Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Policy Coherence for Development : establishing the policy framework for a whole-of-the-Union approach
Date: 2009-09-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU action, EU policy, aid system, developing countries, development aid, development policy, right to development, the EU's international role

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 15.9.2009 
COM(2009) 458 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Policy Coherence for Development - Establishing the policy framework for a whole–of–
the-Union approach 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

4.3. 

4.4. 

5. 

5.1. 

5.2. 

5.3. 

6. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

General commitment to Policy Coherence for Development ...................................... 4 

The EU's approach to PCD so far ................................................................................ 5 

The need for a new approach ....................................................................................... 6 

The growing impact of internal policies in external relations...................................... 6 

Growing non-ODA financial flows to developing countries ....................................... 6 

Using the EU's strengthened PCD mechanisms and prioritisation .............................. 6 

The developing countries' perspective ......................................................................... 7 

Establishing the policy framework for a whole-oftheUnion approach ........................ 7 

Prioritisation................................................................................................................. 8 

Towards an ODA plus concept .................................................................................. 10 

Putting the new approach into practice ...................................................................... 11 

Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 11 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The third wave of the economic and financial crisis has reached the shores of the developing 
world,  hitting  these  countries  much  harder  than  originally  expected1.  The  forecasts  for  the 
second half of 2009 and for 2010 look bleak. More than 50 million more people are projected 
to be in poverty in 20092.  

In the wake of the crisis there is an increasing awareness that it is not enough simply to return 
to the status quo ante. Sustaining the development aid effort is essential, albeit not sufficient. 
In  financial  terms  this  means  that  Official  Development  Assistance  (ODA)  must  be 
complemented  by  other  financial  sources.  Harnessing  the  development  potential  of  these 
additional  financial  flows  depends  on  efforts  by  developing  countries  and  by  their  external 
partners such as the EU to design development friendly policy frameworks.  

The crisis illustrates the extent to which national economies have become dependent on each 
other and how one set of policies - namely in the financial sphere - impacts on others and on 
developing countries.  

But the financial crisis is just one example. Close interactions at the economic level have led 
to a situation where almost all policy decisions taken in developed countries have either direct 
or  indirect  consequences  for  developing  countries  and  their  capacity  to  combat  poverty  and 
achieve  the  Millennium  Development  Goals  (MDGs).  The  2008  EU  Research  paper  on 
MDGs3  identifies  three  categories  of  factors  that  influence  progress  towards  the  MDGs: 
developing  countries  own  policies;  development  cooperation;  and  the  global  policy 
framework, including EU policies and their impact on developing countries. Acknowledging 
the importance of all three categories, this communication will focus on EU policies. 

Despite  this  clear  evidence  of  the  importance  of  Policy  Coherence  for  Development  (PCD) 
and  the  fact  that  the  principle  is  agreed  at  political  level,  the  concept  is  complex  and 
governments are still struggling to implement it.4 Further efforts are needed to operationalise 
PCD5.  
Building on the two first biennial EU Reports on PCD6 and the call to establish a whole–of–
the-Union  approach  7,  this  Communication  will  look  at  the  EU's  approach  to  PCD  and  will 
make  suggestions  to  the  Community  and  the  Member  States  on  how  to  use  PCD  in  a  more 
targeted, effective and strategic way. 

1 

2 

3 

4 
5 

6 
7 

COM  (2009)160  final,  8.4.2009:  "Supporting  Developing  Countries  in  Coping  with  the  Crisis",  and 
SEC  (2009)  445/2,  8.4.2009:  "Millennium  Development  Goals:  Impact  of  the  Financial  Crisis  on 
Developing Countries".  
"The Global Monitoring Report 2009. A Development Emergency", The World Bank, 2009. See also 
"The Millennium Development Goals Report", United Nations, 2009. 
"Millennium  Development  Goals  at  Midpoint:  Where  do  we  stand  and  where  do  we  need  to  go", 
September  2008,  François  Bourguignon,  Agnès  Bénassy-Quéré,  Stefan  Dercon,  Antonio  Estache,  Jan 
Willem  Gunning,  Ravi  Kanbur,  Stephan  Klasen,  Simon  Maxwell,  Jean-Philippe  Platteau,  Amedeo 
Spadaro. Paper produced in the framework of the European Report on Development, 
OECD Policy Brief, December 2008, "Policy Coherence for Development – Lessons Learned" 
The  Development  Assistance  Committee  of  the  OECD,  for  example,  is  currently  considering  how  to 
"deepen and accelerate its work to promote policy coherence for development". See reflection exercise: 
"Investing in development – a common cause in a changing world", OECD DAC, 14.05. 2009. 
SEC (2007) 1202 of 20.09.2007and SEC (2009)XXX of xx.xx.2009. 
Council Doc. 10018/09, 18.05.2009,Conclusions of the General Affairs and External Relations Council, 
§ 15. 

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2. 

GENERAL COMMITMENT TO POLICY COHERENCE FOR DEVELOPMENT 

EU  commitment  to  PCD  is  founded  as  regards  its  legal  base,  on  article  178  of  the  Treaty 
establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  a  more  general  way  on  article  3,  second 
subparagraph,  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union  on  consistency  between  all  the  Union's 
policies and its external activities. The Treaty of Lisbon, if ratified, would give a solid legal 
base to PCD8.  

The political framework for PCD was set by the Communication on PCD in April 2005, the 
subsequent  Council  Conclusions  in  May  2005,  the  European  Consensus  on  Development  in 
December 2005, and the Council Conclusions on the EU PCD report in November 2007. PCD 
commitments  in  specific  areas  were  made  in  particular  with  the  Council  conclusions  on 
security and development and those on migration both of them adopted in November 2007, as 
well as the Council conclusions of May 2008 subsequent to the Commission Staff Working 
Paper on PCD, on Climate Change/Energy/Biofuels, Migration and Research. Beyond those 
twelve areas commitments were also taken for instance with regard to good governance in the 
tax area where positive synergies with development objectives will be further sought by the 
Commission9. 

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Article 21(2)(d) and (3) of the Treaty on European Union in the chapter on the general provisions on the 
Union's external action sets out sustainable development and the eradication of poverty as objectives of 
the Union's external action and stipulates that the EU shall pursue this objective in the development and 
implementation  of  the  different  areas  of  the  Union's  external  action  and  of  the  external  aspects  of  its 
other policies. Article 208(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union is the new version 
of the 178 coherence article worded almost identically. 
COM(2009)  201,  28.4.2009,  Communication  on  Promoting  Good  Governance  in  Tax  Matters; 
COM(2009)  160,  8.4.2009,  Communication  on  Supporting  Developing  Countries  in  Coping  with  the 
Crisis. 

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3. 

THE EU'S APPROACH TO PCD SO FAR  

The EU has substantially strengthened its approach towards PCD over the recent years. In a 
first  phase  it  concentrated  itself  on  the  commitments  for  PCD  made  in  2005.  The  concrete 
steps were the specific commitments taken in the twelve policy areas.10  

The second phase is characterised by efforts to implement these commitments, the sharpening 
of the mechanisms to promote PCD such as impact assessment, inter service consultation, as 
well as their more effective use in particular through the establishment of a Presidency PCD 
work  programme  and  the  ex  ante  identification  of  the  main  planned  initiatives  of  the 
Commission that might affect developing countries.  

Like the first EU PCD report issued in 2007the 2009 PCD report assesses progress made in 
the twelve policy areas as well as with regard to institutional mechanisms.11 Member States, 
generally speaking, are positive about the overall progress achieved since 2007, as illustrated 
in the graph below covering EU (Community and Member States) performance.12  

EU progress towards promoting and improving
PCD in the last two years

Overall Assessment
by MS

Weak

Average

Good

Strong

50

40

30

20

10

0

. 

A  good  example  for  positive  synergies  created  between  different  policies  is  the  recent 
package  on  climate  change  and  energy13,  which  offers  tremendous  opportunities  for  the 
production and use of sustainable biofuels in developing countries. Research policy is another 
example,  having  contributed  in  decisive  ways  to  development  through  the  financing  of 
research  projects  in  the  health,  food  security,  social  sciences  and  humanities  areas  amongst 
others. 

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11 
12 

13 

Trade,  Environment,  Climate  Change,  Security,  Agriculture,  Fisheries,  Social  Dimension  of 
globalisation,  employment  and  decent  work,  Migration,  Research,  Information  Society,  Transport, 
Energy. 
SEC (2009)XXX of xx.xx.2009, 2009 EU Report on Policy Coherence for Development. 
Chart  based  on  Member  States  responses  to  a  dedicated  PCD  2009  questionnaire  prepared  by  the 
European Commission. 
European  Commission  Press  Release  IP/08/1998,  17.12.2008  for  an  overview.  For  additional 
information: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/climate_action.htm. 

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The picture, however, is not all rosy. Difficulties encountered at the national level often spill 
over to the EU level and sometimes compound each other. Member States point to political 
will  and  the  priority  to  be  given  to  international  poverty  reduction  as  key  determinants  for 
PCD progress. Diverging interests can make it difficult at times to ensure consistent positions 
and EU performance differs greatly from one policy area to the other14.  

4. 

THE NEED FOR A NEW APPROACH 

The PCD commitments agreed in 2005 have provided a useful framework for the EU's PCD 
work so far. But new developments make it necessary to rethink our approach to PCD. 

4.1. 

The growing impact of internal policies in external relations 

The concept of PCD was born when the EU's relations with developing countries were mainly 
about development cooperation and trade and when other policies sometimes had side effects 
on developing countries undermining development efforts. 

Now the situation is different. Due to closer  interactions  and  ever  intensifying  globalisation 
the  side  effects  of  other  EU  policies  on  developing  countries  have  become  much  more 
systematic. Examples are numerous from regulations in the areas of environment or consumer 
protection, to decisions in the areas of migration or security.  

As  the  dividing  line  between  external  and  internal  policies  is  becoming  more  blurred 
sometimes  to  the  extent  of  losing  both  its  empirical  evidence  and  its  political  value  the 
concept of PCD needs to be taken into account more systematically. 

4.2. 

Growing non-ODA financial flows to developing countries  

The  increasing  impact  of  EU  policies  on  developing  countries  is  mirrored  by  growing  non-
ODA  financial  flows  to  developing  countries.  Both  public  non-ODA  and  private  financial 
flows to developing countries have been growing substantially over recent years, including to 
Africa.  

The impact of these financial flows on development depends first and foremost on the quality 
and the development friendliness of the policy framework. Efforts to enhance the coherence 
of policies with development objectives are therefore of utmost importance. 

The  current  crisis  has,  by  stopping  and  even  reversing  this  rising  trend,  demonstrated  the 
importance of these flows. In the light of these developments the Council Conclusions on the 
crisis stress the importance of mobilising all possible sources of financing for development, 15 
underlining  the  importance  of  development-oriented  support  in  the  areas  of  research  and 
technology, peace and security, migration, renewable energies and climate change. In order to 
make these financial flows work for development the Council emphasises the importance of 
the  policy  framework  and  suggests  that  the  EU  develops  a  'whole–of–the-Union'  approach, 
taking into account all instruments and processes and respecting PCD.16  

4.3. 

Using the EU's strengthened PCD mechanisms and prioritisation 

Reporting on progress in the twelve policy areas has raised people's awareness of PCD. It has 
allowed  the  EU  to  develop  the  necessary  instruments  and  expertise  to  promote  PCD.  As  a 
result the EU is now in a position to adopt a more pro-active and focussed approach to PCD. 

14 
15 

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See SEC (2009)XXX of xx.xx.2009, 2009 EU Report on Policy Coherence for Development. 
Council Doc. 10018/09, 18.05.2009,Council Conclusions on Supporting developing countries in coping 
with the crisis, § 15. 
Idem. 

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The OECD DAC review of EC development policy in 2007 already suggested reviewing the 
agenda of policy coherence commitments to ensure that attention and allocation of resources 
are  used  for  priority  areas.17  Austria  and  Sweden  have  already  gone  down  this  road  and 
selected PCD priority areas.18 

4.4. 

The developing countries' perspective 

Developing  countries  are  becoming  increasingly  interested  in  broader  EU  policies,  as 
evidenced by the recent request to hold formal consultations on PCD issues, as provided for in 
Article 12 of the Cotonou Agreement.19 Coherence has also been notified by both sides as an 
issue for the 2010 revision of Cotonou. 

While  the  EU  has  done  a  lot  to  make  EU  initiatives  more  supportive  of  development 
objectives,  the  role  of  developing  countries  in  these  processes  has  been  limited.  Some 
countries have their voice heard, but others - usually the poorest ones- find this more difficult 
due to capacity constraints.  

The  revised  Commission  guidelines  for  Impact  Assessment  underline  the  importance  of 
ensuring that stakeholders in developing countries are informed about forthcoming initiatives 
which are of relevance for them and of involving them actively in the consultation process.20 

5. 

ESTABLISHING THE POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR A WHOLE-OF-THE-UNION APPROACH 

In  the  light  of  these  developments  it  is  now  time  for  the  EU  to  take  a  more  strategic, 
systematic and partnership oriented approach to PCD. The EU should obviously continue to 
take  account  of  development  objectives  in  all  the  policies  that  might  affect  developing 
countries  by  making  use  of  all  the  instruments  that  were  established  or  strengthened  to 
promote PCD. However, the political focus should be on a few key priorities.  

Following  on  from  the  Council  Conclusions  on  assisting  developing  countries  in  facing  the 
financial crisis and from discussions in the G8 and the OECD, the EU should work on PCD as 
part of the 'whole of the Union approach by establishing a policy framework to better harness 
other  policies  and  non-ODA  financial  flows  to  development  objectives.  'Leveraging 
development  policies  with  policy  actions  in  other  areas  that  affect  development  results'  is 
more than ever needed in the new global landscape.21At the same time, the EU will also use 
its  ODA  sources  to  leverage  non-ODA  funding,  for  example  by  strengthening  capacities  in 
developing countries in the areas of research or fisheries22. 

Three key lessons need to be learned from past experiences and to be taken into account in 
adjusting PCD to the changing political reality. Firstly, to better implement its approach the 
EU needs to focus on a few PCD priorities and to pro-actively take account of development 
objectives  in  formulating  its  selected  initiatives.  Secondly,  the  EU  needs  to  do  more  to 
mobilise  non-ODA  resources  and  to  better  harness  the  potential  of  these  public  and  private 

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Development Assistance (DAC) Peer Review of the European Community, OECD (2007), p. 35. 
SEC (2009)XXX of xx.xx.2009, 2009 EU Report on Policy Coherence for Development. 
Idem. 
SEC(2009)  92,  15.01.2009.  For  more  on  Impact  Assessment  at  the  European  Commission,  see 
http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/index_en.htm 
As  stated  in  the  "Investing  in  development  –  a  common  cause  in  a  changing  world",  OECD  DAC, 
14.05.2009. 
SEC(2008)  434,  9.4.2008,  Policy  Coherence  for  Development  "Climate  Change/Energy/Biofuels, 
Migration and Research". 

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financial  flows  for  development.  Thirdly,  the  EU  should  strengthen  its  dialogue  with 
developing countries on PCD issues. 

To  this  end  the  Commission  in  close  cooperation  with  the  Member  States  will  elaborate  a 
PCD work programme identifying the priority issues and outlining how the EU through all its 
instruments  and  processes  contribute  to  development  objectives.  The  aim  of  the  work 
programme would be to create the political momentum, identify the financial means needed 
for the PCD priority issues, and help develop a clear set of objectives and targets. 

5.1. 

Prioritisation 

The PCD work programme will focus on a few priority issues to be identified jointly by the 
Commission and the Member States.  

To guide the selection of the issues four criteria can be applied. The starting point should be 
the  EU  agenda  in  so  far  as  PCD  is  about  minimising  the  negative  impact  of  EU  policy 
decisions and legislative initiatives on developing countries and about enhancing their tie-ins 
with development objectives. The priority issues should obviously be important to developing 
countries, and be relevant for the attainment of the MDGs. At the same time, these initiatives 
should  offer  sufficient  concrete  opportunities  to  make  them  more  development  friendly  and 
contribute  to  a  development  prone  policy  or  legislative  framework.  Finally,  priority  issues 
should  be  linked  to  a  long-term-agenda.  This  is  important  because  experience  shows  that 
enhancing  the  coherence  of  policies  with  development  objectives  needs  a  considerable 
investment  of  time  and  effort  starting  with  the  identification  of  possible  impacts  on 
developing countries, coordinating EU efforts and creating the necessary political momentum. 
All these steps take time and are much more likely to pay off when the issue is linked to a 
long term agenda. 

PCD priority issues should: 

–  be high on the EU's agenda 

–  be important for developing countries and for the achievement of the MDGs 

–  present concrete opportunities for incorporating development objectives 

–  be linked to a long term agenda  

Proposals for priority issues 

Based on the EU 2009 PCD report and the international debate on Global Public Goods, the 
following  issues  (all  with  a  strong  impact  on  the  MDGs)  are  identified  as  a  basis  for 
discussion with Member States. 

–  Combating Climate change: ensuring the developmental component of EU polices  

–  Ensuring  global  food  security:  taking  account  of  the  international  dimension,  including 

developing countries' needs in EU policies 

–  Making migration work for development 

–  Seeking opportunities to use intellectual property rights for development 

–  Promoting security and building peace for development 

The  post-2012  negotiation  under  the  United  Nations  Framework  Convention  on  Climate 
Change, during 2009, is a critical milestone in combating Climate Change and the promotion 
of  synergies  with  development  cooperation,  through  instruments addressing  vulnerabilities 
and  adaptation  to  climate  change,  development  of  low  carbon  strategies  and  tapping  other 
mitigation  potential.  For  example,  through  (i)  seeking  to  further  develop  opportunities  from 

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the  Global  Energy  Efficiency  and  Renewable  Energy  Fund  (GEEREF),  which  promotes 
investment  in  renewables  and  clean  energies,  (ii)  and  efforts  in  the  whole  EU to integrate 
concerns and measures related to climate change impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation in all 
existing  cooperation  instruments,(iii)  to  enhance  policy  dialogue  and  concrete  measures,  in 
the framework of the Global Climate Change Alliance, (iv) to develop a shared vision  with 
the most vulnerable developing countries, highlighting necessary coherence of our actions in 
the field of climate change, energy and development. The economic opportunities offered by 
the sustainable "greening" of economies throughout the developed, emerging and developing 
worlds, if equitably shared between all, should allow the double objectives of limiting climate 
change  and  reducing  poverty  to  be  achieved  through  a  set  of  complementary  and  coherent 
policies  and  actions.  Such  a  shared  vision  of  sustainable  development  should  help  secure 
ambitious and innovative commitments to be agreed by all parties under the UNFCCC post-
2012regime.  

Global Food Security has been a recurrent issue in 2007/2008 and is likely to remain high on 
the European and international political agenda in the near future, given current developments 
in  the  agricultural  market,  climate  change  and  related  measures,  demographic  trends  in 
developing  countries,  changes  in  consumption  patterns  in  emerging  economies  and, 
ultimately, the limited extent of new lands available for cultivation, especially in Sub-Saharan 
Africa. Feeding the world's growing population will mean doubling the production of food by 
205023.  This  implies  increasing  agricultural  productivity,  especially  in  developing  countries, 
while ensuring sustainable production. The European Union will need to continue taking into 
consideration tomorrow's realities as well as developing countries' needs and concerns in its 
domestic  policies,  including  in  agriculture,  trade,  climate  change  and  research  .  In  addition, 
the  EU  will  engage  with  developing  countries  in  a  dialogue  on  the  feasibility  of  regional 
agricultural  policies  based  on  lessons  learned  from  the  CAP  in  order  to  strive  towards  food 
security at regional and sub-regional level.  

Migration  and  mobility,  if  properly  managed,  help  reduce  poverty  in  developing  countries 
and thus contribute directly or indirectly to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and 
increased capacities in all countries. In the current context of global economic and financial 
turmoil it is crucial  to keep the  EU's  long  term  commitment  to  maintaining  an  open  Union, 
responding  to  the  needs  of  EU  economic  systems  and  demographic  trends,  within  a  wider 
global  perspective.  Through  the  PCD  process,  and  as  part  of  the  Global  Approach  to 
Migration,  the  European  Union  seeks  to  harness  the  positive  benefits  of  migration  for  the 
mutual benefit of the EU and its partner countries. The real policy challenge for the coming 
years remains whether the EU and its Member States are capable and prepared to offer real 
migration  and  mobility  options  for  nationals  of  developing  countries  seeking  learning 
opportunities and legal employment in the EU. Implementation has started and must continue 
on  a  number  of  issues,  especially  remittances,  increased  mobility,  and  stronger  links  with 
diaspora  organisations.  However,  the  agenda  needs  to  be  taken  forward  especially  when  it 
comes to labour migration and the brain drain which in the health area, for example, results in 
a severe lack of health workers in many developing countries. New issues, such as the impact 
of climate change on migration, could be explored further. 

The protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are a vital element in 
promoting technological innovation and the transfer and dissemination of technology. IP can 
be  an  important  tool  for  social  and  economic  development  within  developing  countries  and 
can impact on all the dimensions of sustainable development - economic, environmental and 

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FAO, FAO Newsroom, 4.02.2009, http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/9962/icode/ 

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social – including stimulation of creativity and innovation; trade facilitation, investment and 
competitiveness; public health and food security; protection and use of traditional knowledge 
and biodiversity.  

The  TRIPS  Agreement  provides  for  levels  of  IPR  protection  amongst  WTO  members  and 
includes provisions for promoting and encouraging technology transfer to create a sound and 
viable  technological  base  in  the  least  developed  countries.  The  EC  continues  to  be  at  the 
forefront  of  the  international  debate  on  IPRs,  such  as  at  the  WTO  and  within  the  World 
Intellectual  Property  Organization  (WIPO).  Examples 
the  TRIPS 
Amendment to improve access to patented medicines in response to particular public health 
problems,  and  supporting  proposals  that  could  help  indigenous  communities  exploit  and 
benefit from their traditional knowledge and genetic resources, or make use of geographical 
indications.  The  Global  Strategy  and  Action  Plan  on  Innovation,  Intellectual  Property  and 
Public  Health  adopted  by  the  World  Health  Assembly  in  May  2008  is  also  an  important 
contribution to development objectives in its aim to improve access to medicines and tackle 
neglected diseases. 

include  ratifying 

The  PCD  challenge  is  for  Intellectual  Property  Rights  to  make  the  greatest  possible 
contribution  to  boosting  prosperity  in  developing  countries,  and  in  particular  the  least 
developed countries. There is for example a strong potential for these countries to make better 
use of the IPR legal framework for their local rights holders. This would help create a more 
attractive  environment  for  investment  as  well  as  ensuring  dissemination  and  use  of  the 
information disclosed through the different IPR systems.  

The  EC  intends  to  explore  more  actively  the  various  areas  where  IPRs  have  development 
relevance, to seek ways of making better use of IPRs for development, and, more widely, to 
strengthen their contribution to development. 

The Council, Member States and the Commission have made good progress on strengthening 
the  security  and  development  nexus.24  In  order  to  take  these  efforts  further  four  key  areas 
have been identified: strategic planning, security sector reform, partnerships with regional and 
sub regional organisations, and the relationship between humanitarian aid and security. This 
should lead to better coordination between the various EU actors and effective mandates for 
operations  including  peace-making  military  components,  flanking  police  and  civilian 
components as well as wider stability measures. Such a comprehensive peace building agenda 
will contribute to providing the necessary conditions for reaching the MDGs. 

5.2. 

Towards an ODA plus concept 

Non-ODA  financial  flows  are  important  for  development,  but  their  impact  on  developing 
countries  depends  on  the  policy  framework.  The  PCD  work  programme  will  provide  the 
policy  framework  for  harnessing the potential of non-ODA  financial flows for development 
and  increasing  their  development  value  both  at  Community  and  at  Member  States  level. 
However,  it  should  be  noted  that  several  of  these  non-ODA  financial  flows  to  developing 
countries depend very largely on the actions of private individuals and economic actors. This 
is the case for example as regards flows of investment, remittances and technology transfers. 
As a result, the focus for action by governments – in both developed and developing countries 
–  will  be  to  ensure  an  enabling  and  development-supporting  policy  and  regulatory 
environment. 

24 

SEC  (2009)XXX  of  xx.xx.2009,  2009  EU  Report  on  Policy  Coherence  for  Development,  security 
chapter. 

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The  PCD  work  programme  will  provide  guidance  for  an  ODA-plus  concept  and  for  the 
provision  and  tracking  of  financial  sources  that  contribute  to  sustainable  development  and 
global public goods but are distinct from ODA.  

It will also inform discussions about the next EU financial perspectives and in particular the 
structure  of  external  spending  as  well  as  the  identification  of  financial  flows  to  developing 
countries from internal policies financial instruments. 

5.3. 

Putting the new approach into practice 

More pro-active involvement/Organisational issues 

To  take  the  work  on  the  priority  PCD  issues  forward,  as  identified  in  the  PCD  work 
programme,  the  Member  States  and  the  Commission  will  use  all  existing  instruments  to 
enhance  PCD,  including  inter-service  consultations,  impact  assessments  and  inter-service 
groups, to generate the necessary knowledge and identify policy options.  

This work should be complemented by the Presidency and the Council including through the 
organisation of joint meetings at both ministerial and working level. 

The biennial PCD report will focus on the priority issues. 

More partnership 

Developing countries are increasingly interested in the broader EU agenda. The EU will build 
on  this  interest  and  consult  developing  countries  on  PCD  priority  issues  to  assess  what 
impacts  EU  policies  might  have  on  their  capacity  to  achieve  the  MDGs.  While  there  is 
provision  for  consulting  representatives  from  developing  countries,  for  example,  in  the 
guidelines  for  impact  assessments,  the  Commission  will  pay  particular  attention  to  dialogue 
with developing countries on the priority PCD issues. 

6. 

CONCLUSION 

Aid has a key role to  play  in support of developing countries' efforts to reduce poverty and 
achieve the MDGs. But it will not be enough in itself. In addressing a number of key global 
issues, the EU can do much more to enhance the positive effects for development of its own 
policy  choices  in  other  policy  areas.  Furthermore,  harnessing  the  development  potential  of 
financial flows other than ODA can be a highly effective approach. 'We need to narrow the 
target and broaden the instruments.'25 

25 

Paul Collier, "The Bottom Billion", Oxford University Press 2007, p. 192. 

EN 

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   EN