
is used, aims to underpin an agreed sector policy and a realistic strategic 
framework monitored through performance criteria and indicators. SPSPs 
may be ﬁ nanced by i) Sector Budget Support (SBS), with funds transferred 
to the national treasury of the beneﬁ ciary country; ii) pooling funds with 
beneﬁ ciary governments and other donors, or iii) project procedures using 
EC procurement and grant award processes.

The EC also supports national or macro level goals expressed in national 
policy and strategy documents (such as a Poverty Reduction Strategy 
Paper). This support is ﬁ nanced through General Budget Support (GBS), 
with funds transferred to the national treasury of the beneﬁ ciary country. 
It is usually accompanied by capacity development activities, generally in 
the area of public ﬁ nancial management.

Focus on Sector approaches and Budget Support

In 2006 the total value of budget support commitments, about € 1.32 billion, 
amounted to just over 17% of total commitments. This represents a reduc-
tion compared to 2005 and is explained by a substantial fall in GBS commit-
ments that was not entirely oﬀ set by a large increase in SBS commitments. 
The substantial fall in GBS commitments was expected, as it reﬂ ects the 
‘lumpy’ nature of commitments as the 9th EDF comes to an end. In contrast, 
the steady increase in SBS commitments reﬂ ects increasing use of sector 
programmes, using SBS as the ﬁ nancing modality, in Latin America, Asia 
and to a lesser extent in the MEDA region. In these areas European assist-
ance continues to play a key role in launching new types of partnership 
and encouraging a shift toward budget support.

ﬁ nance national poverty reduction strategies (PRS) and to promote sound 
and transparent management of public ﬁ nances”.

The Paris Declaration of March 2005, signed by all donors and a broad rep-
resentation of partner countries, has also contributed to creating a positive 
momentum for budget and sector support focusing on ownership, align-
ment and harmonisation. The Paris Declaration contains twelve indicators 
to measure progress in these areas, laying great emphasis on the use of the 
sector approach and budget support. These forms of aid delivery are, by 
their very nature, aligned with country systems, avoid parallel implementa-
tion structures, and favour a co-ordinated approach to capacity develop-
ment and the use of joint ﬁ eld missions and shared analysis.

During the year the Commission worked in line with these policy orientations 
and demonstrated, at the international level, its eﬀ ective implementation 
of the budget support approach. The Commission participated actively 
in the work undertaken in the OECD/DAC-sponsored Joint Evaluation of 
General Budget Support concluded in May 2006. This report concluded that 
GBS was, in all but two cases, “clearly positive” and that in all cases it was a 
“relevant response to the context”. GBS was seen as having a positive eﬀ ect 
on harmonisation and alignment, increasing priority expenditures and en-
couraging a focus on public ﬁ nancial management, whilst at the same time 
reinforcing pre-existing macroeconomic stability. However, weaknesses 
were identiﬁ ed in terms of predictability, capacity development, and the 
dangers of “overloading” budget support. The Commission is monitoring 
its actions in response to the recommendations of the evaluation.

The Commission continues to co-chair the Joint Venture on Public Financial 
Management of the OECD/DAC, a group established following the Paris 
Declaration,  which  promotes  best  practices  and  the  sharing  of  know-
ledge in the area of public ﬁ nancial management (PFM). The Commission 
continued its support to the joint-donor Public Expenditure and Financial 
Accountability Programme (PEFA), which submitted over 20 reports in 2006, 
in half of which the EC took the lead. The PEFA approach is gaining ground 
as the favoured tool for the assessment of PFM systems, and is expected to 
cover all countries receiving budget support by early-2008. However, further 
work needs to be undertaken to improve capacity-building support.

The work the Commission has undertaken in support of the PEFA instru-
ment was in line with the recommendations of Court of Auditors Special 
Report no.2/2005 on “EDF budget aid to ACP countries: the Commission’s 
management of the public ﬁ nance reform aspect”. Other actions were 
undertaken in line with these recommendations. In particular, EuropeAid 
approved new “Guidelines on the Programming, Design and Management 
of  General  Budget  Support”,  with  the  aim  of  enhancing  the  quality  of 
budget support operations, noticeably through an emphasis on the eligibility 
criteria to be met for budget support.

Capacity development and training on aid delivery methods

The sectoral approach and the use of budget support as a preferred aid mo-
dality follow the orientations of the European Consensus on Development. 
The Consensus clearly states that “where circumstances permit, the use of 
general or sectoral budget support should increase as a means to strength-
en ownership, support partner’s national accountability and procedures, to 

Developing the skills and capacities of key actors intervening in the design 
and implementation of EC-funded programmes is a key contributor to im-
proving their quality, impact and sustainability. A signiﬁ cant eﬀ ort was made 
to develop the methodology and training in various areas related to sector 
approaches, such as public ﬁ nancial management, institutional analysis 

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developments in aid delivery modalities and channels

5.  Aid management

119

Fish market. El Salvador  -  © EC Delegation Nicaragua

and capacity development, applied macroeconomics, and assessment of 
performance and monitoring systems. 

Table 34 //  Methodological Training organised from June 2002 
to December 2006 123

In addition to the work on General Budget Support guidance, modalities 
of sector support were also reviewed, building on the aid eﬀ ectiveness 
agenda as well as on lessons learned in recent years. Revised guidance on 
the sector approach will be issued in 2007, and will be supported by learning 
material on particular issues such as approaches to budgeting and sequen-
cing in Public Finance Management reforms, and sector-speciﬁ c issues such 
as working with the Programme Based Approach in the rural sector.

The aid eﬀ ectiveness agenda and in particular the Paris Declaration calls for 
a more strategic and co-ordinated approach in the area of institutional sup-
port and capacity development in partner countries. Speciﬁ c attention was 
given to developing a methodology in this area in line with good practice 
and DAC thinking, and action was taken to promote quality and learning 
in supporting capacity development in the Public Finance Management 
areas.

Demand for training has signiﬁ cantly increased since the Paris Declaration, 
coming both from donor and partner government sides, and conﬁ rming 
that the successful implementation of the sector approach and budget sup-
port requires action to develop related skills. The second phase of the Aid 
Delivery Methods (ADM) Training Programme, which started in July 2005, 
comprises two axes: i) the sector approach and budget support and key 
related topics; and ii) the project approach, with a view to promoting own-
ership and sustainability, and developing revised Project Cycle Management 
and Economic & Financial Analysis conventional and online training.

Sector / Budget support
and related areas

Number 
of Sessions

Participants

Project Approach 
- Project Cycle 
Management, Economic 
& Financial Analysis
and related areas

Number 
of Sessions

Participants

At
Headquarters

At country level
Total

75

94
169

1 420

1 970
3 400

201

141
342

2 900

2 150
5 060

Within the ADM Programme, nearly 1 500 participants followed more than 
90 sessions organised at Headquarters and at country level124. Twelve new 
courses were tested: these included sector-speciﬁ c courses on transport, 
rural development, policy dialogue in education, performance measure-
ment in the social sectors, the sector approach applied to integrated water 
resource management, working in a decentralised context and local gov-
ernance, and an online course on Project Cycle Management. 

In line with the Paris Declaration invitation to develop joint training in the 
area of programme-based approaches, the Joint Learning Programme on 
Sector Support, launched in 2005, gave positive results and conﬁ rmed 
the increasing demand in the area of sector approach, especially from the 
partner government side. The Joint Learning Programme is co-ordinated 
by EuropeAid and co-ﬁ nanced by nine donors. This new generation of joint 
training programmes is a promising tool for building common skills and 
co-ordinating new sector programmes.

123 

In 2003 and 2004 courses concentrated on PCM areas

124  Demand is high for the PFM courses, with 11 sessions organised since July 2005 

(233 participants)

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120

5.  Aid management

progress on qualitative issues  in aid management

to constructing a coherent and transparent system for monitoring results. 
Also, as a general rule, measurements based on projects/programmes 
(‘actions’), which can be similar but tailored to local needs and speciﬁ cities, 
are diﬃ  cult to aggregate into a collection of common indicators measuring 
the cumulated added value of EC assistance.

The combination of all these elements calls for diﬀ erent levels of analysis 
of the results/impact of Commission initiatives: they should be assessed in 
the context of the international community’s eﬀ orts, and should be based 
on the coherent articulation of the diﬀ erent components, and not on a 
single element. The European Consensus on Development125 states that 
“the EU and developing countries share responsibility and accountability 
for the joint eﬀ ort in partnership” and that “progress indicators and regular 
evaluation of assistance are of key importance to better focus EU assistance”. 
The new Development Co-operation Instrument (DCI) also foresees that the 
Commission present an “annual report on the implementation and results 
and, as far as possible, main outcome and impact of the assistance”.

The Commission intends to select, for all sectors of intervention, a mini-
mum number of ‘EC aid progress reporting indicators’ giving predeﬁ ned 
results that allow for aggregation, and contribute to better accountability 
and visibility. Work undertaken in 2006 established lists of these progress 
reporting indicators for a reasonable number of sectors. Delegations will 
have to include them in each identiﬁ cation document and subsequently in 
each Financing Proposal. The aim is to cover a majority of the sectors and 
thematic areas of EC development co-operation by mid-2007.

Work undertaken so far shows that it is possible to reduce signiﬁ cantly the 
gap between sectors known as traditional (education, health, transport, 
water and sanitation) and less familiar ﬁ elds. The list of progress indicators 
has already been extended to the principal sectors of governance and en-
vironment. A pilot phase covering ﬁ ve EC aid sectors where work is judged 
suﬃ  ciently mature will be launched shortly and the lessons learned from 
this pilot phase evaluated by end-2007.

This work is complementary to the Commission’s eﬀ orts to improve the 
quality of individual projects and to the actions taken to i) monitor how 
the agreed principles of project design are respected in terms of objectives, 
results and indicators, ii) develop guidelines and training for the use of 
indicators,  and  iii)  introduce  a  more  rigorous  assessment  of  the  data 
presented as baseline and target values for indicators submitted at the two 
Quality Support Group (QSG) stages.

Improved pearl millet seeds. Eritrea  -  © EC Delegation Eritrea

5.2 

 Progress on 
qualitative issues 
in aid management

Strengthening the quality of development assistance

The concentration of thematic expertise within a Quality Directorate in 
EuropeAid proved its added value, developing tools to support Delegations 
and Headquarters services. With the input of other Directorates-General 
and donors, new operational guides were elaborated in the ﬁ eld of elec-
toral assistance, environment mainstreaming and General Budget Support. 
Beside this methodological activity, attention focused on increasing the 
coverage of quality checks on new projects and programmes to over 90%. 
This goes hand-in-hand with support missions to Delegations to assist 
them in the identiﬁ cation of projects and help resolve diﬃ  culties during 
implementation phase. Enhancing staﬀ  knowledge was also a priority and 
led to a large number of seminars and workshops organised in the ﬁ eld or at 
Headquarters: these covered the main and emerging sectors of intervention 
such as Budget Support, environment, gender mainstreaming, migration, 
governance and decent work. 

Appreciation of quality

Over the last four years the Commission has tracked performance through 
a number of indicators mainly focused on ﬁ nancial implementation and, to 
a lesser extent, speeding up delivery. The issues form part of regular reports 
to the Group of External Relations Commissioners. In 2006, the list of per-
formance indicators was expanded with the aim of monitoring the quality 
of the preparation phase of projects: additional performance indicators 
have been established to give an appreciation of the quality of the projects 
as measured at the end of the design phase. This is an important step in 
ensuring continuity in the appreciation of quality, from project preparation 
through project implementation to project evaluation. 

Monitoring progress towards Strategic Goals

An essential tool for maximising the contribution of EC assistance to its 
strategic goals is monitoring the impact of interventions not only in terms 
of the ﬁ nancial contributions and how these are spent, but the ultimate 
outcomes and impacts. It is rarely possible to separate out the eﬀ ects of 
any single donor’s activities at the level of a country or region. The impact 
of any activity, whether domestic or supported by donors, may also take 
time to show up in a measurable form.

A broad range of strategic goals, from poverty reduction to developing 
and consolidating democracy and the rule of law, respect for human rights 
and fundamental freedoms, mirror the complexity and richness of EC de-
velopment programmes. This wide range of objectives poses a challenge 

125  OJ 2006/C 46/01, §15

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co-operation with international organisations and other donors

5.  Aid management

121

5.3 

 Co-operation 
with international 
organisations and 
other donors

EU co-operation and partnership with the UN and the World Bank has 
expanded dynamically since the year 2000/2001 in the aftermath of the 
UN Millennium Declaration126. The 2003 Commission Communication on 
Eﬀ ective Multilateralism127, the 2003 EC-UN Financial and Administrative 
Framework Agreement, and other policy documents contributed to devel-
oping these relationships. Currently, the EC commits around € 1 billion a year 
to the UN system and € 0.5 billion to the World Bank. In the poorest develop-
ing countries, special attention is being paid to peace-building activities, 
the MDGs and regional trade co-operation. In Middle Income Countries, 
co-operation with the multilateral system takes into account the broader EU 
policy agenda, and is more country-tailored on account of diﬀ erent levels 
of growth, development, social situations and trade integration. 

The United Nations

The Commission’s overarching strategic policy vis-à-vis the United Nations 
is ‘Europe as a World Partner’. In 2006, the Commission reinforced Europe’s 
voice and coherence in the various UN forums through EU common po-
sitions, recalling the commitment to multilateralism as the best way to 
engage global partners. The UN’s internal reform agenda complements 
the Commission’s long-term objective of strengthening international or-
ganisations’ architecture through continued reform and renewal.

Extensive  Commission  programming  with  the  UN  contributed  to  the 
Millennium Development Goals. Funding supported agricultural develop-
ment, food security, sustainable forestry and ﬁ shery practices, education, 
child protection, water and sanitation, health, infrastructures, and other 
key sectors. The Commission followed up on the 2005 Paris Agenda on 
Aid Eﬀ ectiveness by supporting new ﬁ nancing instruments such as the 
UN-managed Multi-donor Trust Funds, thus reducing transaction costs for 
both donor and partner countries.

Notable contributions of the Commission in multilateral forums on global 
issues and new challenges included inputs to such initiatives as the UN 
High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development; the 
launch of the Internet Governance Forum in Athens (October 2006) as a 
follow-up to the UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS); the 
UNESCO Convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of 
cultural expressions (November); and the successful negotiation of the UN 
Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (December).

Throughout the year, the Commission focused on implementation of the 
UN World Summit Outcome, especially through contributions to EU co-
ordination in the Human Rights Council and active participation in the 
work of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), especially the ﬁ rst country-
speciﬁ c meetings on Burundi and Sierra Leone (October and December). 
The Commission contributed actively to a strengthening of EU-UN rela-
tions. High-level meetings included the visit of Secretary-General Annan 
to  President  Barroso  and  Commissioner  Ferrero-Waldner  in  July.  The 
Commission also participated in the High-Level meeting between the UN 
and regional organisations in September.

In December, an evaluation exercise was launched to appraise Commission 
ﬁ nancing of UN activities, now totalling over € 1 billion a year. Together with 
EU Member States, the Commission welcomed the recommendations of 
the High Level Panel Report on reforming UN System-Wide Coherence in 
the Areas of Development, Humanitarian Assistance, and the Environment, 
‘Delivering as One’ (November).

The World Bank 

Although not a World Bank shareholder itself (only EU Member States are), 
the EC is one of the four most important partners and ﬁ nancial contribu-
tors to World Bank and trust fund operations around the world. This co-
operation, initiated in 1997, has expanded considerably over recent years 
following the signature of the Framework Agreement in November 2001 
(revised in 2006) and bilateral Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) at 
geographical level (Candidate countries, MED region, ACP, ENP countries, 
Central Asia, etc.). 

EC co-operation with international ﬁ nancial institutions, and the WB in 
particular, is based on the Communication of 2 May 2001 on Eﬀ ective 
Multilateralism and EU co-operation with the UN system and bodies128, 
the commitments on Development Finance made at the UN Summit in 
Monterey in 2002, EU commitments in the context of the UN Summit 
on the Millennium Declaration and MDGs, the Paris Declaration on Aid 
Harmonisation and Aid Eﬀ ectiveness of March 2005, and the Council of 
Ministers approval in June 2002 of the new Financial Regulation.

This acknowledged inter alia the possibility of the Commission carrying out 
“joint management” with international organisations, i.e. contributing to 
pooling funding managed by these organisations. These initiatives were fol-
lowed by the European Consensus on Development. The new Regulations 
for EC external assistance to the programming cycle 2007-2013 (DCI, ENPI 
and the Stability Facility Instrument) also make an explicit reference to the 
need for better co-operation and synergies between EC grants and IFI loans 
in dealing with third countries. 

EC co-operation with the World Bank takes place in two broad areas of 
activity: policy dialogue with third countries on reforms, adjustment, trade 
integration, good governance, clean energy, social infrastructures and other 
policy issues on the one hand, and co-operation on operations by pool-
ing resources according to diﬀ erent modalities (co-ﬁ nancing, provision 

126  UN General Assembly resolution 55/2 of 8 September 2000
127  COM (2003) 526, “The European Union and the UN: The Choice of Multilateralism”

128  The UN, through the ECOSOC, in principle also co-ordinates the Bretton-Woods 

Institutions

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122

5.  Aid management

co-operation with international organisations and other donors

Restoring a health centre after the tsunami. Indonesia  -  © EC/Heinke Veit

(€ 104 million), tsunami rehabilitation (€ 81 million), Afghanistan reconstruc-
tion (€ 40 million). The EC also contributed € 40 million to the World Bank 
International Trust Fund for the Reconstruction of Iraq (where the EC, with 
total contributions of € 123 million, is the largest donor) and provided an 
additional € 70 million to the World Bank Public Financial Management 
Reform Trust Fund for Gaza and the West Bank. 

In the Western Balkans, the Commission is supporting two World Bank Trust 
Funds with a total of € 600 000. One is for the development of a Kosovo 
Development Strategy and Plan, and the other for the Joint Oﬃ  ce for South 
East Europe (€ 300 000 each). The aim of the Joint Oﬃ  ce is to support co-op-
eration between the Commission and the World Bank in the pre-accession 
region, provide support to the Commission’s overall co-ordination work 
with the International Financial Institutions in general, and assist in the or-
ganisation of donors’ conferences and the mobilisation of donor funding.

of technical assistance, EC support to WB Trust Funds with a thematic or 
geographical scope, and so on) on the other. 

Policy dialogue between the EC and the World Bank takes place at annual 
bilateral meetings which review the implementation of the Framework 
Agreement and the various Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs). On these 
occasions some general policy orientations are also discussed (the most 
recent Annual Consultation on the Framework Agreement, focusing on 
implementation and visibility issues, took place in Brussels on 18-19 May). 
In addition, the Commission regularly participates in the IMF/WB Annual 
Meetings and is invited to address the Board.

Bilateral relations between the World Bank’s newly appointed President, 
Paul Wolfowitz, his team and the EC intensiﬁ ed in 2006. President Wolfowitz 
met EU Commissioners on various occasions and on diﬀ erent subjects. 
These included meetings with the Commissioner for External Relations, 
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, on 2 June for the signature of an agreement to 
enhance bilateral operational co-ordination and visibility, and with the 
Commissioner for Development, Louis Michel, on the occasion of the IMF/
WB Annual Meeting in Singapore, where good governance, clean energy, 
aid “ scaling up” and African infrastructures were high on the agenda, and 
the EU Development Days organised in Brussels in November.

More speciﬁ c policy discussions were also held on the occasion of visits by 
newly-appointed WB Vice Presidents to the Commission. Meetings during 
the year mainly focused on co-ﬁ nancing modalities, governance issues, 
energy, infrastructure, combining grants with loans, the situation of Middle 
Income Countries, the new challenges posed by China and India, and the 
new EU strategy for Africa. The European Executive Directors to the WB also 
visited the Commission in March.

EU dialogue with the Bank on operational matters takes place between the 
Commission Delegations and Bank oﬃ  ces at ﬁ eld level and on other occasions 
(presentation of Annual reports by the Bank, WB participation in EP hearings 
on development issues, WB meetings with the EIB and other regional devel-
opment banks, etc.). Monthly meetings by the European Executive Directors 
of the WB Board, aimed at harmonising the EU position and speaking with one 
“ voice” on the main policy issues and decisions due to be adopted by the WB 
Board, continued to take place in Washington: the Commission Delegation 
in Washington DC participated actively at these events.

Over the last three years the EC awarded grants to around 30 World Bank 
Trust Funds for about € 450 to € 500 million annually. One-third of these 
initiatives related to speciﬁ c projects in individual countries, whilst the rest 
concerned cross-country horizontal thematic actions (debt relief under 
the Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative, health, environment, and 
tropical agricultural research) and post-war, post-disaster reconstruction 
programmes co-ordinated by the World Bank in Eastern Timor, Afghanistan, 
Iraq, tsunami-aﬀ ected countries in South Asia, and Gaza.

The trend from providing support for global initiatives to supporting recon-
struction was conﬁ rmed. Of the € 516 million contracted by the EC to the WB 
during 2006, only about € 82 million was for World Bank thematic trust funds 
aimed at protecting global public goods (Fight against AIDS, Malaria and 
Tuberculosis, Agricultural Research, etc.) while the rest was for post-conﬂ ict, 
post-disaster reconstruction situations such as food in sub-Saharan Africa 

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simpliﬁ cation of procedures

5.  Aid management

123

5.4 

 Simpliﬁ cation of 
procedures

5.5 

Water installation. Chad  -  © EC Delegation Chad

 Enlargement 
and special Task 
Force on Capacity-
Building

Two years after accession, most Member States that joined the European 
Union in 2004 were becoming active members of the donor community. 
The Commission set out to reshape its assistance programme for the ‘new’ 
Member States and acceding countries ( namely Bulgaria and Romania. ) It 
was evident that, two years after accession and, on the edge of the 2007 
enlargement, 2006 was an appropriate time to strengthen the approach 
and adapt it to the evolving development policies of the partners of the 
EU-12 (the so-called “new Member States “). 

Drawing on lessons learned during the Task Force meetings – two meetings 
were organised as well as a consultation of EU-12 partners – the Commission 
reﬁ ned its work plan. First, at the request of its members, meetings of the 
special Task Force will be organised on a biannual basis: this will allow for 
discussions and exchange of best practices on development and humani-
tarian aid between the EU-12 and the EU-15, while the priority will still be 
to strengthen informal co-ordination of the activities of the EU-12 Member 
States as donors.

The second aim will be to assist those of the EU-12 who have an interest 
in increasing their presence in partner countries, in strengthening their 
capacities to develop activities in the ﬁ eld. Third, is the task of providing 
the EU-12 with speciﬁ c capacity-building activities such as conferences or 
technical seminars on a demand-driven basis, as well as following up the 
Capacity Building Scheme programme on an individual basis. 

The Commission organised a series of activities respecting the principle 
of complementarity. Following the ﬁ rst successful demand-driven pro-
gramme to help the EU-12 formulate development policy and guidelines 
on EC procedures, the Commission set up a new edition of this programme, 
covering such topics as ODA accounting, design and implementation of 
institutional arrangements for ODA management, formulation of ODA 
guidelines, ODA programming and budgeting, country strategy formula-
tion, and DAC reporting. 

A one-day seminar was dedicated to identifying opportunities for strength-
ening the EU-10 and acceding countries’ capacities to implement the aid 
eﬀ ectiveness agenda. This seminar, which focused on division of labour and 
co-ﬁ nancing, allowed the EU-12 to discuss and exchange best practices. 
EU-12 oﬃ  cials were invited to take part in the European Development Days, 
as part of the training activities oﬀ ered by the Commission, presenting their 
activities in the partner countries and participating in the conferences and 
debates. A special support programme was also launched to help Bulgaria 
and Romania strengthen and develop the institutional and conceptualisa-
tion framework of their development policies.

EuropeAid made major eﬀ orts to further simplify the rules applicable to the 
management of external aid. This process, aimed at ensuring proportional-
ity between risks and management constraints, will continue to be a high 
priority in order to further speed up the delivery of aid. 

A revised Practical Guide to contract procedures for EC external action was 
published. This is the ﬁ rst single working tool which explains the contract-
ing procedures applying to all EC external aid contracts ﬁ nanced from the 
European Communities General Budget ( the Budget) and the European 
Development Fund. Since it now incorporates the relevant legal texts for 
the Budget and for the EDF, the purpose of this practical instrument is to 
provide users with all the information necessary for procurement or mak-
ing grants. 

EuropeAid took a very active role in the preparation of the Commission’s 
proposals for a review of the Financial Regulation and its Implementing 
Rules ( in the framework of a linked revision), identifying diﬃ  culties created 
by the current rules for the implementation of external actions. In this con-
text a wide-ranging consultation was organised among all services, both at 
Headquarters and in Delegations. Some 500 proposals for simpliﬁ cation of 
procedures were analysed by a joint services working party.

The results of this consultation contributed to the large number of improve-
ments formulated by EuropeAid, to be taken into account in the coming 
legal and ﬁ nancial framework that will take eﬀ ect May 2007 in latest. These 
include: i) increasing certain contract award thresholds for external aid; ii) 
creating the possibility for the Commission to manage the funds of other 
donors; iii) applying local rules or rules agreed among donors in decen-
tralised management with co-ﬁ nancing; iv) introduction of new cases of 
negotiated procedures for external aid; v) the possibility of re-granting in 
speciﬁ c cases; and vi) the possibility for the Commission, while in decen-
tralised management, to delegate its remaining execution tasks to entities 
others than the sole third beneﬁ ciary country, e.g. to national agencies.

In the meantime, the Commission has adopted a stand-alone revision of 
the Implementing Rules of the Financial Regulation, which aims to simplify 
procedures and reduce the burden of documentary evidence for economic 
operators and administrative service institutions, in order to decrease ad-
ministrative costs, create the possibility of waiving obligations to provide 
a guarantee in the case of pre-ﬁ nancing to a public body, and simplify the 
rules for grants.

Other achievements include the major reduction from some 30 basic acts 
to seven new instruments for external aid ﬁ nanced from the budget. These 
simpliﬁ cations will become eﬀ ective in 2007, as well as those related to the 
revision of the EDF Financial Regulation. 

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124

5.  Aid management

visibility and communication

Village head being interviewed. Laos  -  © C Delegation Laos/Anousa Kounnavong/E

5.6 

 Visibility and 
communication

One of the priorities of the Commission is communication on its activities 
in general and on the role of the EU in the world in particular. A number of 
major communication activities took place in the ﬁ eld of external assistance. 
A common Internet portal was established on the Commission’s external 
policies, entitled “EU in the World “129. An External Co-operation Info Point, 
which is open to the general public, was set up in the EuropeAid building on 
rue de la Loi in Brussels in April and was visited by almost 5 000 people130. 

Other communication activities included the annual 9 May Initiative in 
schools131 and the production of the ﬁ rst two videos in a new series en-
titled “Co-operation That Counts “. The videos, one on biodiversity and one 
on AIDS, reached a combined audience of some 34 million viewers132. The 
ﬁ rst EU Development Days were held in Brussels from 13 to 17 November 
2006. Activities included a two-day high-level forum on Governance in 
Africa, an EU-Africa Business Forum, and a series of cultural events for the 
wider public133. Fifty case studies of successful EC actions were published134. 
Agreements on improving visibility were signed by Commissioner Ferrero-
Waldner and World Bank President Wolfowitz on 2 June and UN Deputy 
Secretary-General Malloch-Brown on 22 September respectively.

129  http://ec.europa.eu/world/index_en.htm
130  http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/infopoint/index_en.htm 
131  http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/9-may-initiative/index_en.htm

132  http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/multimedia/videos/index_en.htm
133  http://ec.europa.eu/development/services/events/EDD/index.html
134  http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/case-studies/index_en.htm

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125

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Results

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128

6.  Results

project results: results-oriented monitoring

The  statistical  signiﬁ cance  of  ROM  monitoring  has  improved  over 
recent years. However, the size and nature of samples may still impede 
overall conclusions, considering also that SWAPs and budgetary aid are 
not  covered.  Further  information  on  results  in  the  regions  is  given  in 
the chapters on regional activities.

The projects and programmes monitored maintained globally good per-
formance of an average of 2.76, with slight variations in individual criteria. 
The overall gain made in eﬃ  ciency over the last years showed a slight 
consolidating setback, but still remains on track ( 2.62 in 2006 for an ‘on 
track’ parameter of 2.5 ). Over the last ﬁ ve years, the overall ratings in ROM 
show a steady and statistically signiﬁ cant improvement: from 2.62 in 2002 
to 2.67 in 2003 and from 2.73 in 2004 to 2.76 in 2005 and 2006. Projects 
showing problems are closely followed up by Commission services. The 
percentage of projects requiring special attention went down from 10% to 
9.3% and those needing a thorough reformulation or even project closure, 
i.e. “major problems”, remained slightly over 1%.

Community health programme. Thailand  -  © EC Delegation/International Rescue Committee

6.1 

 Project results: 
Results-Oriented 
Monitoring

The results-oriented monitoring ( ROM ) system provides an overview of 
how the project portfolio is progressing towards results. The main question 
is: are projects and programmes ( likely ) to deliver the intended improve-
ments in the lives of people?

The ROM is based on regular on-site assessments by independent experts 
of ongoing projects and programmes: these are given simple scores against 
internationally agreed criteria, using a highly structured and consistent 
methodology. Scores are: a. ( 4 points ) = very good; b. (  3 points ) = good; 
c. ( 2 points ) = minor problems and d. ( 1 point ) = major problems. The 
baseline parameter for the scoring scale, 2.5 points, has been deﬁ ned as 
‘implementation according to plan’. Thus, a project with a score of 2.5 is 
fully on track and expected to deliver the beneﬁ ts and impact planned. For 
each project, short explanations and recommendations on quality improve-
ment are addressed to all stakeholders, providing important information to 
complement internal monitoring by project stakeholders.

6.1.1 

Achievements in 2006

In 2006, the system covered 148 countries and 1 384 projects with a total 
value of nearly € 10 billion.

Table 35 // Monitoring missions completed in 2006

Overview 
per region

N° countries 
visited

N° projects 
monitored136

N° of monitor-
ing reports 
produced

Million € 
covered

TACIS135

CARDS

MED

ACP

Asia

Latin 
America

Total 2006

Compared 
to 2005

13

314

386

570

7

117

150

188

21

150

180

68

485

511

1 886

5 218

18

133

189

910

21

185

200

1 145

148

1 384

1 616

9 917

+11%

+12%

+10%

+18%

135  The TACIS region includes the Central Asia region with the countries of Kazakhstan, 

136 

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan

Including regional programmes for which more than one component is monitored. This 
explains the diﬀ erence between the number of projects monitored and the number of 
reports produced

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6.  Results

129

Poverty reduction programme. Trinidad and Tobago  -  © EC

Table 36 // Timelines ROM Scores 2002 – 2006

3.00

2.95

2.90

2.85

2.80

2.75

2.70

2.65

2.60

2.55

2.50

.  Relevance

.  Eﬃciency

.  Eﬀectiveness

.  Impact

.  Sustainability

.  Average

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

Monitoring over time

When looking at projects which have been monitored over several years, a 
consistent improvement can be seen, signiﬁ cantly above the general increase 
for all projects. This indicates the usefulness of the ROM system as a manage-
ment tool for projects. In re-monitored projects, project design and eﬃ  ciency 
improved in particular, resulting in better and more services to intended 
beneﬁ ciaries and positive wider eﬀ ects for the project environment.

The  most  important  sector  of  co-operation:  social  infrastructure  and 
services, i.e. education, health, water, government and civil society etc., 
is performing well and in line with the global picture. Another important 
sector, economic infrastructure and services with transport, energy and bank-
ing, is performing even better, with 2.81. 

6.1.2 

Results by Sector

Table 37 // Results per Sector 

2006 by ODA 
sector 137

Social 
Infrastructure 
and Services

Economic 
Infrastructure 
and Services

Production 
sectors

Multisector/
Crosscutting

Commodity Aid 
and General 
Programme 
Assistance

Emergency 
Assistance

Other 
Unallocated 
Unspeciﬁ ed

N° operations 138
monitored

N° reports 139
produced

Million € covered
Relevance

Eﬃ  ciency

Eﬀ  ectiveness
Impact
Sustainability
Average

776

793

4 150 
2.82

2.64

2.75
2.79
2.79
2.76

213

236

2 651 
2.82

2.63

2.77
2.91
2.90
2.81

258

250

1 558 
2.77

2.45

2.64
2.71
2.69
2.65

211

234

978 
2.80

2.67

2.82
2.82
2.78
2.78

48

47

314 
2.93

2.51

2.81
2.89
2.77
2.78

22

21

77 
2.50

2.76

2.84
2.75
2.74
2.72

34

35

189 
2.82

2.75

2.84
2.89
2.86
2.83

137  For information on what is included in the sectors, please refer to the ﬁ nancial annexes
138 

In regional projects several components are monitored to have a picture of the situation.
As components can be in diﬀ erent sectors, the number of operations in the table on sector 
performance is higher than the number of projects in the preceding table

139 

If a full monitoring report is not posssible, the assessment of an operation can be in  
a monitoring note. The table takes only full reports into account

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6.  Results

evaluation:  review of the 2006 work programme

6.1.3 

Conclusions 2006

Overall  the  results  are  satisfactory,  with  projects  and  programmes 
monitored performing on average “according to plan“ or better, for all 
criteria. The coverage of projects monitored, the statistical signiﬁ cance of 
data and the ROM methodological approach were improved. An extension 
of the ROM system to closed projects ( ex-post ROM ) was tested positively 
for methodology. The main purpose is to provide clariﬁ cations on whether 
the project’s impact and beneﬁ ts were sustained after the external assist-
ance came to an end. In a majority of cases the projects showed good or 
acceptable sustainability and impact, but further analysis is needed to draw 
conclusions concerning the underlying reasons and lessons to be learnt. 

6.1.4 

Outlook into 2007

In 2007 the accent will be on improvement of the database, which today 
shows signs of age and overload. Also, with sector policy support pro-
grammes commitments constituting on average now around 20 % of all 
commitments for both budget lines and EDF operations, tracking the 
success of sector policy support programmes is increasingly important. The 
ROM system will therefore be expanded to Commission- ﬁ nanced support 
programmes to sector approaches ( SPSPs ): the related methodology is 
being prepared for testing in 2007.

Hospital generator. Chad  -  © EC Delegation Chad

6.2 

 Evaluation: 
Review of the 2006 
Work Programme

6.2.1 

Organisation of the evaluation function

The Evaluation Unit in the EuropeAid Co-operation Oﬃ  ce is a joint evalu-
ation  function  for  the  three  External  Relations  ( RELEX )  Directorates-
General: Development, External Relations and EuropeAid. A multi-annual 
strategy for the period 2002-2006 was validated by the External Relations 
Commissioners in November 2001. This indicates the main axes of evalu-
ations for the ﬁ ve-year period, the thematic and sectoral evaluations to be 
undertaken, and the strategy to be followed for geographical evaluations. 
It was also decided to develop a methodological approach for these types 
of evaluation. Evaluation of individual projects is not the responsibility of 
the joint evaluation function, which is in charge of regional and sector 
policies, programmes and programming cycles and only provides meth-
odological support. 

The Evaluation Unit in DG Enlargement co-ordinates and implements evalu-
ation activities for the Western Balkans.

6.2.2 

The 2006 Work Programme: work accomplished

Fifteen  evaluations  were  completed  during  this  year:  nine  geographi-
cal evaluations ( Tanzania, Armenia, Mali ( jointly with France ), Rwanda, 
Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius, TACIS and Central Africa ) and six thematic 
evaluations ( Governance, Co-ordination of Trade Capacity-Building ( within 
the  joint  3Cs  evaluation ),  Water  and  Sanitation,  Micro-projects  in  ACP 
countries, Statistical Support and General Budget Support ( jointly with 
23 other donors and seven partner countries ). Full texts of the reports can 
be found on the evaluation website140.

Eleven new evaluations were initiated: Bolivia, Jordan, Moldova, Guyana, 
Mozambique, Western Africa, Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, Aid delivery 
through the development banks and the EIB, aid delivery through the 
Agencies of the United Nations, and aid delivery through civil society. A 
synthesis covering all geographical evaluations published between 1998 
and 2006 was launched in December.

The DG Enlargement Evaluation Unit did not carry out any evaluations in 
the Western Balkans in 2006.

The methodological work undertaken since 2002 was published on the 
EuropeAid website in July. It covers guidelines for geographical and the-
matic  evaluations,  and  guidelines  for  project  evaluations.  It  also  gives 
methodological bases for conducting evaluations and speciﬁ es 13 tools 
commonly used in evaluating co-operation with partner countries. Full 

140  http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/how/evaluation/index_en.htm 

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6.  Results

131

Young beneﬁ ciaries of water project. Mali  -  © EC Delegation Mali

text in English, French and Spanish can be found on the evaluation web-
site: the paper versions in the three languages will be published in 2007. 
This methodological work has been presented to the General Directors 
of EU Member States, and the Evaluation Unit has started to detail this 
methodological work for Member State services interested in using it for 
harmonising approaches.

As regards dissemination and feedback mechanisms, four seminars were 
organised in the countries concerned to discuss six evaluation reports: 
Tanzania, Mali, Rwanda and Mauritius, which also covered Comoros and 
Seychelles. Two seminars were organised in Brussels to present two the-
matic reports: Governance, and Water and Sanitation. One seminar was 
held  in  Paris  within  the  DAC/OECD  to  present  the  results  of  the  joint 
evaluation on General Budget Support. Some ad hoc presentations were 
made to Commission services, the European Parliament’s Committee on 
Development, the Council’s Food Security group, and civil society organi-
sations. The ﬁ ches contradictoires or follow-up of earlier evaluations were 
published for the following reports: Ethiopia, Rehabilitation, Population, 
Malawi, Trade, Lesotho, Transport, and Environment and Forests. Most of 
the recommendations were implemented.

Regarding  the  next  programming  period,  discussions  between  the 
three Directorates-General about the evaluations to be carried out in the 
period 2007-2013 have led to a proposal to be submitted to the RELEX 
Commissioners early in 2007. The three axes of previous programming have 
been maintained: geographical evaluations, thematic and sectoral evalu-
ations, and implementation modalities, with an increase in the number of 
geographical evaluations to be undertaken.

6.2.3 

Lessons learnt from evaluations ﬁ nalised in 2006

Geographical Level Evaluations

Tanzania: The Commission’s support to Tanzania during the period 1996-
2005 has been relevant to the development needs of the country, even if 
it has given low priority to the issues of equity and vulnerability. Most of 
the expected results have materialised with exceptions in two areas: the 
quality of education and corruption. Remarkable contributions to poverty 
reduction have been achieved through a mix of substantial ﬁ nancial sector 
support and policy dialogue. The eﬀ ectiveness of the Commission’s inter-
ventions has been reduced by long delays in implementation.

Armenia: Over the period 1996-2004, the Commission’s co-operation with 
Armenia addressed most of the issues identiﬁ ed by the government as 
the key to securing sustainable growth, favouring integration of Armenia 
into the world economy and combating social inequality. However, the 
Commission’s interventions did not reﬂ ect a clear country co-operation 
strategy and targeted too many sectors or issues with a lack of continuity. 
By supporting reform of the institutional and legal framework governing 
economic activity, the Commission made an eﬀ ective contribution to the 
transition of Armenia to a market economy, but major obstacles to the de-
velopment of enterprises and foreign investments, such as corruption and 
lack of independence of the judiciary, have not been addressed. Support 
provided in the framework of the food security programme helped the 
government improve the management of public resources.

Mali ( joint with France ): The two donors’ respective co-operation with Mali 
over the period 1995-2004 has been relevant to the development needs of 
the country. Expected outputs have been met in most of the sectors aided, 
but sustainability and the medium and long-term impacts are limited. The 
contribution of the two donors to the global objective of poverty reduction 
is diﬃ  cult to show. Complementarity between the interventions of France 
and the Commission was high but did not give rise to real synergies.

Mauritius, Seychelles and Comoros: The Commission’s support to these 
three countries during the period 1996-2005 has been relevant to their 
development needs, more speciﬁ cally by increasing economic growth, 
by helping reduce poverty in Mauritius, and by restoring the rule of law in 
Comoros. The Commission has made a signiﬁ cant contribution to the water 
and sanitation sector in Mauritius and to improving governance in Comoros. 
Programming has been challenged as too ambitious in Seychelles, not 
supported by political dialogue and based on an incorrect prior analysis 
in Mauritius. For all three countries, the inception phases of projects were 
much too long and led to shortened implementation periods, with negative 
eﬀ ects on results and sustainability. Monitoring is weak and prevents any 
alert system or eﬀ ect measurement from functioning.

Rwanda: This evaluation covers EC support to Rwanda during the period 
1995-2005, which followed the 1994 genocide. The main impacts of the 
Commission’s interventions occurred in the judiciary and intercity roads. 
In the judiciary, a joint action of the Member States and the Commission 
brought real added value. Relatively absent until 2000, the Commission 
then based its action on two major processes rooted in the country’s tra-
ditional culture, aiming at justice and reconciliation on the one hand and 
poverty reduction on the other. For the initiatives taken in agriculture and 
roads, sustainability is not assured. Development strategy has to assess the 
potential role of the private sector better as a support to the future actions 
of the Commission.

TACIS:  The  Commission’s  interventions  in  the  framework  of  Council 
Regulation 99/2000 ( TACIS ) have proved relevant for both EU strategic 
priorities  for  the  region  and  priorities  expressed  by  partner  countries. 
Nevertheless, at the programming level, the needs of the poorest coun-
tries have not been suﬃ  ciently addressed and, at the implementation level, 
TACIS has showed a limited capacity to respond to a changing environ-
ment. The results and impacts of TACIS are mainly visible in the ﬁ eld of 
institutional, legal and administrative reform and, to a lesser extent, in the 
area of economic and private-sector development. On eﬃ  ciency, TACIS 
has suﬀ ered from inadequate delivery mechanisms, focusing too much on 
stand-alone projects, a situation that inhibits dialogue, ownership, ﬂ exibility 
and longer-term objectives.

Central Africa: The strategy, evolving towards regional integration, was 
relevant. The transport sector has had positive impact on access to social 
services, but not yet on the development of interregional commercial trade. 
Positive eﬀ ects have been felt in the form of protection of the environment 
and a better institutional framework in this ﬁ eld. Sustainability of activities is 
weak because of lack of real regional partnership, which explains low own-
ership and very low political and ﬁ nancial commitments from the regional 
authorities. There is also a lack of co-ordination and complementarity be-
tween the various ﬁ nancial instruments used by the Commission and there 

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6.  Results

evaluation: review of the 2006 work programme 

Participatory resource appraisal. Philippines  -  © Haribon Foundation

is very often no link between projects ﬁ nanced by national programmes, 
regional programmes, thematic programmes and facilities. Eﬃ  ciency of 
activities was considered unsatisfactory.

Synthesis

Some major lessons can be learned from these geographical evaluations, 
as follows:

 ■ strategy and actions are both relevant to the needs of the partner 
country and in coherence with the aims of the European Union;

 ■ the Commission’s interventions have contributed to some major im-
pacts and lessons which could be transferable to other countries;

 ■ the road networks in Tanzania and Rwanda have had positive eﬀ ects 

on poverty reduction;

 ■ in  Tanzania,  interventions  in  the  education  sector  have  increased 
the enrolment of boys and girls, but the quality of education is not 
secured;

 ■ support for reform of the institutional and legal framework governing 
economic activity has helped the transition of Armenia to a market 
economy;

 ■ intervention of the Commission in the water and sanitation sector in 

Mauritius has contributed to a national sectoral approach;

 ■ the Commission’s initiative in Comoros has contributed to improved 

governance;

 ■ Rwanda is an example of a country emerging from a crisis where ac-
tivities rooted in traditional culture have made a major contribution to 
better justice and poverty reduction;

 ■ in most cases, programming has been overambitious and activities 
cover too wide a range of sectors, with successes in some cases, as 
seen above, but failures in others, e.g. the ﬁ ght against corruption in 
Tanzania and Armenia, decentralisation in Mali, the public sector in 
Rwanda and Seychelles;

 ■ in too many cases sustainability is not assured, either because the 
Commission’s implementation strategy failed to pay enough atten-
tion to this issue or because the partner country’s reforms were not 
rapid enough to foresee the funds needed for maintenance of public 
investments or to ensure a comprehensive sectoral approach;

 ■ the Commission has not based its strategies upon a proper understand-
ing of how to tackle poverty reduction in partner countries ( examples 
will be found in the evaluation reports for Tanzania and Mali ). The 
global programming strategy has been weak for Armenia, Mauritius, 
Seychelles, Comoros, and the TACIS regulation;

 ■ as regards eﬃ  ciency, cumbersome procedures, lack of ﬂ exibility, and 
lengthy delays in the inception phase of some projects have hindered 
the expected impacts of the Commission’s actions;

 ■ lack of or weak monitoring of activities at project management level 
impedes a good alert system and prevents systematic examination of 
the results of these activities.

Thematic and Sectoral Evaluations

Good Governance: The evaluation, which covers the period 1994-2004, 
comes to some major conclusions. The EC has made the right choice in 
putting governance at the top of its political agenda and co-operation 
priorities; it has made substantial progress in dealing with governance, 
particularly in terms of deﬁ ning what are likely to be the most eﬀ ective 
approaches to sustainable improvements. The EC is contributing to achiev-
ing general and speciﬁ c regional governance objectives, but impact on 
institutional change is uncertain. When dealing with partner countries, 
the EC adopts three main identities – political player, development agency 
and donor administration – and there are strong indications that there is 
no convergence or interplay between these three identities. There is also 
a widespread perception by external stakeholders that the EC’s primary 
role ( and focus of interest ) is limited to management and administration. 
Major gaps still exist between centrally deﬁ ned policy frameworks and 
actual implementation practices in the ﬁ eld.

Water and Sanitation: The evaluation covers the Commission’s support 
to partner countries in the water and sanitation sector during the period 
1995-2004. The study concludes that EC support to water supply was suc-
cessful, but less so for sanitation. Water service delivery is most eﬀ ective 
and eﬃ  cient when it is part of a focal sector and when there is continuous 
and long-term involvement. Impact on health and on poverty reduction 
seems positive, but gender had only low priority. Integrated water resources 
management principles are incorporated in such measures, and local donor 
co-ordination is eﬀ ective. Sustainability may not be ensured because cost 
recovery is weak.

Micro-projects programmes in ACP countries: Over the period 1998-2003, 
the relevance of this instrument for the Commission has been demon-
strated generally. It has strong added value in deﬁ ned situations and helps 
reinforce local development processes in areas characterised by diﬃ  cult co-
operation with the Commission. The report shows that these programmes 
have produced signiﬁ cant impacts, particularly in socio-economic infra-
structures. In some cases implementation has faced major delays, harming 
eﬀ ectiveness of the action. The study identiﬁ es best practices and best 
conditions for sustainability.

Statistics projects/programmes supported by the Commission: these 
contributed  to  improving  the  capacity  of  statistical  institutions  in  the 
partner  countries  and  regions  by  transferring  know-how  and  training 
human  resources.  Substantial  output  was  achieved  and  nearly  all 
projects  were  relevant.  However,  to  date,  only  a  few  projects  have 
addressed  the legal, regulatory and organisational frameworks of partners’ 
statistical systems, and few have explicitly contributed to awareness of the 
importance of statistical data in evidence-based decision-making. Outcomes 
are limited and sustainability of the progress achieved remains very fragile. 
As  a  result,  further  analysis  and  advocacy  of  the  use  of  statistics  in 
decision-making through political dialogue and consultation with beneﬁ ciary 
countries  have  been  identiﬁ ed  as  priorities.  The  issue  is  particularly 
important for poverty reduction strategy monitoring and the increasing 
use of budget support.

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Community radio in Mindanao. Philippines  -  © MuCARD

Joint  evaluation  of  co-ordination  of  trade  capacity-building  in 
partner countries: considerable eﬀ ort has been made in recent years to 
develop co-ordination mechanisms at various EU levels. While the design 
of these mechanisms is adequate, in practice co-ordination has not led to 
the expected results beyond information-sharing. The frequent absence 
of an articulation between trade capacity- building and the goal of pov-
erty reduction has limited the contribution of EU support to setting up 
comprehensive capacity-building for trade in partner countries. While the 
integrated framework for trade-related technical assistance is the mecha-
nism with the highest potential for structuring an all-donor-partner co-
ordination, its ﬁ rst step, the Diagnostic Trade Integration Study, has even 
not been the starting point for funding and implementing strategic trade 
capacity-building initiatives.

Joint evaluation on General Budget Support: the variety of designs and 
contexts for GBS calls for care in generalising, but important conclusions 
can be drawn. The overall assessments of the country studies were clearly 
positive; GBS has been a relevant response to acknowledged problems in 
aid eﬀ ectiveness. It can be an eﬃ  cient, eﬀ ective and sustainable way of sup-
porting national poverty reduction strategies. The provision of discretionary 
funds through national budget systems has produced systemic eﬀ ects on 
capacity, particularly capacity in public ﬁ nance management. GBS tends 
to enhance the country-level quality of aid as a whole, through its direct 
and indirect eﬀ ects on coherence, harmonisation and alignment. Most 
of the eﬀ ects of GBS inputs so far have been on access to services, rather 
than income poverty and empowerment of the poor. It is important not to 
overload this instrument, but in all cases the ability to learn from experience 
suggests that GBS could become more eﬀ ective, and have a broader scope, 
over time. The typical objectives of GBS are long-term, so it is important to 
reduce the risk of interruption in support.

Synthesis

 ■ Again relevance is noted both for responding to the needs of the 
partner  country  and  for  being  in  coherence  with  the  aims  of  the 
European Union;

 ■ Some major impacts and successes can be noted;

 ■ The support to water services has been valuable;

 ■ Micro-projects,  in  certain  situations  and  under  certain  conditions, 

appear to be an instrument with strong value-added;

 ■ The EC contributed to improving capacity-building, transfer of know-

how and training in the statistical sector;

 ■ The overall assessment of Global Budget Support has been positive.

 Some weaknesses are nevertheless pointed out:

 ■ Support  to  sanitation  has  been  much  less  successful  than  water 

support;

 ■ Statistics projects and programmes did not suﬃ  ciently take into ac-
count the legal and organisational framework of partner countries 
and did not explain the importance of statistics for evidence-based 
decision-making;

 ■ EU-level co-ordination of Trade Capacity Building in partner countries 
failed to give expected results because project implementation did not 
draw on the diﬀ erent co-ordination mechanisms available;

 ■ There is a lack of overview and weak or non-explicit articulation of the 
contribution of sectors towards higher objectives like poverty reduc-
tion. Crosscutting issues such as gender seem not suﬃ  ciently taken 
into account;

 ■ There are sometimes wide gaps between centrally deﬁ ned policy 
frameworks and actual implementation practices in the ﬁ eld ( cf. evalua-
tion on good governance, co-ordination of trade capacity-building );

 ■ Delays in implementation are often noted and hinder the eﬀ ective-

ness of actions;

 ■ Sustainability is questioned in nearly all the sectoral evaluations, mainly 
because of lack of awareness of the global objectives to be achieved 
or lack of contextualisation of the centrally deﬁ ned policy framework.

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134

6.  Results

evaluation: review of the 2006 work programme 

Water point. Chad  -  © EC Delegation Chad

6.2.4 

Outlook for 2007

The evaluation programme for 2007 will be the ﬁ rst annual programme 
under the norms set for the multi-annual evaluation programme for 2007-
2013. In 2007, the joint evaluation unit will be launching ﬁ ve country-level 
evaluations ( Angola, Central African Republic, Niger, Uganda and Chad ), 
two regional level evaluations ( MEDA and ASEAN, incl. Laos, Malaysia and 
Thailand ), four thematic evaluations ( Health sector policy development, 
Poverty-related diseases, Education sector policy development, incl. basic 
and secondary education, and Support to the decentralisation process ), 
and will further develop methodology with other donors for evaluation 
budget support. 

As  regards  the  DG  Enlargement  evaluation  unit,  an  interim  evaluation 
scheme for pre-accession aid to Croatia will be launched in the second 
quarter of 2007. 

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6.  Results

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A
n
n
e
x
e
s

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138

7.  Annexes

ec assistance detailed in other reports 

ECHO/funded mobile health centre. Colombia  -  © EC Delegation Colombia and Ecuador/Natalia Cepeda

7.1 

 EC assistance 
detailed in other 
reports 

7.1.1 

Humanitarian assistance

The Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid (DG ECHO) provides assist-
ance to the victims of natural or man-made disasters in third countries, 
on the sole basis of humanitarian needs. In 2006, DG ECHO’s needs-based 
response  to  humanitarian  crises  in  over  60  countries  was  channelled 
through 90 funding decisions, totalling € 671 million.

DG ECHO pays particular attention to ‘forgotten’ crises, i.e. situations where 
major humanitarian needs receive little attention from donors (reﬂ ected 
in the level of oﬃ  cial aid received) and low media coverage. In 2006, the 
following most forgotten crises were identiﬁ ed: the Sahrawi refugees in 
Algeria, Chechnya and its neighbouring republics, the separatist conﬂ ict in 
Jammu and Kashmir, Nepal (Bhutanese refugees and Maoist insurrection) 
and Burma/Myanmar. The total support allocated to these forgotten crises 
during the year amounted to € 65.7million, representing 14% of the amounts 
committed for geographical decisions. 

While 2005 was marked by major natural disasters, 2006 has seen the severe 
worsening of several long-standing complex crises, as in Darfur, Sri Lanka 
and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. DG ECHO also had to respond 
rapidly to the sudden-onset, short but highly complex Lebanon crisis in July/
August. In these situations, as has happened almost systematically during 
recent years, the Commission/ECHO needed to call on the Commission’s 
emergency reserve in order to help further victims of humanitarian crises 
(new crises or ongoing ones which had severely worsened). This proved 
necessary three times over the year, for Sudan (Darfur), Lebanon and the 
Occupied Palestinian Territories, for a total of € 140 million, leading to an 
increase of 35% of its initial budget (€ 495 million).

MAIN INTERVENTIONS IN 2006 (BY REGION)

Africa

DG ECHO allocated € 322 million (i.e. 48% of its ﬁ nal budget) to the African 
countries,  with  the  largest  funding  for  Darfur  (Sudan)  with  a  total  of 
€ 97 million plus € 13.5 million in Chad for the mainly Sudanese refugees, 
and the Democratic Republic of Congo (€ 43 million). The other major 
interventions in Africa included Liberia (€ 19.8 million), Uganda (€ 19 million) 
and Burundi (€ 17 million).

The three-year-long conﬂ ict in Darfur (Sudan) has led to three million 
people in need of humanitarian assistance, including more than two million 
internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 200 000 refugees in neighbouring 
Chad. Since the signing of the peace agreement in May, the situation has 

141  OCHA – Situation Report – Lebanon Response – 28 August 2006

further deteriorated. The conﬂ ict has become increasingly fragmented, 
with rising insecurity, new waves of IDPs, as well as additional violations of 
International Humanitarian Law.

On the other hand, the peace agreement of January 2005 putting an end 
to 20 years of civil war between the north and the south has given hope for 
an improvement but has also opened the door to the return of thousands 
of refugees and IDPs to an already depleted area, thus generating further 
humanitarian needs. One of the consequences of this has been a series 
of disease outbreaks: yellow fever, meningitis and cholera, requiring swift 
humanitarian response. The humanitarian situation in large parts of Sudan 
therefore remained highly precarious, requiring a sustained high level of 
engagement to assist the most vulnerable populations. This was reﬂ ected 
in the repeated and substantial reinforcement of the humanitarian budget 
for the Darfur crisis over the year, from € 40 million (initial) to € 97 million.

In spite of the return of a certain degree of political stability towards the 
end of the year, the Democratic Republic of Congo is faced with crushing 
poverty and a desperate lack of essential services, even if the requirement 
to meet new emergency humanitarian needs has reduced considerably. 
In view of the gradual return of central government services and the ever-
increasing presence of development donors, the European Commission’s 
humanitarian response has started to focus on the return of some 1.5 million 
IDPs and 350 000 refugees, in line with an overall LRRD-driven approach.

The east of the country (Ituri, Kivus and Katanga), where insecurity is most 
problematic and population movements most signiﬁ cant, remained the 
primary concern. The main axes of intervention attempt to ensure that 
people have access to a minimum package of health services and that 
displaced people and returnees are sustained until they re-establish their 
livelihoods. This entailed support with food and non-food items, seeds 
and tools, water and sanitation, the rehabilitation of basic infrastructures 
and the provision of logistic support. The Commission’s humanitarian air 
support service (ECHO Flight) continued over the year. 

Mediterranean, Middle East

One of the major events was the hostilities in Lebanon in July and August 
which led to  1 187 dead and more than 4 000 wounded141, in addition to 
nearly a million who had to ﬂ ee the conﬂ ict and the almost total destruc-
tion of infrastructure and housing. The humanitarian situation in the West 
Bank and the Gaza Strip deteriorated rapidly as a consequence of the ﬁ scal 
crisis facing the Palestinian Authority (PA) following the election of Hamas in 
the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections, increased Israeli security 
and access restrictions, and a resumption of Israeli military operations. In 
both those complex crises the Commission, through DG ECHO, mobilised 
a multi-faceted response in which the rapid delivery of humanitarian aid 
played a major role (more than € 130 million in aid).

Caucasus

The  situation  in  Chechnya  visibly  evolved  during  2006  towards  some 
degree of stabilisation in the security situation. Military operations have 
become more targeted and geographically limited. However, even if the 

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ec assistance detailed in other reports 

7.  Annexes

139

security situation has signiﬁ cantly improved in this forgotten crisis, the 
scope of destruction and the associated humanitarian needs remained 
substantial, with sustained levels of EC funding comparable to the previous 
year (€ 26 million in 2006). 

Asia

High levels of need and vulnerability persist in many areas of Afghanistan, 
exacerbated by climatic hazards such as drought and ﬂ ooding. In the south, 
progress continued to be impeded by an ongoing conﬂ ict between a range of 
local forces and the government and international military presence. For these 
reasons, DG ECHO sustained and even slightly increased its assistance level 
to the victims of the Afghan crisis. The main sectors of intervention included 
shelter, water and sanitation, and protection (€ 23.5 million in 2006).

The main theatre of humanitarian operations in South-East and East Asia 
was the forgotten crisis in Burma/Myanmar where the Commission supported 
530 000 displaced persons. The Burma/Myanmar authorities continued to 
impose substantial restrictions on humanitarian organisations, and major 
parts of the country remained inaccessible (€ 25.7 million in 2006). 

Latin America

In Latin America Colombia remained by far the most important intervention 
for the humanitarian services of the Commission. The internal conﬂ ict in the 
country has tended to escalate since June. The ﬂ ow of people into Ecuador, 
Venezuela and Panama is increasing, with UNHCR indicating almost 500 000 
‘persons of concern’ in these three countries. Therefore the level of assist-
ance allocated (€ 12 million) was similar to the 2005 one.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Humanitarian policy

Towards the end of the year, DG ECHO launched a consultation of partners 
and EU Member States, which will feed into a Policy Statement on EU hu-
manitarian aid, to be issued in the course of 2007. The humanitarian services 
of the Commission remain committed to the reform of the international 
humanitarian system and adhere to the Good Humanitarian Donorship 
principles.

Disaster preparedness

The year began with a series of droughts in Horn of Africa, Southern Africa 
and in Afghanistan, the spill-over from the 2005 nutritional crisis in Niger 
and the earthquake in Java (Indonesia) on 27 May leaving more than one 
million people homeless. DG ECHO responded timely to all these crises. 
The Commission, through DG ECHO, also supports disaster-preparedness 
interventions in several regions of the world: this was the case in 2006, in 
the context of the DIPECHO programmes in the Caribbean, Latin America, 
Central Asia, South East Asia and South Asia. Speciﬁ c interventions were 
launched,  such  as  the  drought-preparedness  decision  for  the  Horn  of 
Africa. DG ECHO aims to integrate and mainstream disaster- preparedness 
in its relief interventions, when and where appropriate, and continues to 
work with other services of the Commission and relevant stakeholders for 
integration of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in sustainable development 
interventions.

Evaluation of DG ECHO

While it has already been thoroughly evaluated twice during its existence, 
DG ECHO was evaluated a third time in 2006 (covering 2000-2005). The 
entire life of DG ECHO has now been evaluated going back to its foundation 
in 1992/93. The evaluation, which acknowledges the prominent role of DG 
ECHO in the international humanitarian and donor community, focuses on 
the structure of the DG, its method of operation and its international pres-
ence. While there are many points for reﬂ ection contained in the report, it 
is clear that among the priorities will be the qualitative strengthening of 
operational and co-ordination capacity of the humanitarian services of the 
Commission. The report is in the public domain and may be accessed at: 
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/evaluation/partners_en.htm#echo.

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Vaccination programme. Thailand  -  © International Rescue Committee

140

7.  Annexes

ec assistance detailed in other reports 

Budget

The table below provides a geographical breakdown of the funds for 
humanitarian aid committed on the 2006 budget sources (amounts in €).

Table 38 // Humanitarian Aid In 2006 
in €

UNIT/REGION
A/1: Africa, Caribbean, Paciﬁ c

  Horn of Africa

  Great Lakes

  West Africa

  Caribbean, Paciﬁ c, Indian Ocean

  Southern Africa

A/2: Eastern Europe, New Independent States, Middle East, Mediterranean

NIS (Chechnya, Caucasus, Tajikistan, …)

  Middle East

  Mediterranean countries

A/3: Asia, Iraq, Latin America

  Asia

  Latin America

0/1: Thematic funding + grants
 Technical Assistance 
 Dipecho - Disaster Preparedness
 Support Expenditure & use of re-assigned revenue
TOTAL 2006

The following table shows the relative share of the various units in the 
total funding.

AMOUNTS
322 060 000

161 050 000

84 050 000

56 150 000

1 610 000

19 200 000

177 900 000
33 000 000

134 000 000

10 900 000
105 491 305

86 891 305

18 600 000

20 500 000
19 000 000
19 050 000
7 005 627
671 006 932

%
48%

27%

16%

3%
3%
3%
1%
100%

Table 39 // Humanitarian Aid in 2006

3%  3%  1% 

3% 

16% 

27% 

.  Africa, Caribbean, Paciﬁc

48% 

.  Eastern Europe, New Independent States, Middle East, Mediterranean

.  Asia, Iraq, Latin America

.  Thematic funding + grants

.  Technical Assistance

.  Dipecho - Disaster Preparedness

.  Support Expenditure & use of re-assigned revenue

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introduction to ﬁ nancial tables

7.  Annexes

141

Pavement art. Nicaragua  -  © EC Delegation Nicaragua

Not all the resources included in external assistance can also be reported 
as Oﬃ  cial Development Aid (ODA), commonly known as Development 
Assistance,  or  Oﬃ  cial  Aid  (OA).  ODA  and  OA  are  diﬀ erent  categories. 
Development Assistance is equally known as Development Assistance 
or Development Co-operation. Whether a project is classiﬁ ed as ODA or 
not depends on the recipient country and the purpose or content of the 
aid. The general administrative costs of providing aid to the project and 
programme expenses also has to be added – see Table 7.5.

More than 83% of the resources committed in 2006 are considered report-
able as ODA. A little over 17% are projects related to OA countries – see 
Table 7.6.

Every analysis of co-operation needs to identify the beneﬁ ciary countries 
and regions. Here, the EC has to diﬀ erentiate between bilateral and multilat-
eral aid. Bilateral aid, as deﬁ ned by the Development Assistance Committee 
(DAC), is direct co-operation by the EC with a country (or region) where the 
EC controls the activities and knows how, when and where the resources 
are being spent. Multilateral aid comprises direct contributions to the core 
funding of multilateral agencies, who report back to the Commission at a 
later stage about the expenditure.

Table 7.7 gives a breakdown of the regions that receive EC aid. Africa (includ-
ing North Africa) is the region getting the most support, 38% of total ODA. 
Asia ranks second in terms of support, 19% of the total.

A detailed breakdown of EC development aid per country and region, in 
line with the DAC countries list, will be found in Table 7.8. The top ten ODA 
countries in 2006 included Turkey, Serbia, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic 
of Congo, Palestinian Admin. Areas, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Morocco, India 
and Ukraine.

It is also important to identify the sectors of activities that receive support. 
The tables show there is an increase in support for social infrastructure 
(education and health, water management, civil society, government, etc.). 
In 2006 more than 40% of new commitments were directed to social infra-
structure. Details of all sectors of activity are given in Table 7.10 for commit-
ments and Table 7.11 for payments.

These graphics summarise the overall activities of the EC, while Table 7.12 
gives an overview by sector and region of the commitments made by 
EuropeAid, which represent 63% of EC development assistance. A major 
concentration of commitments, almost 50% of the total, relates to initia-
tives in the ACP countries, and 42% of the total was allocated to social 
infrastructure projects. 

The remaining tables include comparative analyses of the above elements 
over the period 2001-2006, with particular reference to the poverty focus 
of EC aid.

7.1.2 

Macro-ﬁ nancial assistance

The Commission implements Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) in associa-
tion with support programmes of the IMF and the World Bank, and after 
consulting the Economic and Financial Committee and securing a Council 
Decision. MFA incorporates a set of principles which underline its excep-
tional character (ad hoc Decisions from the Council), its complementarities 
to ﬁ nancing from international ﬁ nancial institutions, and its macroeconomic 
conditionality. It is an instrument designed to help countries experiencing 
serious but generally short-term macroeconomic imbalances (balance of 
payments and ﬁ scal diﬃ  culties). In close co-ordination with IMF and World 
Bank programmes, MFA has promoted policies that are tailored to speciﬁ c 
country needs, with the overall objective of stabilising the external and 
internal ﬁ nancial situation and establishing market-oriented economies.

In 2006, € 52 million of MFA were disbursed, of which € 42 million in the form 
of grants (€ 13 million to Albania, € 7 million to Tajikistan and € 22 million to 
Georgia in two tranches of € 11 million) and € 10 million in the form of loans 
to Bosnia and Herzegovina. New operations totalled € 83.5 million of MFA 
authorisation. Council Decision 2006/40/EC of 24 January provides MFA of 
up to € 33.5 million in the form of a grant to Georgia, and Decision 2006/880/
EC of 30 November provides exceptional EC ﬁ nancial assistance to Kosovo 
of up to € 50 million in the form of a grant.

7.2 

 Introduction to 
ﬁ nancial tables

There are diﬀ erent ways of looking at the development assistance provided 
by the European Commission. The Annual Report provides an overview 
of policies and the targets achieved in 2006. The table and graphs that 
follow present the ﬁ gures for development assistance in the year, featured 
by country, region and sector.

2006 saw a signiﬁ cant improvement in the overall ﬁ gures for development 
assistance and the focus on poverty. The graphics help to highlight the 
initiatives taken, as well as the importance of the ﬁ ght against poverty in 
the work of the EC.

The tables show the importance of external assistance (EA) in the overall 
expenditure of the European Commission. Deﬁ ned as the resources used to 
foster programmes and projects beyond the European Union, EA accounts 
for more than 10% of the total allocations in 2006 (General Commission 
Budget and EDF) – Table 7.1.

The sources of EA are the General Budget of the EC and the European 
Development Fund. A global overview of the share of resources will be 
found in Figure 7.2. A detailed breakdown of the budget – Table 7.3 – iden-
tiﬁ es the diﬀ erent policy areas that contribute to this external assistance 
eﬀ ort. A similar breakdown for the EDF can be found in Table 7.4.

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142

7.  Annexes

ﬁ nancial tables

7.3 

Financial tables

Table 7.1. // Percentage of Commission  Budget committed on External Assistance in 2006

Commitments

12 124 M€ ; 10%

109 893 M€ ; 90%

.  External Aid (Budget + EDF)

.  Commission Budget without External Aid

COMMITMENTS IN € MILLION
Commission Budget + EDF  
Commission Budget without External Aid 
External Aid (Budget + EDF) 

Of which: 
Budget EuropeAid 
Budget non EuropeAid 
EDF 

122 017
109 893
12 124

4 206
4 510
3 408 

Table 7.2. // Sources of External Assistance in 2006

Commitments

3 408 M€ ; 28%

4 206 M€ ; 35%

.  Budget EuropeAid

.  Budget non EuropeAid

.  EDF

4 510 M€ ; 37%

COMMITMENTS IN € MILLION
External Aid (Budget + EDF) 

Of which: 
Budget EuropeAid 
Budget non EuropeAid 
EDF 

12 124 

4 206
4 510
3 408

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ﬁ nancial tables

7.  Annexes

143

Table 7.3. // General Commission Budget for External Assistance in 2006
in € million

POLICY AREA 

DESCRIPTION 

Commit. 

Payments 

Commit. 

Payments 

Commit. 

Payments 

TOTAL 

MANAGED BY  
EUROPEAID 

MANAGED BY
OTHER DGs

01 - ECFIN 
05 - AGRI 
06 - ENERGY 
07 - ENV 
08 - RTD 

11 - FISH 
13 - REGIO 
14 - TAXUD 
15 - EAC 
18 - JAI 
19 - RELEX 

20 - TRADE 
21- DEV 

22 - ELARG 

23 - ECHO 
TOTAL 

Macroeconomic assistance + EBRD 
Pre-Adhesion - SAPARD 
Intelligent energy for Europe programme 
LIFE (European Financial Instrument for the Environment) 
Combating major diseases + Speciﬁ c measures in support 
of international co-operation 
International ﬁ sheries agreements 
Pre-Adhesion - ISPA 
Customs co-operation and international assistance 
Education 
Refugee / Migration 
Anti-personnel mines 
Rapid reaction mechanism  
ECIP 
Human Rights 
New Independent States 
Mediterranean 
Latin America 
Asia 
Evaluation/coordination/anti-fraud 
RELEX - Other speciﬁ c actions 
External trade relations 
Food Aid 
Co-ﬁ nancing NGO’s 
Environment 
Integrating gender issues in development co-operation 
Social infrastructure and services  
Capacity-building for information and communication
technologies and sustainable energy 
South Africa 
Bananas ACP 
Sugar ACP 
Evaluation of the results of Community aid, 
follow-up and audit measures 
Coordination and promotion of awareness on 
development issues 
DEV  - Other speciﬁ c actions 
Pre-Adhesion - PHARE 
Pre-Adhesion - Turkey 
Pre-Adhesion - Malta & Cyprus 
Pre-Adhesion - Other speciﬁ c actions 
Pre-Adhesion - multi-country horizontal programmes 
Western Balkans 
Humanitarian Aid 

Breakdown by budget line of external aid ﬁ nanced on the General Commission Budget in 2006 
After DAC Analysis the amounts considered as ODA + OA are 7.994 M€ commitments and 7.281 M€ payments 
The remaining amounts are considered as neither ODA nor OA 

91.99 
299.82 
5.08 
16.55 

70.68 
192.02 
582.69 
1.60 
20.20 
74.02 
18.16 
30.07 
- 
145.14 
527.58 
1 177.67 
355.81 
853.42 
15.44 
203.64 
18.40 
428.71 
211.88 
58.05 
3.98 
128.79 

- 
125.12 
30.69 
38.80 

53.78 
213.76 
1.69 
13.13 

29.37 
161.52 
572.57 
0.96 
19.52 
73.39 
10.15 
18.23 
0.31 
111.95 
444.95 
1 235.47 
342.92 
736.59 
12.32 
119.70 
15.74 
346.94 
146.64 
34.79 
2.29 
66.21 

0.03 
107.48 
20.76 
- 

- 
- 
- 
- 

- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
18.16 
- 
- 
145.14 
527.58 
1 177.67 
355.81 
853.42 
15.44 
61.22 
- 
428.71 
211.88 
58.05 
3.98 
128.79 

- 
125.12 
30.69 
38.80 

- 
- 
- 
- 

- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
10.15 
- 
0.31 
111.95 
444.95 
1 235.47 
342.92 
736.59 
12.32 
27.04 
- 
346.94 
146.64 
34.79 
2.29 
66.21 

0.03 
107.48 
20.76 
- 

9.61 

4.64 

9.61 

4.64 

91.99 
299.82 
5.08 
16.55 

70.68 
192.02 
582.69 
1.60 
20.20 
74.02 
- 
30.07 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
142.42 
18.40 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

- 
- 
- 
- 

- 

53.78
213.76
1.69
13.13

29.37
161.52
572.57
0.96
19.52
73.39
-
18.23
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
92.66
15.74
-
-
-
-
-

-
-
-
-

-

7.98 
22.30 
864.09 
458.44 
1.03 
14.58 
442.92 
523.54 
645.53 
8 716.00 

5.17 
18.37 
1 138.75 
300.80 
14.58 
16.54 
46.43 
547.13 
608.34 

- 
15.64 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
7 613.92  4 205.69 

- 
11.99 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
3 663.48 

7.98 
6.66 
864.09 
458.44 
1.03 
14.58 
442.92 
523.54 
645.53 

5.17
6.37
1 138.75
300.80
14.58
16.54
46.43
547.13
608.34
4 510.31  3 950.44

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144

7.  Annexes

ﬁ nancial tables

Table 7.4. // European Development Fund (EDF) in 2006
in € million

INSTRUMENTS (1) 

COMMITMENTS (2) 

PAYMENTS (3) 

6TH, 7TH, 8TH EDF
National + regional indicative programmes (NIP/RIP) 
Interest-rate Subsidies 
Emergency Aid 
Aid for Refugees 
Risk Capital 
Stabex 
SYSMIN 
Structural Adjustment Facility 
Transferred Funds (prior to 6th EDF) 
Use of interests 

TOTAL 

9TH EDF + Transitional measures
Envelope A 
Envelope B 
Regional Project 
Intra ACP Project 
Implementation expenditure + Congo, Rep. Dem. 
Studies + tech. Assist. to Overseas Countries and Territories 
Transferred Funds ( 6th EDF) 
Other 

TOTAL 

TOTAL EDF 

Breakdown by instrument of development assistance ﬁ nanced on the European Development Fund (EDF) in 2006
After DAC Analysis the amounts considered as ODA + OA are 3.358 M€ commitments and 2.719 M€ payments
The remaining amounts are considered as neither ODA nor OA

(1) Except The Investment Facility (9th EDF) managed by the EIB 
(2)  Commitments 2005 have been calculated following DAC procedures: 
Total commitments made in 2006 reduced by decommitments made on projects committed in 2006 
(3) Before recoveries 

-

- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
9.13 
- 
- 
- 
- 

9.13 

1 744.05 
353.70 
222.79 
1 036.97 
35.49 
1.70 
- 
4.03 

3 398.73 

3 407.86 

611.98
1.60
0.24
8.00
63.11
189.52
15.95
1.12
1.05
0.66 

893.24

1 240.86
154.02
49.62
431.17
21.72
-
4.54
31.04 

1 932.97

2 826.21

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ﬁ nancial tables

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145

Table 7.5. // Percentage of  External Assistance used for Development Aid (ODA and OA)
Commitments in € million

0 

2 000 

4 000 

6 000 

8 000 

10 000 

12 000 

i

d
A

l
a
n
r
e
t
x
E

A
O
/
A
D
O

- non  
ODA/OA 

.  ODA

.  OA

.  non ODA/OA

.  Admin. Costs ODA

.  Admin. Costs OA

+ 
Administrative 
costs

ODA / OA External Assistance 

COMMITMENTS IN € MILLION

ODA 
OA 
non ODA/OA 
Admin. Costs ODA 
Admin. Costs OA 
TOTAL 

EXTERNAL AID 
9 474 
1 878 
772 

12 124 

ODA / OA
9 474
1 878

358
79
11 789

Table 7.6. // Relation between ODA and OA in the Development Aid of the EC in 2006

Commitments

1 957 M€ ; 17%

9 832 M€ ; 83%

.  Oﬃcial Development Assistance (ODA)

.  Oﬃcial Aid (OA)

COMMITMENTS IN € MILLION

TOTAL IN M€ 

Oﬃ  cial Development 
Assistance (ODA) 
Oﬃ  cial Aid (OA) 

Commit.   Payments 

MANAGED  
BY EUROPEAID 
Commit.   Payments 

MANAGED
BY OTHER DGs

Commit. 

 Payments

9 832 
1 957 

8 130 
2 307 

7 677 
147 

6 445 
238 

2 155 
1 810 

1 684
2 070 

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Table 7.7. // Regional distribution of aid to developing countries (ODA) in 2006

Commitments

605 M€ ; 6%

1 532 M€ ; 16%

1 245 M€ ; 13%

32 M€ ; 0%

1 852 M€ ; 19%

.  Europe

.  Africa

.  America

.  Asia

.  Oceania

759 M€ ; 8%

3 806 M€ ; 38%

.  Part I (ODA) Multilateral Aid, Total

.  Developing countries Unspeciﬁed

REGION 

Europe 

Africa 

America 

Asia 

Oceania 

Developing countries Unspeciﬁ ed 

PART I (ODA) MULTILATERAL AID,TOTAL 

TOTAL ODA (PART I) 

TOTAL OA (PART II) 

TOTAL 

TOTAL IN M€ 

MANAGED BY EUROPEAID 

MANAGED BY OTHER DGs

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments.  Payments 

Commitments  Payments 

1 532 

3 806 

759 

1 852 

32 

1 245 

605 
9 832 
1 957 

11 789 

1 069 

3 341 

666 

1 596 

64 

790 

602 

8 130 

2 307 

10 437 

255 

3 481 

732 

1.555 

32 

1.017 

605 

7 677 

147 

7 824 

159 

3 055 

640 

1 315 

64 

610 

602 

6 445 

238 

6 683 

1 277 

325 

27 

297 

– 

229 

– 

2 155 

1 810 

3 966 

910

286

27

282

–

180

–

1 684

2 070

3 754

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Table 7.8. // Country breakdown of EC Development Aid (ODA and OA) in 2006
 in € million

PART I: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES & TERRITORIES 

EUROPE, TOTAL 
Albania 
Belarus 
Bosnia-Herzegovina 
Croatia 
Macedonia (fYRoM) 
Moldova 
Montenegro 
Serbia 
Turkey 
Ukraine 
 States of ex-Yugoslavia unspecif. 
Europe, Regional 

AFRICA, TOTAL 
North of Sahara, Total   

Algeria 
Egypt 
Libya 
Morocco 
Tunisia 
North of Sahara, Regional 

South of Sahara, Total   

Angola 
Benin 
Botswana 
Burkina Faso 
Burundi 
Cameroon 
Cape Verde 
Central African Rep. 
Chad 
Comoros 
Congo, Dem. Rep. 
Congo, Rep. 
Djibouti 
Equatorial Guinea 
Eritrea 
Ethiopia 
Gabon 
Gambia 
Ghana 
Guinea 
Guinea-Bissau 
Ivory Coast 
Kenya 
Lesotho 
Liberia 
Madagascar 
Malawi 

TOTAL 

MANAGED  
BY EUROPEAID 

MANAGED
 BY OTHER DGs

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

1 531.88 
43.95 
5.07 
56.89 
127.74 
52.89 
10.01 
20.50 
339.85 
475.08 
160.16 
- 
239.74 

3 806.00 
542.77 
76.90 
129.00 
1.50 
168.15 
71.10 
96.11 
2 866.85 
47.82 
66.55 
9.00 
20.02 
134.21 
114.52 
25.20 
79.95 
42.45 
3.37 
240.64 
5.07 
11.10 
3.00 
10 
321.92 
19.15 
0.56 
20.81 
36.22 
10.22 
120.15 
43.43 
19.50 
39.74 
53.44 
75.15 

1 068.91 
56.89 
12.32 
68.19 
96.96 
46.46 
20.89 
14.44 
266.49 
310.00 
106.29 
- 
69.97 

3 340.89 
657.94 
38.26 
187.88 
0.65 
263.33 
95.25 
72.58 
2 682.53 
38.70 
28.33 
25.44 
106.38 
37.49 
40.87 
7.52 
11.09 
47.56 
3.91 
177.04 
40.86 
1.30 
3.24 
12.23 
134.83 
6.52 
1.16 
58.84 
18.78 
26.49 
63.06 
61.41 
3.96 
35.25 
130.34 
64.38 

254.89 
- 
5.07 
0.97 
- 
- 
10.00 
- 
0.50 
1.86 
159.97 
- 
76.51 

3 480.60 
530.73 
66.00 
129.00 
0.50 
168.15 
71.10 
95.98 
2 553.60 
44.82 
66.55 
9.00 
20.02 
117.21 
114.46 
25.20 
79.95 
28.95 
3.13 
191.14 
5.07 
11.10 
3.00 
4.00 
313.62 
19.15 
0.56 
20.75 
34.72 
9.22 
114.91 
39.38 
19.50 
19.90 
52.50 
75.15 

158.87 
0.89 
12.32 
2.13 
0.09 
0.05 
20.61 
- 
1.95 
2.21 
105.99 
- 
12.62 

3 055.20 
649.91 
31.00 
187.88 
- 
263.33 
95.25 
72.44 
2 404.89 
35.51 
28.33 
25.44 
106.38 
19.72 
40.87 
7.50 
11.09 
35.72 
3.65 
131.91 
40.80 
1.30 
3.24 
8.20 
130.58 
6.52 
1.16 
58.84 
17.36 
23.13 
59.02 
59.67 
3.63 
18.02 
129.39 
62.95 

1 277.00 
43.95 
- 
55.91 
127.74 
52.89 
0.01 
20.50 
339.35 
473.22 
0.20 
- 
163.23 

325.40 
12.04 
10.90 
- 
1.00 
- 
- 
0.14 
313.25 
3.00 
- 
- 
- 
17.00 
0.06 
- 
- 
13.50 
0.23 
49.50 
- 
- 
- 
6.00 
8.29 
- 
- 
0.06 
1.50 
1.00 
5.24 
4.06 
- 
19.84 
0.94 
- 

910.04
56.00
-
66.06
96.87
46.41
0.27
14.44
264.54
307.80
0.29
-
57.35

285.69
8.04
7.25
-
0.65
-
-
0.13
277.64
3.19
-
-
-
17.78
-
0.02
-
11.84
0.26
45.13
0.05
-
-
4.02
4.25
-
-
-
1.42
3.36
4.04
1.74
0.33
17.22
0.95
1.43

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Mali 
Mauritania 
Mauritius 
Mayotte 
Mozambique 
Namibia 
Niger 
Nigeria 
Rwanda 
St. Helena 
Sao Tome and Principe 
Senegal 
Seychelles 
Sierra Leone 
Somalia 
South Africa 
Sudan 
Swaziland 
Tanzania 
Togo 
Uganda 
Zambia 
Zimbabwe 
South of Sahara, Regional 

Africa Unspeciﬁ ed 

AMERICA, TOTAL 
North & Central, Total 
Anguilla 
Antigua & Barbuda 
Barbados 
Belize 
Costa Rica 
Cuba 
Dominica 
Dominican Republic 
El Salvador 
Grenada 
Guatemala 
Haiti 
Honduras 
Jamaica 
Mexico 
Montserrat 
Nicaragua 
Panama 
St. Kitts-Nevis 
St. Lucia 
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 
Trinidad & Tobago 
 Turks & Caicos Islands 
West Indies, Regional 
N. & C. America, Regional 

South, Total 

TOTAL 

MANAGED  
BY EUROPEAID 

MANAGED
 BY OTHER DGs

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

33.60 
86.15 
18.88 
3.62 
52.37 
0.50 
53.43 
43.00 
43.21 
15.59 
- 
2.09 
5.49 
10.92 
105.50 
125.12 
137.67 
6.10 
123.47 
0.80 
64.34 
125.52 
30.28 
206.01 
396.38 

759.12 
505.00 
8.29 
- 
2.33 
5.15 
- 
- 
4.27 
108.02 
2.00 
7.21 
35.99 
32.66 
30.76 
10.73 
13.00 
11.00 
88.15 
- 
2.85 
5.81 
3.97 
27.30 
10.64 
81.89 
13.00 
213.89 

103.11 
19.37 
12.56 
0.23 
116.43 
12.34 
67.21 
80.96 
53.93 
4.01 
2.98 
36.70 
3.81 
47.22 
70.54 
108.89 
238.54 
6.69 
155.43 
8.26 
126.10 
80.96 
50.93 
88.35 
0.41 

666.22 
364.75 
3.50 
1.24 
2.21 
2.83 
5.83 
2.23 
10.47 
31.01 
13.54 
0.61 
25.22 
65.79 
25.76 
37.92 
13.79 
5.83 
69.01 
10.17 
1.94 
0.75 
1.95 
2.33 
- 
1.17 
29.64 
245.56 

33.46 
83.69 
18.69 
3.62 
48.06 
0.50 
41.43 
43.00 
43.21 
15.59 
- 
0.29 
4.00 
9.58 
85.50 
125.12 
39.51 
6.10 
111.49 
0.80 
49.32 
125.36 
18.28 
204.02 
396.27 

731.94 
492.87 
8.29 
- 
2.33 
5.15 
- 
- 
4.27 
107.77 
- 
7.21 
33.39 
32.59 
30.20 
10.73 
13.00 
11.00 
87.99 
- 
2.85 
5.81 
3.97 
27.30 
10.64 
81.39 
7.00 
199.21 

103.03 
17.51 
12.24 
0.23 
112.73 
12.34 
58.80 
80.96 
53.93 
4.01 
2.98 
36.70 
0.78 
46.12 
53.51 
108.89 
157.03 
6.67 
142.63 
8.26 
110.13 
80.87 
37.30 
87.28 
0.40 

639.53 
357.27 
3.50 
1.24 
2.21 
2.83 
5.83 
2.10 
10.47 
30.78 
11.41 
0.55 
22.78 
65.07 
25.68 
37.92 
13.79 
5.83 
68.98 
10.17 
1.94 
0.75 
1.95 
2.33 
- 
0.55 
28.59 
226.75 

0.15 
2.46 
0.20 
- 
4.30 
- 
12.00 
- 
- 
- 
- 
1.80 
1.49 
1.35 
20.00 
- 
98.16 
- 
11.98 
- 
15.02 
0.16 
12.00 
1.98 
0.11 

27.18 
12.13 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
0.25 
2.00 
- 
2.60 
0.07 
0.56 
- 
- 
- 
0.16 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
0.50 
6.00 
14.68 

0.09
1.87
0.31
-
3.70
-
8.41
-
-
-
-
-
3.03
1.11
17.03
-
81.51
0.02
12.80
-
15.97
0.09
13.63
1.07
0.01

26.69
7.49
-
-
-
-
-
0.12
-
0.23
2.13
0.06
2.44
0.72
0.08
-
-
-
0.03
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.62
1.05
18.81

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ﬁ nancial tables

7.  Annexes

149

Argentina 
Bolivia 
Brazil 
Chile 
Colombia 
Ecuador 
Guyana 
Paraguay 
Peru 
Suriname 
Uruguay 
Venezuela 
South America, Regional 
America, Regional 

ASIA, TOTAL 
Middle East, Total 
Bahrain 
Iran 
Iraq 
Jordan 
Lebanon 
Oman 
 Palestinian Admin. Areas 
Saudi Arabia 
Syria 
Yemen 
Middle East, regional 

South & Centr. Asia, Total 
Afghanistan 
Armenia 
Azerbaijan 
Bangladesh 
Bhutan 
Georgia 
India 
Kazakhstan 
Kyrgyz Rep. 
Maldives 
Myanmar 
Nepal 
Pakistan 
Sri Lanka 
Tajikistan 
Turkmenistan 
Uzbekistan 
South & Central Asia, Regional 

Far East, Total 

Cambodia 
China 
East Timor 
Indonesia 
Korea, Dem. 
Laos 

TOTAL 

MANAGED  
BY EUROPEAID 

MANAGED
 BY OTHER DGs

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments

15.05 
34.27 
13.94 
- 
66.26 
4.50 
6.60 
24.01 
22.09 
4.87 
- 
2.15 
20.15 
40.23 

1 852.39 
586.51 
- 
20.00 
23.21 
69.00 
127.05 
- 
206.43 
- 
22.00 
22.70 
96.11 
830.73 
200.61 
33.80 
22.10 
86.06 
- 
68.78 
165.00 
12.26 
17.01 
- 
11.20 
16.80 
1.57 
73.70 
30.63 
3.50 
8.70 
79.01 
347.01 
38.52 
50.98 
7.00 
172.59 
10.80 
4.29 

19.58 
41.44 
6.88 
9.80 
55.61 
22.71 
14.78 
1.75 
43.06 
2.05 
5.40 
12.45 
10.04 
55.91 

1 596.36 
493.74 
- 
16.05 
6.38 
48.93 
101.07 
- 
206.78 
- 
24.03 
18.09 
72.40 
699.22 
175.99 
16.77 
14.87 
80.37 
2.26 
43.90 
167.10 
9.84 
9.54 
7.80 
8.84 
19.41 
46.10 
19.54 
26.65 
1.42 
10.05 
38.77 
295.24 
22.92 
33.52 
20.39 
109.34 
9.61 
7.02 

15.05 
33.16 
13.94 
- 
54.26 
3.50 
6.60 
24.01 
22.04 
4.87 
- 
2.15 
19.63 
39.86 

1 555.30 
420.61 
- 
- 
22.50 
69.00 
32.00 
- 
156.43 
- 
22.00 
22.70 
95.98 
751.69 
197.03 
33.80 
22.10 
85.65 
- 
33.27 
158.87 
12.26 
16.51 
- 
11.00 
9.00 
1.57 
60.00 
25.50 
3.50 
8.70 
72.91 
295.14 
37.87 
50.89 
- 
162.28 
2.00 
3.80 

19.58 
40.05 
6.88 
9.76 
42.43 
21.81 
14.78 
1.75 
42.84 
2.05 
5.40 
12.45 
6.95 
55.51 

1 314.56 
371.51 
- 
0.66 
3.71 
48.91 
45.78 
- 
159.95 
- 
24.03 
16.20 
72.27 
593.35 
163.29 
16.76 
14.86 
80.08 
2.26 
20.89 
152.58 
9.84 
9.54 
6.95 
6.28 
11.41 
23.06 
11.41 
14.83 
1.42 
10.04 
37.85 
252.88 
20.93 
33.10 
16.56 
98.84 
3.61 
5.82 

- 
1.11 
- 
- 
12.00 
1.00 
- 
- 
0.05 
- 
- 
- 
0.52 
0.37 

297.09 
165.90 
- 
20.00 
0.71 
- 
95.05 
- 
50 
- 
- 
- 
0.14 
79.04 
3.58 
- 
- 
0.41 
- 
35.50 
6.13 
- 
0.50 
- 
0.20 
7.80 
- 
13.70 
5.13 
- 
- 
6.10 
51.87 
0.65 
0.09 
7.00 
10.32 
8.80 
0.49 

-
1.39
-
0.03
13.18
0.90
-
-
0.22
-
-
-
3.09
0.40

281.80
122.23
-
15.39
2.67
0.02
55.29
-
46.83
-
-
1.89
0.13
105.87
12.70
0.01
0.01
0.29
-
23.02
14.52
-
-
0.85
2.55
8.01
23.04
8.13
11.82
-
-
0.92
42.36
1.99
0.42
3.83
10.50
6.00
1.20

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Malaysia 
Mongolia 
Philippines 
Thailand 
Viet Nam 
Far East Asia, Regional 

Asia Unspeciﬁ ed 

OCEANIA, TOTAL 
Cook Islands 
Fiji 
Kiribati 
Marshall Islands  
Micronesia, Fed. Sts. 
Nauru 
Niue 
Palau 
Papua New Guinea 
Samoa 
Solomon Islands  
Tokelau 
Tonga 
Tuvalu 
Vanuatu 
Wallis & Futuna   
Oceania, Regional 

LDC’S Unspeciﬁ ed 

PART I (ODA) BILATERAL, TOTAL 

UNRWA 
WFP 
UNDP 
World Bank 
WHO 
FAO 

TOTAL 

MANAGED  
BY EUROPEAID 

MANAGED
 BY OTHER DGs

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments

- 
8.99 
17.56 
18.80 
10.46 
7.00 
88.15 

32.40 
- 
6.40 
0.05 
0.50 
- 
- 
- 
- 
1.02 
0.27 
1.64 
- 
0.50 
- 
2.33 
- 
19.70 
1 245.40 

1.09 
2.48 
16.32 
24.35 
33.31 
14.89 
108.16 

64.46 
0.86 
7.15 
4.05 
0.03 
0.06 
0.02 
0.12 
0.02 
16.26 
3.19 
16.09 
- 
0.85 
1.05 
6.31 
0.34 
8.07 
790.28 

- 
8.99 
16.00 
3.30 
10.00 
- 
87.87 

32.29 
- 
6.34 
- 
0.50 
- 
- 
- 
- 
1.02 
0.27 
1.64 
- 
0.50 
- 
2.33 
- 
19.70 
1 016.79 

1.09 
1.76 
15.92 
11.24 
32.96 
11.06 
96.82 

64.41 
0.86 
7.15 
4.00 
0.03 
0.06 
0.02 
0.12 
0.02 
16.26 
3.19 
16.09 
- 
0.85 
1.05 
6.31 
0.34 
8.07 
610.13 

- 
- 
1.56 
15.50 
0.46 
7.00 
0.28 

0.11 
- 
0.06 
0.05 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
228.61 

-
0.71
0.40
13.11
0.36
3.84
11.34

0.05
-
-
0.05
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
180.15

9 227.19 
79.41 
105.00 
177.50 
215.00 
28.00 
0.30 

7 527.13 
91.15 
96.35 
167.54 
204.78 
42.29 
0.26 

7 071.81 
79.41 
105.00 
177.50 
215.00 
28.00 
0.30 

5 842.70 
91.15 
96.35 
167.54 
204.78 
42.29 
0.26 

2 155.39 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

1 684.43
-
-
-
-
-
-

PART I (ODA) MULTILATERAL AID, TOTAL 

605.21 

602.37 

605.21 

602.37 

- 

-

PART I (ODA), TOTAL 

9 832.40 

8 129.50 

7 677.01 

6 445.07 

2 155.39 

1 684.43

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ﬁ nancial tables

7.  Annexes

151

PART II: COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES IN TRANSITION - OFFICIAL AID (OA) 

TOTAL 

MANAGED  
BY EUROPEAID 

MANAGED
 BY OTHER DGs

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

MORE ADVANCED DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 

Aruba 
Bahamas 
Bermuda 
Brunei 
Cayman Islands   
Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) 
Cyprus 
Falkland Islands   
French Polynesia 
Gibraltar 
Hong Kong, China 
Israel 
Korea 
Kuwait 
Macao 
Malta 
Netherlands Antilles 
New Caledonia   
 Northern Marianas 
Qatar 
Singapore 
Slovenia 
United Arab Emirates 
 Virgin Islands (UK) 
 MADCT Unallocated 

CEECs/NIS 

Bulgaria 
Czech Republic   
Estonia 
Hungary 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Poland 
Romania 
Russia 
Slovak Republic  
 CEECs Unallocated 
NIS Unallocated  
 CEECs/NIS Unallocated 

41.38 
0.17 
7.43 
- 
- 
3.70 
- 
- 
3.05 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
3.32 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
3.68 
- 
- 
20.04 

65.09 
0.82 
0.04 
- 
- 
- 
- 
14.61 
- 
2.18 
- 
- 
1.84 
- 
- 
- 
4.50 
6.00 
5.32 
- 
- 
- 
23.39 
- 
- 
6.37 

1 915.59 
510.27 
7.16 
3.75 
6.66 
4.03 
3.98 
22.13 
1 016.71 
126.87 
5.17 
205.62 
3.01 
0.23 

2 238.34 
273.05 
91.68 
26.42 
133.45 
66.07 
64.46 
418.59 
461.37 
168.58 
77.94 
389.18 
66.57 
0.99 

34.39 
0.17 
7.43 
- 
- 
3.70 
- 
- 
3.05 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
20.04 

112.39 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
100.24 
- 
8.90 
3.01 
0.23 

22.58 
0.82 
0.04 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
2.18 
- 
- 
1.84 
- 
- 
- 
- 
6.00 
5.32 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
6.37 

215.32 
0.15 
- 
- 
0.02 
- 
- 
- 
- 
138.68 
- 
8.90 
66.56 
0.99 

6.99 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
3.32 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
3.68 
- 
- 
- 

42.51
-
-
-
-
-
-
14.61
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4.50
-
-
-
-
-
23.39
-
-
-

1 803.20 
510.27 
7.16 
3.75 
6.66 
4.03 
3.98 
22.13 
1 016.71 
26.63 
5.17 
196.71 
- 
- 

2 023.02
272.89
91.68
26.42
133.43
66.07
64.46
418.59
461.37
29.89
77.94
380.28
0.02
-

PART II (OA) BILATERAL AID, TOTAL 

1 956.97 

2 303.43 

146.77 

237.90 

1 810.19 

2 065.53 

EBRD 

PART II (OA) MULTILATERAL AID, TOTAL 

- 

- 

4.05 

4.05 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

4.05

4.05

PART II (OA), TOTAL 

1 956.97 

2 307.48 

146.77 

237.90 

1 810.19 

2 069.58

GRAND TOTAL PART I & PART II (ODA+OA) 

11 789.37 

10 436.98 

7 823.79 

6 682.97 

3 965.58 

3 754.01

Breakdown by country/region of external aid ﬁ nanced on the General Commission Budget and the European Development Fund (EDF) in 2006 
Commitments and payments calculated following DAC procedures: only ODA and OA amounts increased by administrative expenditures

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Table 7.9. // Sectoral breakdown of ODA managed by the EC in 2006

Commitments

684 M€ ; 7.0%

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

1 403 M€ ; 14.3%

3 933 M€ ; 40.0%

.  Production: 

698 M€ ; 7.1%

1 086 M€ ; 11.0%

806 M€ ; 8.2%

1 223 M€ ; 12.4%

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

.  Other/unallocated: admin. costs, support to NGOs, unspeciﬁed

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Table 7.10. // Detailed description of ODA by sector in 2006 - Commitments
Commitments in € million

SECTOR OF DESTINATION 

SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES 
Education 

Education, level unspeciﬁ ed 
Basic education 
Secondary education 
Post-secondary education 

Health 

Health, general 
Basic health 

Population polices/programmes and reproductive health 
Water supply and sanitation 
Government and civil society 
Other social infrastructure 
ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES 
Transport and storage 
Communications 
Energy generation and supply 
Banking and ﬁ nancial services 
Business and other services 
PRODUCTION SECTORS 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 

Agriculture 
Forestry 
Fishing 

Industry, Mining and Construction 

Industry 
Mineral resources and mining 
Construction 

Trade and Tourism 

Trade policy and regulation 
Tourism 

MULTISECTOR/CROSSCUTTING 
General environmental protection 
Women in development 
Other multisector 
COMMODITY AID AND GENERAL PROGRAMME ASSISTANCE 
General budget support 
Development food aid/food security assistance 
Other commodity assistance 
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE 
Emergency food aid 
Other emergency and distress relief 
Reconstruction relief 
OTHER/UNALLOCATED/UNSPECIFIED 
Administrative costs of donors 
Support to non-governmental organisations 
Unallocated/unspeciﬁ ed 

GRAND TOTAL 

TOTAL 

3 933.15 
533.18 
93.40 
220.11 
83.80 
135.87 
544.65 
103.96 
440.69 
88.77 
531.34 
1 879.20 
355.99 
1 222.56 
876.35 
7.25 
326.96 
- 
12.00 
805.97 
306.24 
274.86 
19.33 
12.04 
172.03 
172.03 
- 
- 
327.70 
316.70 
11.00 
1 085.71 
199.08 
19.26 
867.37 
698.39 
366.25 
332.14 
- 
1 402.77 
631.86 
337.31 
433.60 
683.85 
630.92 
2.89 
50.04 

9 832.40 

MANAGED  
BY EUROPEAID 

MANAGED
 BY OTHER DGs

3 097.07 
507.45 
93.40 
220.11 
79.30 
114.63 
465.48 
103.82 
361.66 
87.77 
510.14 
1 203.14 
323.09 
1 077.61 
841.77 
- 
235.83 
- 
- 
715.21 
271.53 
247.20 
19.33 
5.00 
165.53 
165.53 
- 
- 
278.15 
267.15 
11.00 
839.27 
167.15 
19.26 
652.86 
614.62 
282.47 
332.14 
- 
776.38 
142.75 
200.03 
433.60 
556.86 
514.27 
2.89 
39.70 

7 677.01 

836.08
25.74
-
-
4.50
21.24
79.17
0.14
79.03
1.00
21.20
676.07
32.90
144.95
34.57
7.25
91.13
-
12.00
90.76
34.71
27.66
-
7.04
6.50
6.50
-
-
49.55
49.55
-
246.44
31.93
-
214.51
83.78
83.78
-
-
626.39
489.11
137.28
-
127.00
116.65
-
10.34

2 155.39

Breakdown by sector of Oﬃ  cial Development Assistance (ODA) ﬁ nanced on the General Commission Budget and the European Development Fund (EDF) in 2006
Bilateral and Multilateral ODA ﬂ ows incl., increased by administrative expenditures

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Table 7.11. // Detailed description of ODA by sector in 2006 - Payments
Payments in € million

SECTOR OF DESTINATION 

SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES 
Education 

Education, level unspeciﬁ ed 
Basic education 
Secondary education 
Post-secondary education 

Health 
Health, general 
Basic health 
Population polices/programmes and reproductive health 
Water supply and sanitation 
Government and civil society 
Other social infrastructure 
ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES 
Transport and storage 
Communications 
Energy generation and supply 
Banking and ﬁ nancial services 
Business and other services 
PRODUCTION SECTORS 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 

Agriculture 
Forestry 
Fishing 

Industry, Mining and Construction 

Industry 
Mineral resources and mining 
Construction 

Trade and Tourism 

Trade policy and regulation 
Tourism 

MULTISECTOR/CROSSCUTTING 
General environmental protection 
Women in development 
Other multisector 
COMMODITY AID AND GENERAL PROGRAMME ASSISTANCE 
General budget support 
Development food aid/food security assistance 
Other commodity assistance 
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE 
Emergency food aid 
Other emergency and distress relief 
Reconstruction relief 
OTHER/UNALLOCATED/UNSPECIFIED 
Administrative costs of donors 
Support to non-governmental organisations 
Unallocated/unspeciﬁ ed 

GRAND TOTAL 

TOTAL 

3 260.61 
559.18 
67.57 
237.42 
116.34 
137.85 
499.65 
134.00 
365.65 
112.17 
317.16 
1 332.35 
440.09 
1 019.24 
670.01 
35.32 
145.52 
57.12 
111.27 
528.95 
239.60 
178.07 
33.20 
28.33 
167.59 
139.91 
27.68 
- 
121.76 
105.48 
16.28 
550.60 
128.37 
10.29 
411.95 
950.48 
671.88 
278.60 
- 
1 137.83 
565.22 
176.97 
395.64 
601.76 
576.32 
2.47 
22.97 

8 129.50 

MANAGED  
BY EUROPEAID 

MANAGED
 BY OTHER DGs

2 628.55 
474.72 
66.93 
205.37 
80 
122.42 
466.49 
130.63 
335.86 
91.52 
304.62 
877.75 
413.45 
908.94 
654.06 
30.85 
84.64 
57.09 
82.28 
503.23 
222.96 
173.05 
33.20 
16.70 
165.25 
137.56 
27.68 
- 
115.02 
99.02 
16.00 
377.23 
103.41 
10.27 
263.55 
908.32 
629.72 
278.60 
- 
559.53 
95.84 
72.11 
391.59 
479.24 
461.64 
2.47 
15.13 

6 445.07 

632.06
84.46
0.64
32.05
36.34
15.43
33.16
3.37
29.78
20.66
12.54
454.60
26.64
110.30
15.94
4.47
60.88
0.02
28.99
25.72
16.64
5.01
-
11.63
2.35
2.35
-
-
6.73
6.45
0.28
173.38
24.96
0.02
148.40
42.16
42.16
-
-
578.29
469.38
104.86
4.05
122.52
114.68
-
7.84

1 684.43

Breakdown by sector of Oﬃ  cial Development Assistance (ODA) ﬁ nanced on the General Commission Budget and the European Development Fund (EDF) in 2006 Bilateral 
and Multilateral ODA ﬂ ows incl., increased by administrative expenditures 

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Table 7.12. // EuropeAid in 2006: A closer look
Commitments in € million

SECTOR OF DESTINATION 

SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES 

Education 
Education, level unspeciﬁ ed 
Basic education 
Secondary education 
Post-secondary education 

Health 

Health, general 
Basic health 

Population polices/programmes and reproductive health 
Water supply and sanitation 
Government and civil society 
Other social infrastructure 
ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES 
Transport and storage 
Communications 
Energy generation and supply 
Banking and ﬁ nancial services 
Business and other services 
PRODUCTION SECTORS 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 

Agriculture 
Forestry 
Fishing 

Industry, Mining and Construction 

Industry 
Mineral resources and mining 
Construction 

Trade and Tourism 

Trade policy and regulation 
Tourism 

MULTISECTOR/CROSSCUTTING 
General environmental protection 
Women in development 
Other multisector 
COMMODITY AID AND GENERAL PROGRAMME ASSISTANCE 
General budget support 
Development food aid/food security assistance 
Other commodity assistance 
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE 
Emergency food aid 
Other emergency and distress relief 
Reconstruction relief 
OTHER/UNALLOCATED/UNSPECIFIED 
Administrative costs of donors 
Support to non-governmental organisations 
Unallocated/unspeciﬁ ed 

GRAND TOTAL 

NIS 

253 
35 
- 
5 
8 
23 
17 
- 
17 
4 
15 
166 
17 
108 
14 
- 
94 
- 
- 
20 
- 
- 
- 
- 
17 
17 
- 
- 
3 
3 
- 
134 
38 
14 
82 
50 
- 
50 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
24 
24 
- 
- 

589 

WESTERN  
BALKANS 

MEDA 

ASIA 

LATIN 
AMERICA 

ACP 

LDC UNSPEC. 

TOTAL

7 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
7 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
1 
- 
1 
- 

7 

690 
117 
10 
42 
30 
35 
98 
88 
10 
11 
40 
204 
220 
50 
45 
- 
5 
- 
- 
114 
13 
11 
2 
- 
90 
90 
- 
- 
12 
12 
- 
78 
10 
- 
68 
64 
41 
23 
- 
198 
- 
10 
188 
18 
18 
- 
- 

536 
100 
- 
61 
14 
25 
102 
- 
102 
20 
75 
220 
21 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
102 
31 
31 
- 
- 
32 
32 
- 
- 
39 
39 
- 
19 
2 
- 
18 
62 
10 
52 
- 
199 
- 
25 
174 
24 
24 
- 
- 

148 
51 
14 
3 
20 
14 
- 
- 
- 
3 
13 
70 
11 
24 
- 
- 
24 
- 
- 
48 
24 
16 
8 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
23 
23 
- 
117 
33 
- 
83 
41 
24 
17 
- 
17 
- 
17 
- 
16 
16 
- 
- 

1 372 
215 
69 
109 
7 
29 
193 
15 
177 
27 
378 
513 
47 
933 
803 
- 
130 
- 
- 
435 
202 
189 
8 
5 
26 
26 
- 
- 
208 
197 
11 
303 
53 
2 
249 
377 
207 
169 
- 
261 
38 
148 
76 
103 
95 
- 
8 

146 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
56 
- 
56 
23 
- 
60 
7 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
2 
2 
1 
1 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
224 
44 
3 
177 
21 
- 
21 
- 
105 
105 
- 
- 
79 
45 
2 
32 

3 153
517
93
220
79
125
465
104
362
88
520
1 239
323
1 114
861
-
253
-
-
721
272
247
19
5
166
166
-
-
284
273
11
875
180
19
676
615
282
332
-
780
143
200
437
265
222
3
40

1 211 

943 

410 

3 785 

576 

7 523

Breakdown by sector and region of external aid ﬁ nanced on the General Commission Budget managed by EuropeAid and the European Development Fund (EDF)
On budget side, region is identiﬁ ed following geographical budget lines and recipient countries for thematic budget lines
Bilateral and Multilateral ODA/OA

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Table 7.13. // EuropeAid in 2006: A closer look. Sectoral breakdown by region
Commitments %

0

10 

20 

30 

40 

50

60 

70 

80 

90 

100

NIS

Western Balkans

Meda

Asia

Latin America

ACP

LDC Unspec.

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

.  Other/unallocated: admin. costs, support to NGOs, unspeciﬁed

Table 7.14. // 2001-2006 External Assistance
in € millios € n

Commitments 

Payments 

14 000

12 000

10 000

 8 000

6 000

4 000

2 000

0

14 000

12 000

10 000

8 000

6 000

4 000

2 000

0

.  Budget

.  EDF

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

External aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget and the European Development Fund (EDF)

Source : Annual Report 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 
(Breakdown by budget line of external aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget + Breakdown 
by instrument of development assistance ﬁnanced on the European Development Fund (EDF))

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Table 7.15. // 2001-2006 Development aid managed by EuropeAid
in € million

Commitments

8 000

7 000

6 000

5 000

4 000

3 000

2 000

1 000

0

Payments

8 000

7 000

6 000

5 000

4 000

3 000

2 000

1 000

0

.  Budget (EuropeAid only)

.  EDF

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

External aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget and the European Development Fund (EDF) 
managed by EuropeAid

Source: Annual Report 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005

Table 7.16. // 2001-2005 Oﬃcial Development Assistance (ODA) and Oﬃcial Aid (OA) by the EC
in € million

Commitments

14 000

12 000

10 000

8 000

6 000

4 000

2 000

0

Payments

12 000

10 000

8 000

6 000

4 000

2 000

0

.  Oﬃcial

Development
Assistance

.  Oﬃcial aid

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

External aid ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget and the European Development Fund (EDF) 

Source: Annual Report 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 (Breakdown by country/region of external aid 
ﬁnanced on the General Commission Budget and the European Development Fund (EDF)) 
Administrative expenditures incl.

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Table 7.17. // 2001-2006 Sectoral breakdown of Oﬃcial Development Assistance (ODA)
Commitments in € million

12 000

10 000

8 000

6 000

4 000

2 000

0

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

Table 7.18. // 2000-2006 Poverty focus

Net Disbursements

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

.  Social infrastructures: education, health, water, government & civil society, other

.  Economic infrastructures & services: 

transport, communications, energy, other services

.  Production: 

agriculture, forestry & ﬁshing, industry, mining & construction, 
trade & tourism

.  Multisector/crosscutting: 

environment, women in development, other

.  Budget support, food aid, food security

.  Action relating to debt

.  Emergency assistance, reconstruction relief

.  Other/unallocated: admin. costs, support to NGOs, unspeciﬁed

.  LDC: Least Developed Countries

.  OLIC: Other Low Income Countries

.  LMIC:  Lower Middle Income Countries

.  UMIC:  Upper Middle Income Countries

.  REGION / UNALLOC:  Regional Programmes and Unallocated

.  LDC+OLIC

2000 

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006

2000-2003 EC reporting to DAC (following the same method: LDCs/LICs country speciﬁc allocations -including EIB- /Total disbursements)
2004, 2005 Annual Report information 
2006 Provisional ﬁgures Annual Report exercise (According to DAC List of recipient available at December 2005)

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