Special Report No 18/2009#Effectiveness of EDF support for Regional Economic Integration in East Africa and West Africa
Date: 2009-11-19
Institutions: European Court of Auditors
Subjects: EU financing, East Africa, European Development Fund, West Africa, economic integration, management audit, regional integration

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EffEctivEnEss of EDf support 
for rEgional Economic 
intEgration in East africa 
anD WEst africa

En

 
 
 
 
special r eport no  18 

 2009

EffEctivEnEss of EDf  
support for rEgional 
Economic intEgration
in East africa anD   
WEst  africa

(pursuant to article 248(4), second subparagraph, Ec )

EuropEan court of auDitors

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special r eport no 18 

 2009

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Printed in Luxembourg

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

contEnts

3

Paragraph

GLOSSARY

I–VIII 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1–13 

INTRODUCTION

1–4 
5 
6–8 
9–11 
12–13 

POLICY FRAMEWORK
EDF SUPPORT FOR REGIONAL INTEGRATION
MANAGEMENT OF REGIONAL PROGRAMMES
EAST AFRICA REGION
WEST AFRICA REGION

14–17 

AUDIT SCOPE AND APPROACH

18–55 

OBSERVATIONS

18–31 

19–27 

28–31 

32–49 
33–38 
39–43 

44–49 
50–55 

51–55 

 DOES THE COMMISSION HAVE A RELEVANT AND COHERENT APPROACH TO REGIONAL  
INTEGRATION?
 tHE commission’s rEgional coopEration stratEgY is rElEvant But complEmEntaritY  
vis-À-vis its national coopEration stratEgiEs is WEaK anD 
tHE lE vEl of funDing DoEs   
not taKE account of aBsorption capacitiEs
 rEgional proJEcts arE rElEvant But Do not sufficiEntlY aDDrEss rEgional intEgration  
nEEDs at national lE vEl
 HAS THE COMMISSION MANAGED ITS SUPPORT FOR REGIONAL INTEGRATION WELL?
DElEgations lacK guiDElinEs anD capacit Y to managE rEgional programmEs
 ovErall coorDination, rEporting anD monitoring BY rEgional organisations is  
inaDEQuatE
implEmEntation of rEgional proJEcts is complEX anD sloW
 HAVE THE COMMISSION’S INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS IN SUPPORT OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION  
MET THEIR OBJECTIVES?
 proJEct EffEctivEnEss Difficult  to assEss But in most casEs limitED

56–60 

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

ANNEX I  — 

ANNEX II  — 
ANNEX III — 

 CHART OF EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION 
ARRANGEMENTS
 MAIN REGIONAL ORGANISATIONS IN EAST AFRICA AND WEST AFRICA
 LIST OF PROJECTS EXAMINED

REPLY OF THE COMMISSION

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

 
 
 
 
 
special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

glossarY

5

ACP: african, caribbean and pacific (states)

ASECNA: a gence pour la sécurité de la navigation aérienne en afrique et à m adagascar 
(Agency for the Safety of Aerial Navigation in Africa)

COMESA: c ommon m arket for Eastern and s outhern africa

EAC: East african community

EC: European c ommunity

ECOWAS: Economic c ommunity of West african states 
(Communauté économique des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, Cedeao, in French)

EDF: European Development f und

EPA: Economic partnership agreement 

IAS: i nternal audit s ervice

IGAD: i ntergovernmental authority on Development

IOC: i ndian o cean commission

IRCC: i nter r egional coordinating committee

RISM: r egional i ntegration support m echanism

RISP: r egional i ntegration support p rogramme

SADC: s outhern african Development community

UEMOA: union économique et monétaire ouest africaine 
(West African Economic and Monetary Union, WAEMU, in English)

UNIDO: united nations i ndustrial Development organisation

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

6

EXEcutivE 
summarY

I.
r e g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n   i s   t h e   p r o c e s s   o f 
n e i g h b o u r i n g   c o u n t r i e s   c o o p e r a t i n g   i n 
o r d e r   t o   i m p r o v e   p o l i t i c a l   s t a b i l i t y   a n d 
t o   s t i m u l a t e   e c o n o m i c   d e v e l o p m e n t   i n 
a   re gi o n .   i n   l a rg e r   a n d   m o re   h a r m o n i s e d 
m a r k e t s ,   t h e   f r e e   m o v e m e n t   o f   g o o d s , 
s e r v i c e s ,   c a p i t a l   a n d   p e o p l e   e n a b l e s 
e co n o m i e s   o f   s c a l e   a n d   s t i m u l a te s   t r a d e 
a n d   i nve s t m e nt.   r e gi o n a l   e co n o m i c   i nte -
grat i o n   b e t we e n   d e ve l o p i n g   co u nt r i e s   i s 
t h u s   a   v e h i c l e   fo r   e c o n o m i c   g r o w t h   a n d 
can contr ibute  to pover t y  re duc ti on .

II.
th e   o b j e c t i ve   o f   t h e   co u r t ’s   a u d i t   wa s   to 
a s s e s s   w h e t h e r   E Df  s u p p o r t   fo r   re gi o n a l 
e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n   i n   E a s t   a f r i c a   a n d 
Wes t  afr ica  h ad  been  ef fec tive.  th e   audit 
e x a m i n e d   t h e   co m m i s s i o n’s    a p p ro a c h   to 
r e g i o n a l   e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n ,   i t s   m a n-
a g e m e n t   o f   t h e   s u p p o r t   p r o v i d e d   a n d 
t h e   r e s u l t s   o f   a   s a m p l e   o f   i n d i v i d u a l 
projec ts.

III.
t h e   r e g i o n a l   e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n   p r o -
c e s s   i s   m a k i n g   p r o g r e s s   i n   b o t h   r e g i o n s 
in ter ms of agreements being reached on 
re gi o n a l   o b j e c t i ve s   a n d   p o l i c i e s   re l at i n g 
t o   t r a d e   a n d   t r a n s p o r t   i s s u e s .   H o w e v e r, 
t h e   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   o f   s u c h   a g re e m e n t s 
by  th e nat ion al aut hor ities is  lag gi n g be -
h i n d   a n d   t h e   f r e e   m o v e m e n t   o f   g o o d s , 
s e r v i c e s,   c a p i t a l   a n d   p e o p l e   i s   n o t   ye t   a 
realit y  in eith er  of th e t wo region s.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

77

EXEcutivE  
summarY

IV.
o v e r a l l ,   E Df  s u p p o r t   f o r   r e g i o n a l   e c o -
n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n   h a s   s o   f a r   b e e n   o n l y 
p a r t i a l l y   e f fe c t i ve,   b e i n g   u n d e r m i n e d   by 
s e v e r a l   f a c t o r s .   t h e   o c c u r r e n c e   o f   m u l-
t i p l e   r e g i o n a l   or g a n i s a t i o n s   w i t h   o v e r -
l a p p i n g   m a n d a t e s   a n d   m e m b e r s h i p ,   a s 
w e l l   a s   w e a k   c a p a c i t y,   r e s u l t s   i n   a   c o m-
p l e x   i n s t i t u t i o n a l   f r a m e w o r k .   fu r t h e r -
m o re,   t h e re   a re   we a k n e s s e s   i n   t h e   co m-
m i s s i o n’s   a p p ro a c h   t o,   a n d   m a n a g e m e n t 
o f,   r e g i o n a l   e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n   p r o -
gramme s.

V.
the commission’s approach to suppor ting 
r e g i o n a l   e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n   i n   E a s t 
a f r i c a   a n d   We s t   a f r i c a   i s   re l e v a n t   t o   t h e 
regions’ and the countries’ needs to achieve 
h i g h e r   e c o n o m i c   g r o w t h   a s   a   m e a n s   t o 
fight pover ty. However, the strategies and 
inter ventions at the regional and national 
l e v e l s   h a v e   l a r g e l y   b e e n   d e s i g n e d   a n d 
implemented independently of each other, 
w i t h   i n s u f f i c i e n t   a t t e n t i o n   p a i d   t o   t h e 
p o s s i b i l i t y   o f   c r e a t i n g   c o m p l e m e n t a r i t y 
bet ween  them  except,  to  some  ex tent,  in 
the transpor t sec tor.

V I.
t h e   co m m i s s i o n’s   D e l e g a t i o n s   h ave   n e i-
t h e r   a d e q u a t e   g u i d e l i n e s   n o r   s u f f i c i e n t 
capacit y to deal with the preparation, im-
plementation, repor ting and coordination 
o f   re g i o n a l   a c t i v i t i e s.   at   t h e   l e ve l   o f   t h e 
r e g i o n a l   o r g a n i s a t i o n s ,   c o o r d i n a t i o n   i s 
a l s o   i n a d e q u ate   a n d   t h e re   i s   n o   m o n i to r -
i n g   s y s t e m   t o   t r a c k   t h e   o ve r a l l   p ro g re s s 
o f   t h e   r e g i o n a l   e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n 
proces s in the ind ividual  co untr i es.

VII.
i t   w a s   d i f f i c u l t   t o   a s s e s s   t h e   r e s u l t s 
a c h i e v e d   o r   l i k e l y   t o   b e   a c h i e v e d   b y   i n -
d i v i d u a l   p ro j e c t s,   d u e   t o   p o o r l y   d e f i n e d 
o b j e c t i v e s,   t h e   l a c k   o f   a d e q u a t e   r e p o r t-
ing and monitor ing and the fac t that sev-
eral major projec ts are ongoing and their 
f i n a l   r e s u l t s   a r e   n o t   y e t   k n o w n .   o v e r a l l , 
t h e s e   p ro j e c t s   a re   l i k e l y   to   h ave,   at   b e s t, 
only  par t ially  s atisfac tor y res ult s.

VIII.
t h e   c o u r t ’s   m a i n   r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s   a r e 
th at  th e c ommiss ion sh ould:

—  m a k e   t h e   c o n t i n u a t i o n   o f   i t s   s u p p o r t 
for regional integration conditional on 
an early agreement on how to achieve 
t h e   n e c e s s a r y   c o n v e r g e n c e   b e t w e e n 
t h e   v a r i o u s   r e g i o n a l   o r g a n i s a t i o n s 
i n   a   re gi o n   w i t h i n   a   p re d e f i n e d   t i m e -
frame a nd on th e n ation al auth or it ie s 
t a k i n g   g r e a t e r   o w n e r s h i p   o f   t h e   r e -
gion al inte grat ion  proces s;

—  from th e 20 10  mid-ter m re view of  t he 
1 0th  E Df st rategies onwards, im prove 
c o h e r e n c e   b e t w e e n   i t s   r e g i o n a l   a n d 
n ation al  strate gies;

—  examin e wheth er  the fin an c ial a lloca-
t i o n   i n   t h e   1 0 t h   E Df  t o   r e g i o n a l   p r o -
gram mes is to o h igh;

— 

i n   r e l a t i o n   t o   t h e   D e l e g a t i o n s ’  m a n-
agement of regional programmes, de -
f i n e   t h e i r   r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s ,   s e t   u p   a n 
a p p ro p r i a te   c o o rd i n a t i o n   m e c h a n i s m 
b e t w e e n   t h e m   a n d   r e v i e w   t h e i r   s t a f f 
capacit y.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

introDuction

8

1. 

2. 

3. 

POLIC Y FR AME WORK

 the  main   o bj ec tives  of   co op e rati on  bet we e n  th e   Europe an  com-
m u n i t y   ( E c )   a n d   t h e   a f r i c a n ,   ca r i b b e a n   a n d   pa c i f i c   (ac p )   s t a t e s 
und er the ‘co to no u agre eme nt ’ a re  th e reduc tion of  p over t y  and 
ultimately its eradication, sustainable development and progres-
s i v e   i n t e g r a t i o n   o f   t h e   ac p  c o u n t r i e s   i n t o   t h e   w o r l d   e c o n o my 1. 
r egional economic integration can be an impor tant step towards 
m e e t i n g   t h e s e   o b j e c t i ve s   fo r   m a ny   c o u n t r i e s,   e s p e c i a l l y   fo r   t h e 
s m a l l e r   o n e s .   i t s   m a i n   g o a l s   a r e   t o   c r e a t e   o r   i m p r o v e   p o l i t i c a l 
stabilit y and to stimulate economic development within a region. 
large harmonised markets facilitate the free movement of goods, 
ser vices, capital and people which enables economies of scale and 
stimu l ate s  trade  an d  investment.   r egional  economic  integrat ion 
( h e re i n a f t e r   c a l l e d  ‘re g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n’  fo r   t h e   p u r p o s e   o f   t h i s 
r e p o r t )   h e l p s   s t i m u l a t e   e c o n o m i c   g r o w t h   a n d   c a n   t h e r e b y   c o n -
tr ib u te to p over t y  reduc tion 2. 

 E v e n   p r i o r   t o   t h e   c o t o n o u   a g r e e m e n t ,   i n   a   c o m m u n i c a t i o n   o f 
199 5 3,  t he co mm issio n had defin ed its suppo r t  for  re gi on al  i nte -
g r a t i o n   a m o n g   d e v e l o p i n g   c o u n t r i e s   b y   o u t l i n i n g   a   c o n c e p t u a l 
f r a m e w o r k   a n d   b y   f o r m u l a t i n g   t h r e e   m a i n   a r e a s   f o r   d e v e l o p -
m e n t   c o o p e r a t i o n   s u p p o r t :   c a p a c i t y   b u i l d i n g   a n d   i n s t i t u t i o n a l 
stren gt he ning   at   regio nal   and   n ati on al   le vels,   d irec t  s uppor t   for 
the private sec tor to help exploit the oppor tunities resulting from 
regional integration and budget suppor t to help meet the transi -
tion al  cos ts o f eco no mic l ib eralis ati on  an d  refo r m.

 t h e   Ec  D e v e l o p m e n t   po l i c y   o f   2 0 0 0 4  s e l e c t e d   a   l i m i t e d   n u m b e r 
of p r io r it y f ie lds  for co mmu ni t y  de velopment  coope rati on  ac ti v-
itie s,  incl ud ing  trad e and developm ent,  an d regio nal  i nte grati on 
a n d   c o o p e r a t i o n .   t h e   u p d a t e d   Ec   d e v e l o p m e n t   p o l i c y   o f   2 0 0 5 , 
’ t h e   E u r o p e a n   c o n s e n s u s   o n   D e v e l o p m e n t ’ 5,   a g a i n   e m p h a s i s e d 
the impor tance of trade and regional integration by link ing them 
a n d   s e l e c t i n g   t h e m   a s   o n e   o f   t h e   p r i o r i t y   a r e a s   fo r   c o m m u n i t y 
ac t io n. 

1  acp-Ec partnership agreement, 

signed on 23 June 2000 and revised 

on 25 June 2005 (hereinafter called 

the cotonou agreement), part 3, title 

i: Development strategies, article 19.

2  communication from the 

commission to the council, the 

European parliament, the European 

Economic and social committee 

and the committee of the regions: 

regional integration for development 

in acp countries. com(2008) 604 

final/2 of 6.10.2008. also see the 

commission staff working document 

accompanying the communication 

on regional integration for 

development in acp countries, 

sEc(2008) 2539 of 1.10.2008.

3  communication from the 

commission: Ec support for regional 

economic integration efforts among 

developing countries. com(95) 219 

of 16.6.1995.

4  communication from the 

commission to the council and the 

European parliament: the European 

community’s Development policy, 

com(2000) 212 final of 26.4.2000.

5  Joint statement by the council 

and the representatives of the 

governments of the member 

states meeting within the council, 

the European parliament and 

the commission: ’the European 

consensus on Development’,  

22 november 2005.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

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9

4. 

 the  co mmis sio n  updated  its   polic y  on   re gi on a l  i ntegrat io n,   s pe -
cifically in relation to acp countr ies, in a  communication in 2008 
(see footnote 2) in which it confir med its view that regional inte -
grat i o n   wa s   e s s e nt i a l   fo r   i n c re a s i n g   e co n o m i c   grow t h   a n d   re d u-
cing pover ty. i t also identified several longstanding challenges  for 
a c h i e v i n g   re g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n ,   i n c l u d i n g   a   l a c k   o f   i n s t i t u t i o n a l 
capacit y and ownership at national and regional levels, a need to 
improve implementation of economic integration agreements and 
to st ream line  over l app in g and in con s iste nt  inte grati on  ag en da s, 
i n s u f f i c i e nt   e co n o m i c   d i ve r s i f i c at i o n   i n   n at i o n a l   e co n o m i e s   a n d 
inefficient infrastruc ture interconnec tions. i n the area of regional 
eco no mic  integration , the co mmun ication propose d foc usin g Eu 
s u p p o r t   o n   t h e   fo l l ow i n g   p r i o r i t y   a re a s :   s t re n g t h e n i n g   re g i o n a l 
i n s t i t u t i o n s ,   b u i l d i n g   r e g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t e d   m a r k e t s ,   s u p p o r t i n g 
b u s i n e s s   d e v e l o p m e n t   a n d   c o n n e c t i n g   r e g i o n a l   i n f r a s t r u c t u r e 
net wo r k s.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

S ource: European court of auditors.

 
10

EDF SUPPORT FOR REGI O NA L  I N TEGR AT I O N

5. 

 th e   Ec  s u p p o r t s   t h e   ac p  co u nt r i e s   i n   t h e i r   d e ve l o p m e nt   e f fo r t s 
t h r o u g h   t h e   E u r o p e a n   D e v e l o p m e n t   fu n d s   w i t h   n a t i o n a l   p r o -
g r a m m e s   e s t a b l i s h e d   w i t h   i n d i v i d u a l   c o u n t r i e s ,   r e g i o n a l   p r o -
gra m m e s   cove r i n g   s e ve ra l   o r   a l l   co u nt r i e s   i n   a   p a r t i c u l a r   re gi o n 
a n d   w h a t   a r e   k n o w n   a s   i n t r a - a c p   p r o g r a m m e s ,   w h i c h   t a r g e t 
m a n y   o r   a l l   a c p  s t a t e s .   fr o m   t h e   n i n t h   E Df  ( 2 0 0 2 – 0 7 ) ,   r e g i o n-
a l   p r o g r a m m e s   h a v e   b e c o m e   t h e   m a i n   i n s t r u m e n t   u s e d   t o   s u p -
p o r t   re g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n .   a  n u m b e r   o f   r e g i o n a l   or g a n i s a t i o n s, 
e s t a b l i s h e d   b y   v a r i o u s   g ro u p s   o f   ac p  c o u n t r i e s   w i t h   a   m a n d a t e 
to  p urs ue  re gio n al   economic  inte grat io n,   h ave   be co me  t he   m ain 
p a r t n e r s   o f   t h e   co m m i s s i o n   to   p re p a re   a n d   i m p l e m e nt   t h e s e   re -
gional   p ro gram mes.   unde r  th e  ninth   ED f  1   00 0  m illion  euro  was 
or iginal l y  res er ved   fo r  regio nal  pro gramm e s.   af ter   th e  en d-ter m 
rev ie ws   of   th e  var ious  p rogramm e s,  th e  fi nal   amount  comm it te d 
for regional programmes was 904 million euro, of which 70 % was 
dedicated to regional economic integration inter ventions 6. under 
t h e   1 0 t h   E Df  t h e   t o t a l   a l l o c a t i o n   f o r   r e g i o n a l   p r o g r a m m e s   h a s 
b e e n   i n c re a s e d   to   1   7 8 3   m i l l i o n   e u ro,   w i t h   t h e   s h a re   o f   re gi o n a l 
eco no mic  integration  com ing  to  7 5   %.  th e  allocated  amounts   by 
region are  give n in Tab le 1.

6  the commission’s indicative 

programmes sub-divide the total 

allocations into amounts for two or 

three main areas of support, also 

referred to as ‘focal sectors’. in the 

data presented, the share of the 

regional programmes allocated 

to regional economic integration 

has been calculated by adding 

the amounts allocated to the focal 

sectors called ‘regional integration 

and trade’ or ‘regional economic 

integration’ and ‘transport and 

communications’ or‘ transport 

interconnectivity’. under the 10th 

EDf regional programmes, ‘transport’ 

is no longer presented as a separate 

focal sector but is covered under 

the main focal sector of  ‘economic 

integration’.

TA B L E   1

FINANCIAL ALLO C ATION S TO  RE GI ON A L  P RO GR AM M ES

8th EDF
(1996–2001)

9th EDF
(2002–07)

(million euro)

10th EDF
(2008–13)

Region

East Africa2

West Africa

Subtotal

Southern Africa  
Development Community (SADC)

Central Africa

Caribbean region

Pacific region

Total

219

226

445

121

91

90

35

REI1

154

143

297

81

60

40

 –

Total 

782

478

Total

289

253

542

147

64

111

40

904

REI

203

200

403

95

29

89

15

Total

645

597

1 242

116

165

165

95

REI

548

418

966

93

97

140

45

631

1 783

1 341

1   regional Economic integration.
2  

 the commission’s official denomination for this region is ‘Eastern and southern africa and the indian ocean’; in this report it 
will be referred to as ‘East africa’.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

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6. 

7. 

8. 

11

MANAGEMENT OF  REGIONA L  P ROG R A M M ES

 B e fo re   t h e   n i nt h   E Df ,   t h e   re gi o n a l   p ro gra m m e s   we re   a gre e d   b e -
t ween the commission and the individual countr ies belonging to 
the region concerned, with regional projec ts often providing add-
i t i o n a l   f u n d i n g   fo r   n at i o n a l   a c t i v i t i e s   ( e. g.   ro a d   b u i l d i n g )   rat h e r 
th an s up po r t ing c l ear l y de sign ed  region al  poli ci es.

7  cotonou agreement, annex iv 

‘implementation and management 

procedures’, chapter 2 ‘programming 

and preparation (regional)’.

 the cotonou agreement, however, placed a new emphasis on the 
regional programmes as the main instrument to suppor t regional 
e co n o m i c   i nte grat i o n   a n d   s t i p u l ate d   t h at   m u l t i - a n n u a l   r e gi o n a l 
su p p o r t   s t ra te gi e s   a n d   i n d i c a t i ve   pro gra m m e s   b e   p re p a re d   a n d 
a g r e e d   fo r   e a c h   r e g i o n   j o i n t l y   b y   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   a n d   t h e   d u l y 
m a n d a t e d   r e g i o n a l   org a n i s a t i o n ( s ) ,   u n d e r   t h e   fo l l o w i n g   c o n d i-
tion s 7:

— 

the acp  states concerned decide on the definition of the geo -
grap hica l regio ns ;

— 

— 

to the maximum extent possible, regional programmes should 
correspond to programmes of existing regional organisations 
w ith  a mandate for economic  integrat ion ;

i n   t h e   c a s e   o f   o v e r l a p p i n g   m e m b e r s h i p   o f   s e v e r a l   r e g i o n a l 
organisations, the regional programme should ‘correspond to 
t he co mb ined memb ersh ip  of  t he se  org ani s ati on s’.

 as   a   re s u l t   o f   t h e   a fo re m e nt i o n e d   p rov i s i o n s,   re gi o n a l   p ro gra m-
m i n g   u n d e r   t h e   n i n t h   a n d   1 0 t h   E Dfs   h a s   r e s u l t e d   i n   s t r a t e g i e s 
an d indic at ive programmes for six  di f ferent regi on s cove r in g  th e 
total it y o f th e ac p co unt r ies, i.e.  four in  afr ic a,  on e in t he  pacific 
and   on e  in  the  car ib be an.  i n  several  of  t he   afr ic an   regions  more 
t h a n   o n e   r e g i o n a l   or g a n i s a t i o n   e x i s t s   w i t h   a   m a n d a t e   f o r   e c o -
n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n ,   c o v e r i n g   d i f f e r e n t ,   a n d   s o m e t i m e s   o v e r l a p -
p i n g,   a re a s.  t h i s   h a s   l e d   t o   t h e   s i t u a t i o n   t h a t   i n   t h e   t wo   l a rg e s t 
regions, East africa and West africa, for example, the commission 
has to work with four (East africa) and t wo ( West africa) regional 
organisations respec tively as the duly mandated organisations to 
draw up, sign and implement the regional strategy and indicative 
pro gra m m e   fo r   t h e i r   re gi o n .  th e   r e gi o n a l   i n d i c at i ve   pro gra m m e 
provides a first allocation of the resources available for the region 
and  the  p er iod  concer n ed to the  foc al are as  o f  s uppor t. for each 
indiv idual  inter vent ion  the most a ppropr iate  r egional organ isa-
tion is allocated the role of r egional author ising o fficer, respon-
sibl e fo r prep aration and imp leme nt at io n of  th e  i nte r ve nti ons  i n 
close  coo p erat io n wit h the c om mission.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

 
 
 
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9. 

10.  

11.  

EAST AFRIC A REGIO N

 the East africa region in its current composition was created with 
the signing of the ninth EDf  regional strategy paper and regional 
i nd icat ive  pro gramme 8.   i t   is  a  h eterogen eous  and  dive rs e  regio n 
in many respec ts, with countries var ying in size, population, geo-
gra p h i c a l   s i t u at i o n ,   l e ve l   o f   d e ve l o p m e nt   a n d   p o l i t i c a l   s t a b i l i t y. 
u n d e r   t h e   n i n t h   E D f,   t h e   re gi o n a l   p ro gr a m m e   cove re d   2 1   co u n -
t r i e s ,   b u t   u n d e r   t h e   1 0 t h   E Df  t h i s   n u m b e r   h a s   b e e n   r e d u c e d   t o 
17, fo l l ow in g t he w ithdrawal  of four  count r ie s  f rom th e  r egional 
orga nisatio ns invol ved.

8  up to the eighth EDf, this region 

was covered by two indicative 

programmes, one for Eastern and 

southern africa and one for the 

indian ocean region, but following 

the principles of the cotonou 

agreement, these were replaced by 

one single strategy and indicative 

programme for the larger region.

9  comEsa — common market for 

Eastern and southern africa,

Eac — East african community,

igaD — intergovernmental authority 

on Development,

ioc — indian ocean commission.

10  for example tanzania participates 

in the East africa regional programme 

as a member of the Eac. However, it is 

not a member of comEsa, but it is a 

member of saDc.

 the   region   is  ch arac ter ised  by   th e  pres en ce   of   four   r egional  or -
ganisations, covering different sub -regions, with a mandate for re -
gional integration. these are k nown respec tively by the acronyms 
comEsa, Eac, igaD and ioc 9. these organisations show significant 
ove r la p s  in  geo grap hic al   cove ra ge   an d  m embe r sh ip  an d  in   m an-
d a te s   a n d   p o l i c y   o b j e c t i ve s   ( s e e   A n n e xe s   I  a n d   I I) .   co mEs a  a n d 
Eac are  pr imar ily  aimin g for re gio nal  e con omi c  integrat ion ,  wi th 
E ac   a l re a d y   h av i n g   e s t a b l i s h e d   a   c u s to m s   u n i o n ,   w h i l e   co m E s a 
i s   s t i l l   i n   t h e   p r o c e s s   o f   t r a n s f o r m i n g   i t s   f r e e   t r a d e   a r e a   i n t o   a 
customs union. igaD also includes regional economic integration 
i n   i t s   m a n d ate   b u t   fo c u s e s   m o re   o n   co n f l i c t   re s o l u t i o n   a n d   fo o d 
s e c u r i t y   i s s u e s .  t h e   i o c  h a s   a   m a n d a t e   fo r   e c o n o m i c   a n d   t r a d e 
c o o p e r a t i o n   r a t h e r   t h a n   fo r   re g i o n a l   e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n ,   a n d 
i t   f o c u s e s   m a i n l y   o n   r e g i o n a l   c o o p e r a t i o n   i n   n a t u r a l   r e s o u r c e s 
management (fisheries). never theless,  ioc par ticipates in the pro -
gramm ing  and imp l ementation  of  th e  9t h an d 10 t h E Df  r egional 
i nd icat ive p ro grammes  fo r t he E ast a fr ica re gion.

 t h e   o v e r l a p p i n g   m e m b e r s h i p   p o s e s   c o n s i d e r a b l e   p r o b l e m s ,   a s 
s o m e   m e m b e r   c o u n t r i e s   b e l o n g   t o   t w o   d i f f e r e n t   t r a d e   a r e a s 
( co mEs a  a n d   Ea c ) .   i n   a d d i t i o n ,   t h e r e   a r e   o v e r l a p s   a n d   i n c o m-
p a t i b i l i t i e s   i n   m e m b e r s h i p   w i t h   t h e   s o u t h e r n   a f r i c a   D e v e l o p -
ment communit y (saDc ), the regional organisation for s outhern 
 africa 10, which also aims to establish a customs union bet ween its 
member countries. m embership in more than one customs union, 
h owe ve r,   i s   te c h n i c a l l y   n o t   p o s s i b l e.  th e s e   ove r l a p s   i n   m e m b e r -
s h i p   a n d   m a n d a t e s   re s u l t   i n   a   c o m p l e x   i n s t i t u t i o n a l   f r a m e wo r k . 
t h e s e   f a c t o r s ,   a n d   t h e   c u r r e n t   w e a k   s t a t e   o f   c o o r d i n a t i o n   b e -
tween these organisations (see paragraphs 39 to 43), pose serious 
p r o b l e m s   f o r   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n ,   i n   p a r t i c u l a r   f o r   t h e   d e s i g n   a n d 
implementation of inter ventions in the area of regional economic 
inte grat ion .

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

 
 
 
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12.  

13 .  

WEST AFRIC A REGIO N

 t h e r e   a r e   t w o   m a n d a t e d   r e g i o n a l   or g a n i s a t i o n s   i n   t h i s   r e g i o n , 
i . e .   t h e   E c o n o m i c   c o m m u n i t y   o f   We s t   a f r i c a n   s t a t e s   ( EcoW a s) 
and the union Économique et  monétaire ouest africaine (uEmoa/
WaEm u  —  We s t   af r i c a n   E co n o m i c   a n d   m o n e t a r y   un i o n ) .   th e   re -
gional programme covers the combined membership of these two 
organ isat io ns.  m au r it ania , t he region’s  only  countr y whi ch  is no t 
a  m em be r  o f  eit her  organ is ation ,  also   t akes   par t   i n   E Df  re gi ona l 
coo pe ratio n u nder  the u mb rella o f EcoW as.

11  the Epas will be the new trade 

agreements between (groups of) 

acp countries and the Eu, to replace 

the system of non-reciprocal trade 

preferences agreed in the lomé 

conventions, which preceded the 

cotonou agreement.

 a l t h o u g h   e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n   i n   t h i s   re g i o n   m ay   a p p e a r   m o re 
straightfor ward to achieve as there are fewer sub -regions than in 
East africa, it too faces significant challenges. uEmoa has the ad-
vantage of a common currenc y and an established customs union, 
while EcoW as is much less advanced in this respec t, but EcoW as 
has  t he wide r memb er ship  and is,  th e refo re,  th e m ore logical  re -
gional  integratio n s tru c tu re in  th e l ong  te r m  a nd t he  mai n re fer-
ence for the Economic par tnership agreement (Epa ) to be agreed 
with the Ec 11. the t wo organisations have recognised the need for 
convergence between the two regions and organisations and have 
agreed to work towards this long-term goal through an ‘approche 
à   g é o m é t r i e   v a r i a b l e   e t   à   r y t h m e s   d i f fé r e n t s’.   i n   t h e   m e a n t i m e, 
s u b s t a n t i a l   c o o rd i n a t i o n   i s   re q u i re d   b e t we e n   t h e   t wo   o rg a n i s a-
tions, and bet ween them and the European commission, in order 
to   m ove   t h i s   re gi o n a l   i nte gra t i o n   p ro ce s s   fo r wa rd   a s   e f fe c t i ve l y 
and  eff icient l y as p o ssib l e.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

 
 
auDit scopE anD approacH

14

14.  

15.  

 i n view of the growing interest in, and the increased EDf suppor t 
for, regional economic integration, the cour t decided to carr y out 
an audit on this subjec t. the audit was planned so that the results 
c o u l d   b e   t a k e n   i n t o   a c c o u n t   b y   t h e   co m m i s s i o n   i n   i t s   m i d - t e r m 
review of the implementation of the 10th ED f which is scheduled 
for 2 010.

 t h e   p u r p o s e   o f   t h e   a u d i t   w a s   t o   d e t e r m i n e   w h e t h e r   E u r o p e a n 
D evel o p ment  fun d  (EDf)  su p por t   for  region al  e con om ic   integra-
tion   ha s  b een   ef fec t ive. the  audit  address ed  t he  followin g  que s-
tions:

(a )  Does the commission have a relevant and coherent approach 

to  regio nal  integration ?

(b)   Has the commission managed its suppor t for regional integra-

t ion  we ll ?

(c)  H ave   t h e   co m m i s s i o n’s   i n d i v i d u a l   p ro j e c t s   i n   s u p p o r t   o f   re -

gio nal  integrat ion  met th eir  o bje c t ive s ?

16.  

 r egard ing t he geo grap hic al scop e, th e cour t ’s audit h as focus ed 
o n   t h e   t wo   l a r g e s t   o f   t h e   s i x   e x i s t i n g   re g i o n a l   p ro g r a m m e s,   i . e. 
those for East africa and West africa (see Table 1), which together 
a c c o u n t   fo r   w e l l   o v e r   5 0 %   o f   t h e   t o t a l   a m o u n t   a l l o c a t e d   t o   r e -
gional  p ro grammes.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

 
 
 
15

17.  

 the  au dit  wo r k  car r ied  ou t inc lud ed  th e  follow in g :

12  Within the commission, these 

documents are called ‘regional 

(a)  a review of relevant documentation on Ec  development polic y 

strategy paper’ and ‘regional 

co ncer ning  re gional  integratio n;

indicative programme’.

(b)   a n   ex a m i n at i o n   o f   t h e   co m m i s s i o n’s   re gi o n a l   s t rate g y   d o c u -
m e n t s 1 2  fo r   t h e   n i n t h   a n d   1 0 t h   E Dfs   fo r   t h e   t wo   re g i o n s   s e -
l e c t e d,   t o g e t h e r   w i t h   t h e   n a t i o n a l   s t r a t e g y   d o c u m e n t s 1 3  fo r 
t he co u nt r ies vis ited;

13  Within the commission, these 

documents are called ‘country 

strategy paper’ and ‘national 

indicative programme’.

(c)  o n - t h e - s p o t   m i s s i o n s   to   b o t h   re gi o n s,   cove r i n g   i n   to t a l   n i n e 
countries as well as the Headquar ters of the relevant regional 
orga nisatio ns 14;

(d)  an examination of 18 regional projec ts, which include all ninth 
EDf and the largest eighth EDf projects on regional integration, 
trade  and  transpor t,  with  a  total  financial  allocation  of  almost 
450 million euro 15. the scope of this examination was restric ted 
to an assessment of the achievement (or likelihood thereof ) of 
the projec t results, but not the longer-term impac t thereof. the 
list of projec ts examined is provided in A nnex III;

(e)  a   re v i e w   o f   t h e   e v a l u a t i o n s   c a r r i e d   o u t   o f   t h e   co m m i s s i o n’s 
regional strategies for East and West africa, in order to assess 
t h e   re l i a b i l i t y   o f   t h e i r   co n c l u s i o n s   a n d   t h e   fo l l ow - u p   a c t i o n 
taken or planned by the commission and a review of an inter-
nal audit of the financial management of regional projec ts, in 
p ar tic ul ar in the s o ut her n  a fr ica re gion 16.

14   in East africa visits were made 

to Kenya, malawi, rwanda, 

tanzania, Zambia and to the 

regional organisations common 

market for Eastern and southern 

africa (comEsa) and East african 

community (Eac). in West africa 

visits were made to Burkina faso, 

ghana, nigeria and senegal and to 

the regional organisations Economic 

community of West african states 

(EcoWas) and union Économique et 

monétaire ouest africaine (uEmoa/ 

WaEmu, West african Economic 

and monetary union). in East africa 

two other regional organisations 

(intergovernmental authority on 

Development and indian ocean 

commission) are also involved in 

regional cooperation, but they play 

a minor role in relation to economic 

integration and they were not visited 

during the audit.

15  12 projects were financed from the 

9th EDf and 6 from the 8th EDf; no 

projects financed from the 10th EDf 

were being implemented yet at the 

time of the audit.

16  ‘Évaluation de la stratégie 

régionale de la commission 

Européenne en afrique de l’ouest’, 

rapport final de synthèse, mai 2008; 

‘Evaluation of the commission’s 

support to the region of Eastern 

and southern africa and the indian 

ocean’, final report December 

2008; ias audit report, July 2008 

(commission internal document).

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

 
oBsErvations

16

DOES THE COM MISSIO N  HAVE  A   R ELE VA N T 
AND COHERENT APPROAC H TO   R EGI O NA L 
INTEGR ATION?

18.  

 i n  a ddres sing  this   q ues tion  th e  cour t  examin ed  wh ether,   for   t he 
t w o   r e g i o n s   c o n c e r n e d ,   t h e   co m m i s s i o n’s   r e g i o n a l   c o o p e r a t i o n 
s t r a t e g y   w a s   a l i g n e d   w i t h   t h e   r e g i o n s’  o w n   p r i o r i t i e s   a n d   c o m-
p l e m e nt a r y   to   t h e   co m m i s s i o n’s   i n d i v i d u a l   co u nt r y   co o p e rat i o n 
s t ra te gi e s.   fo r   i n d i v i d u a l   re gi o n a l   p ro j e c t s,   t h e   co u r t   e x a m i n e d 
w h e t h e r   t h e y   a d d re s s e d   p r i o r i t y   n e e d s   at   b o t h   t h e   re gi o n a l   a n d 
natio na l le vel s. 

THE COMMIS SION’S  REGIONA L COOPER ATION STR ATEGY 
IS RELE VANT BUT  COMPLEMEN TAR IT Y VIS -À-VIS  ITS 
NATIONAL COOPER AT ION STR ATEGIES  IS WEA K  AND 
THE LE VEL OF FUNDING DOES N OT TAKE ACCOUN T  OF 
ABSORPTION C APACIT IES

19.  

 i n   i t s   r e g i o n a l   s t r a t e g y   d o c u m e n t s   f o r   b o t h   t h e   n i n t h   a n d   t h e 
te nt h   E Dfs   t h e   co m m i s s i o n   p rov i d e s   a n   a cc u rate   a n a l ys i s   o f   t h e 
progress made in regional integration and the challenges it faces. 
th i s   a n a l ys i s   j u s t i f i e d   t h e   d e c i s i o n   to   fo c u s   t h e   E Df  f i n a n c i a l   a l-
l o c a t i o n s   f o r   b o t h   r e g i o n s   o n   e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n   a n d   t r a d e , 
wi th transp o r t  eit her b eing inc lude d o r  treated  as  a se co nd  focal 
sec to r. the  j us tific at ion  p rovided, in t he  1 0 th  EDf re gi ona l s trat -
e g y   p a p e r s   a n d   i n   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n’s   2 0 0 8   c o m m u n i c a t i o n   ( s e e 
footnote 2), for the doubling of the financial allocation to regional 
p ro gra m m e s   u n d e r   t h e   te nt h   E Df  to   1   7 8 3   m i l l i o n   e u ro   i s   t h at   i t 
reflec ts ‘Eu- acp consensus on the impor tance of regional integra-
tion for development ’. this large allocation will be difficult to use 
i n   a n   e f f i c i e n t   a n d   e f fe c t i ve   w ay   by   t h e   r e gi o n a l   org a n i s a t i o n s, 
give n t he ir limited ab s or p t ion c apac it y de mons trated  s o far  (s ee 
paragrap hs 44 to  49).

20.  

 th e   co m m i s s i o n’s   re gi o n a l   s t rate gi e s   a re   a l i gn e d   w i t h   t h e   s t rat-
egies and objectives of the main regional organisations to   increase 
e c o n o m i c   g r o w t h   a n d   r e d u c e   p o v e r t y   t h r o u g h   h i g h e r   l e v e l s   o f 
r e g i o n a l   e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n ,   b y   s u p p o r t i n g   t h e   i m p l e m e n t a-
t i o n   a n d   c o n s o l i d a t i o n   o f   e x i s t i n g   f re e   t r a d e   a re a s   a n d   c u s t o m s 
u n i o n s,   a n d   by   a d d re s s i n g   s u p p l y   s i d e   co n s t ra i nt s   i n   t h e   a re a   o f 
infras truc t u re.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

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17  ‘the africa–Eu strategic 

partnership: a Joint africa–Eu 

strategy’, adopted at the Eu–africa 

summit, lisbon, December 2007.

17

21.  

22.  

23.  

 the commission has followed an appropr iate approach of provid-
ing  institution  building  suppor t  to  the  r egional  organisations  in 
o rd e r   to   i n c re a s e   t h e i r   c a p a c i t y   to   d e ve l o p   re gi o n a l   p o l i c i e s   a n d 
enforce  their  implementation.  i ts  strategy  of  suppor ting,  in  each 
r e g i o n ,   o n e   j o i n t   r e g i o n a l   i n d i c a t i v e   p r o g r a m m e   i n v o l v i n g   t h e 
v a r i o u s   r e g i o n a l   o rg a n i s a t i o n s   t a k e s   a c c o u n t   o f   t h e   c o m p l e x i t y 
of the cur rent institutional framewor k , caused by the multiplicit y 
a n d   o ve r l a p p i n g   m a n d a t e s   o f   r e g i o n a l   or g a n i s a t i o n s   ( s e e   p a r a-
g r a p h s   1 0   t o   1 3 ) .   a n o t h e r   a i m   i s   t o   s t re n g t h e n   c o o p e r a t i o n   a n d 
t h e   co nve rg e n ce   p ro ce s s   b e t we e n   t h e s e   o rg a n i s at i o n s.   H owe ve r, 
the regional strategy documents do not identify the priority needs 
t o   s t r e n g t h e n   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n a l   c a p a c i t y   o f   i n d i v i d u a l   c o u n t r i e s 
to   p a r t i c i p ate   a c t i ve l y   i n   t h e   fo r m u l at i o n   a n d   i m p l e m e nt at i o n   o f 
regional integration policies.

 t h e   f o c u s   o n   t r a n s p o r t   i n   t h e   r e g i o n a l   s t r a t e g y   i s   i n   l i n e   w i t h 
t h e   J o i n t   a f r i c a – E u   s t r a t e g y 1 7  w h i c h   s t a t e d   t h a t   a f r i c a   a n d   t h e 
Eu wo ul d a im at  in creas ing intercon n e c ti v it y  by inve s ti ng  in  a nd 
i m p rov i n g   i n f ra s t r u c t u re   a l o n g   t h e  tra n s - af r i c a n   ro a d   t ra n s p o r t 
c o r r i d o r s   i n   o rd e r   t o   s u p p o r t   d e ve l o p m e n t   t h ro u g h   g ro w t h   a n d 
trade. the objec tive is to suppor t the definition and implementa -
tion of regional transpor t policies, with priority being given to the 
harmonisation of national transpor t policies (e.g. standardisation 
of maximum axle load for heav y goods vehicles) and transpor t fa-
cilitation along regional corridors (e.g. jointly built and managed 
border p o st s, e liminatio n o f illic i t  controls ) .

 the commission’s cooperation strategies with individual countries 
under the ninth and 10th EDfs are aligned with national develop -
m e n t   s t r a t e g i e s,   a s   fo r m u l a t e d   i n   t h e   c o u n t r i e s’  po ve r t y   r e d u c -
t i o n   s t r a t e g y   pa p e r s .  t h e   a i m   o f   a l l   t h e s e   n a t i o n a l   s t r a t e g i e s   i s 
to a chie ve highe r eco no mic growt h,  wh i ch is  se en  as  a  ne ce ss ar y 
co n d i t i o n   to   b e   a b l e   to   re d u ce   p ove r t y.   H owe ve r,   i n   m a ny   c a s e s 
the  natio nal st rategies  do  no t con s id er  h ow th e y  sh ould i nte rac t 
wit h o r co mple m ent regional  inte grat ion  programm e s.

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special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

 
 
 
18

24.  

25.  

26.  

 for most of the countries examined by the cour t, the commission’s 
c o o p e r a t i o n   s t r a t e g i e s   h ave   fo c u s e d   o n   b u d g e t   s u p p o r t .  t h i s   i s 
meant to contr ibute to macro - economic stabilit y, which is an im-
por t ant co nditio n for st ren gthe ni n g th e  conve rg en ce  of  n at iona l 
macro - e cono mic  p ol ic ies,  econo mi c   growt h  an d   d eve lopme nt   of 
trade  in th e region s and t hus, regio nal  integrat ion  overall.

 tr a n s p o r t   i s   d e f i n e d   a s   a   fo c a l   s e c t o r   fo r   m o s t   o f   t h e   c o u n t r i e s 
exam ined by th e co ur t  and has t he potential to  contr i bute to  re -
gional integration. under ninth ED f national programmes, whilst 
the impor tance of improving regional transpor t cor r idors is men-
t i o n e d   i n   s e ve ra l   c a s e s,   t h e   m a j o r i t y   o f   ro a d   p ro gr a m m e s   i n   t h e 
d i f f e r e n t   c o u n t r i e s   e x a m i n e d   b y   t h e   c o u r t   f o c u s   o n   i m p r o v i n g 
d o m e s t i c   i n t e r c o n n e c t i v i t y.   i n   t h e   1 0 t h   E Df   c o u n t r y   s t r a t e g i e s, 
t h e r e   h a s   b e e n   a   s i g n i f i c a n t   c h a n g e   o f   e m p h a s i s,   s i n c e   p r i o r i t y 
is  now   given   to   p ro mo ting   region a l  i nte rcon ne c ti vit y  in   o rde r   to 
facil itate and exp and  regional  trade.

 i n the ninth EDf countr y strategies, in areas other than transpor t, 
v a r y i n g   a n d   g e n e ra l l y   i n a d e q u a te   a t te n t i o n   i s   gi ve n   to   re gi o n a l 
i n t e g r a t i o n .   t h e r e   i s   n o   i n d i c a t i o n   a s   t o   h o w   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n’s 
suppor t and polic y dialogue at national level should suppor t the 
r e g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n   p r o c e s s   a n d   t h e r e   a r e   n o   e x p l i c i t   l i n k a g e s 
o r   c o m p l e m e n t a r i t y   w i t h   re g i o n a l   i n t e r ve n t i o n s,   fo r   e x a m p l e   i n 
relatio n to  t he n eed for  in stit utio nal  suppo r t  fo r  n ati on al adm in-
i s t r a t i o n s   i n   t h e   t r a n s p o s i t i o n   a n d   a p p l i c a t i o n   o f   r e g i o n a l   l a w 
o r   fo r   s t r e n g t h e n i n g   t h e   c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s   o f   t h e   p r i v a t e   s e c t o r. 
Whilst, for most of the countries examined by the cour t, the 10th 
E Df  co u nt r y   s t rate gi e s   i n c l u d e   p rov i s i o n s   fo r   n o n - fo c a l   s u p p o r t 
in area s su ch as trade,  regional i nte grat io n o r  im pleme nt at io n o f 
Econ om ic   par t nersh ip   agre ements  ( Epa ) ,  th ey  do  not   spec ify   the 
pr ior it y needs to b e ad dress ed.

27.  

 th e   co u r t ’s   f i n d i n g s   c o r ro b o r a t e   t h e   e v a l u a t i o n s   co m m i s s i o n e d 
by the commission for the t wo regions. these evaluations, which 
covered  t he  eig hth an d ninth EDfs,  con c lud ed  t hat  th ere  was in-
sufficient complementar it y, because of inadequate coordination, 
both at the level of the polic y dialogue bet ween the commission, 
th e  r egion al  orga nisatio ns  and  in dividual  countr i es,   an d  at  pro -
gramm e l evel b et ween  regional an d  n ati on al programm es.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

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18  in East africa this consists of 

the regional integration support 

programme (risp) in combination 

with the regional integration 

support mechanism (rism); in 

West africa it consists of the project 

support for regional integration in 

West africa in combination with the 

project Economic integration and 

trade.

19  the full names of the regional 

organisations are given in the 

glossary, provided after the table of 

contents and in footnote 14.

28.  

29.  

30.  

REGIONAL PROJEC TS ARE RELE VANT  BUT  DO  NOT 
SUFFICIENTLY ADDRE SS  REGIONAL INTEGR ATION N EED S 
AT NATIONAL LE VEL

 the ninth EDf regional programmes for East  africa and West africa 
each contain comprehensive regional integration projec ts 18 which 
address most of the issues in the area of regional integration. they 
focus on suppor t for institutional capacit y building, development 
o f   t r a d e   p o l i c y   re g u l a t i o n s,   n e g o t i a t i o n s   a n d   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   o f 
E pas   a n d   f i n a n c i a l   co m p e n s at i o n   m e c h a n i s m s   fo r   l o s s   o f   g ove r n -
m e n t   r e v e n u e s   d u e   t o   c u s t o m s   t a r i f f   r e d u c t i o n s .   i n   t h e   a r e a   o f 
t r a n s p o r t ,   t h e y   fo c u s   o n   t r a n s p o r t   f a c i l i t a t i o n ,   s i n c e   s u p p o r t   fo r 
transpor t infrastruc ture is funded by the national programmes.

 th e   r i s p  p ro j e c t   i n   E a s t   a f r i c a   fo r   e x a m p l e   c o n s i s t s   o f   n i n e  ‘r e -
sult  areas’,  w hich   rang e  fro m  im plem entati on   of   t he   agre eme nt s 
o n   t h e   fr e e   tr a d e   a r e a   a n d   t h e   c u s t o m s   un i o n   t o   h a r m o n i s a-
tion of statistical data, har monisation of monetar y, fiscal and tax 
p o l i c y,   to   p re p a r a t i o n   o f   a   t ra n s p o r t   a n d   co m m u n i c a t i o n s   s t r a t -
e g y   a n d   p r i o r i t y   i nve s t m e nt   p l a n .  th e   Eco n o m i c   i nte grat i o n   a n d 
tra de  projec t   in West  afr ica   contain s  four   main   compo ne nt s,   i .e. 
achievement of a common mar ket, macro - economic stabilit y and 
convergence, institutional capacit y building and enhancement of 
the competitiveness of produc tive sec tors. all these ac tivities are 
relevant to the integration agenda of the regional organisations, 
i . e .   co mEs a  a n d   Eac  i n   E a s t   a f r i c a   a n d   EcoW a s  a n d   uEm oa  i n 
Wes t  a fr ica 19.

 the rism projec t in East  africa is the largest financial inter vention 
in that region with an EDf commitment of 78 million euro.  i ts ob -
jec tive is to assist countries in the region in the fiscal adjustment 
p ro ce s s   w h e n   t h e y   l i b e ra l i s e   t h e i r   t a r i f fs   v i s - à -v i s   o t h e r   m e m b e r 
states joining the free trade area or the customs union. there has 
been   a  l ack  o f  interest   from  cer ta i n  countr i es   in   t he   proj e c t. th e 
main  reaso n is  that t he p rojec t,  as  de s ign ed,  d oe s  not  ta rg et  t he 
p r i o r i t i e s   o f   t h o s e   c o u n t r i e s .   no   d i s b u r s e m e n t   h a d   b e e n   m a d e 
und er t his pro jec t at the t ime  of  t he  audit.

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31.  

 the regional projects examined all have a clear regional dimension 
a n d   i n v o l v e   a c t i v i t i e s   a t   t h e   r e g i o n a l   l e v e l .   H o w e v e r,   t h e   c o m-
m i s s i o n ,   r e g i o n a l   or g a n i s a t i o n s   a n d   i n d i v i d u a l   c o u n t r i e s   h a v e 
re s p e c t i ve l y   g i ve n   i n s u f f i c i e n t   a t t e n t i o n   t o   a n d   s u p p o r t   fo r   t h e 
necessa r y  fol l ow-up   ac t ions   at  n at ion al  l evel,  in   par t i cul ar   i n   re -
lat io n to th e t ra nsp o sit io n and a ppli c at ion  of  le gislati on an d t he 
imp l em ent atio n o f regio nal  p oli c ie s ( s ee B ox  1).

B O X   1

INSUFFICIENT LINK BE T WEE N R E GI ON A L  A N D  NATI ON A L  AC TIV IT IE S

in East africa, the regional integration support programme (risp), launched in July 2005, aims to develop 
the capacity of the regional organisations and their member states in policy formulation, implementa-
tion and monitoring of regional integration, multilateral and regional trade and in trade-related areas. 
under its ‘result area 5 — improve harmonisation of regional policies at national level’, the project is 
meant to support member states’ ‘national development and trade policy forum’ (or similar national 
working group) in the task of guiding, co-ordinating and monitoring a country’s regional integration 
efforts as well as its integration in the world economy. in 2008, however, there were only four countries 
(Burundi, Ethiopia, malawi and seychelles) where the trade policy forum was sufficiently active and 
had enough capacity to present a work plan in this area. among them, only Ethiopia has actually been 
assisted by the project.

in West africa, EcoWas focal points exist within the administrations of all the member states. they are 
responsible for assisting the EcoWas countries in the transposition of regional decisions, but their inputs 
are not sufficiently considered in the management of the main regional integration project, as they are 
not represented on the project’s steering committee. their capacity is very limited and so far they have 
mostly functioned as information and contact points of EcoWas in the member countries. the project 
has acknowledged the need to reinforce the capacity of the EcoWas focal points, but it has allocated 
insufficient funds for this task. the project work plan for 2008 provided 45 000 euro (3 000 euro per 
focal point) for the development of a capacity building plan, which was still under preparation at the 
time of the audit. the 2009 work plan only provides for 98 000 euro (6 500 euro per focal point) for the 
implementation of the capacity building plan.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

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32.  

33.  

HAS THE CO MM ISSIO N MA NAGED  I TS  S UP P O R T F O R 
REGIONAL INTE GR ATIO N WELL?

 in addressing this question the cour t examined whether the com-
m i s s i o n   p ro v i d e d   a d e q u a t e   g u i d e l i n e s,   m e c h a n i s m s   a n d   h u m a n 
re s o u rc e s   c a p a c i t y   t o   f a c i l i t a t e   m a n a g e m e n t   b y   i t s   D e l e g a t i o n s 
of the programming, implementation and monitor ing of regional 
i n t e r v e n t i o n s ,   w h e t h e r   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   e n s u r e d   t h a t   a d e q u a t e 
c o o r d i n a t i o n   a n d   m o n i t o r i n g   m e c h a n i s m s   w e r e   p u t   i n   p l a c e   b y 
t h e   r e g i o n a l   org a n i s a t i o n s   a n d   w h e t h e r   re g i o n a l   p ro j e c t s   we re 
imp l emented  wit hin the p l ann ed  ti me  frame.

DELEGATIONS L ACK GUIDELINES A ND  C APACIT Y  TO 
MANAGE REGIONAL PROGR A MMES

 W h e r e a s   c o u n t r y   s t r a t e g y   p a p e r s   a r e   p r e p a r e d   o n   t h e   b a s i s   o f 
d i s c u s s i o n s   b e t w e e n   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   a n d   a n   i n d i v i d u a l   c o u n-
t r y,   re gi o n a l   s t rate g y   p a p e r s   co n ce r n   n o   l e s s   t h a n   fo u r   r e gi o n a l 
i g aD,   i o c )   i n   t h e   c a s e   o f   t h e   E a s t 
or g a n i s a t i o n s   ( co mEs a,   Eac,  
a f r i c a n   re g i o n ,   re p re s e n t i n g   1 7   n a t i o n a l   g o ve r n m e n t s,   a n d   t wo 
r e g i o n a l   o r g a n i s a t i o n s   i n   t h e   c a s e   o f   t h e   We s t   a f r i c a n   r e g i o n 
(EcoW as,  uEmoa ), representing 16 national governments. on the 
commission’s side there is in each region almost the same number 
of Delegations involved. ac tivities under the regional projec ts are 
mainly carried out at the regional level, i.e. by one or more of the 
regional organisations, but some ac tivities also take place at the 
l e ve l   o f   t h e   i n d i v i d u a l   co u nt r i e s   b e l o n gi n g   to   t h e   re gi o n .   E s t a b -
lishing a customs union, for instance, requires first an agreement 
t o   b e   r e a c h e d   a t   r e g i o n a l   l e v e l   o n   o n e   co m m o n   E x t e r n a l  ta r i f f, 
b u t   i t s   a p p l i c a t i o n   r e q u i r e s   t h e   i nv o l v e m e n t   a n d   t r a i n i n g   o f   a l l 
the customs ser vices in the par ticipating countries. With so many 
different par ties involved, the preparation and implementation of 
a region al st rateg y requires a hi g h  de gree   of  coo rdin ati on .

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34.  

 the commission has not established procedures or guidelines for 
t h e   p r e p a r a t i o n   a n d   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   o f   r e g i o n a l   s t r a t e g i e s   a n d 
inte r ventio ns. the  lac k o f adequate g uidelin es  mea n s  th at:

(a)  t here is no  cle ar definit io n  or  al loc at io n o f spe c if ic  rol es  an d 
res po n sibilit ies   for  t he  differe nt   D e le gat io ns   in   a  regi on ,  i .e. 
those with and those without responsibilit y for relations with 
a r egion al  org anisat ion ;

(b)  no   sing l e  D ele g atio n  has   t he  overall  res pon sibi li t y   o r   coord-

inating  ro l e fo r a regio nal in dic ati ve  program me ;

(c)  t h e re   i s   n o   e s t a b l i s h e d   c o m p re h e n s i ve   c o o rd i n a t i o n   f r a m e -

wor k  cover ing al l  D el egation s in  a  re gi on .

35.  

36.  

 the 10th EDf regional strategy papers and indicative programmes 
have b een prep ared largel y  follow in g  t h e g ui de lin e s for  d raf t in g 
countr y strategy papers. specific programming guidelines for re -
gional   p ro grammin g  were  is su ed   wh i c h  cove red   t he   conte nt  an d 
format of the documents but not the preparation process. neither 
did  t hey  t ake  accou nt   o f  th e  sign if ic ant  i ns ti tuti on al  dif fe re nces 
b e t w e e n   c o u n t r y   a n d   r e g i o n a l   s t r a t e g i e s .  t h e   l a c k   o f   c o o r d i n a-
tion   a nd  de finitio n  of   res po nsibi li ti es   i s   one   of   th e  ma in   re ason s 
fo r   t h e   l a c k   o f   c o m p l e m e n t a r i t y   b e t we e n   r e g i o n a l   a n d   n a t i o n a l 
pro gra mmes  (see p aragrap hs 2 0  to  3 1 ) .

 r egard ing t he imp l ementat ion of  proj e c ts,  ea ch  D e le gati on o nly 
m o n i to r s   a n d   re p o r t s   o n   t h e   a c t i v i t i e s   i m p l e m e nte d   by   t h e   g ov-
e r n m e n t   o f   t h e   c o u n t r y   w h e r e   i t   i s   b a s e d   a n d ,   w h e r e   i t   i s   t h e 
c a s e ,   b y   t h e   r e g i o n a l   or g a n i s a t i o n   e s t a b l i s h e d   i n   t h a t   c o u n t r y 
( s e e   B o x   2 ) .   i n   a d d i t i o n ,   t h e   D e l e g a t i o n s’  r e p o r t s   m a i n l y   f o c u s 
on  t he  finan cial   imp l ementation   of   proj e c t s  an d  provi de   li tt le  or 
n o   d e t a i l   o n   p h y s i c a l   p r o g r e s s   o r   p r o b l e m s   w i t h   p r o j e c t s .   a s   a 
result, commission Headquar ters generally do not get an overall, 
conso l idated,   pi c t ure  an d  are,   t he re fore,  n ot   in   a  posi ti on   to  ad-
equately monitor and coordinate regional projec ts. fur ther more, 
t h e   l a c k   o f   a n   o v e r a l l   v i e w   o f   t h e   p r o g r e s s   o f   r e g i o n a l   p r o j e c t s 
preve nt s a t ime ly reac t ion by th e commiss ion’s ser vices  to pro b -
lems with projec t implementation as, and when, these occur (see 
paragrap hs 40 to 46).

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37.  

 t h e   D e l e g a t i o n s   i n   B u r k i n a   fa s o,   n i g e r i a ,  ta n z a n i a   a n d   Z a m b i a 
combine the responsibilit y for maintaining relations with the r e -
gi o n a l   org a n i s at i o n   e s t a b l i s h e d   i n   t h o s e   co u nt r i e s   a n d   fo r   m a n-
a g i n g   b o t h   p a r t s   o f   t h e   r e g i o n a l   p r o g r a m m e   a n d   t h e   n a t i o n a l 
programmes. the cour t examined whether these ‘regional’ Delega -
tions had been allocated additional staffing capacity for managing 
a regional programme. Whereas a D elegation’s wor k load is deter-
mine d  by  var ious   fac to rs 20,   t h e  size  of  the  financ ial  alloc at io n  to 
be  manag ed  by   a  D el egatio n  is   re le vant   for   i ts   s taf f in g   pos it ion , 
i n   p a r t i c u l a r   fo r   o p e r a t i o n a l,   f i n a n c i a l   a n d   c o n t r a c t u a l   m a t t e r s. 
Howe ver,   t h e  co u r t  fo u nd  th at  t h e  l arger   re s po n si bili t y   of  t hos e 
Delegations managing regional as well as national ac tivities is not 
refl ec ted in t he ir st af fing c ap ac it y  an d t h at t h e pote nt ia l im pac t 
o f   t h e   d o u b l i n g   o f   t h e   1 0 t h   E Df  re gi o n a l   a l l o c at i o n s   h a s   n o t   ye t 
bee n ad dressed.

20  for example, budget support 

may carry a different workload for 

a Delegation than project support, 

while the percentage of budget 

support may vary from one country 

to another; or, in addition to the 

normal EDf allocations, Delegations 

in the regions concerned may also 

have responsibility for a number 

of projects funded from horizontal 

budget lines in the general Budget.

B O X   2

INADEQUATE REPORTING  AND  M ON I TO R I N G  BY  TH E  COM M I S S I ON

the fragmentation of responsibilities can be observed in the way Delegations report on regional activ-
ities in their six-monthly External assistance management reports to commission Headquarters. in West 
africa, neither the Delegation in abuja, which deals with EcoWas, nor the Delegation in ouagadougou, 
dealing with uEmoa, has a full overview of the progress of two major regional projects, ‘support for 
regional integration and trade’ and the ‘transport facility’, which involve activities taking place in all or 
many of the countries in the region. in practice, each of these two Delegations reports to commission 
Headquarters on those activities for which ‘their’ regional organisation is responsible. furthermore, since 
Delegations in any of the other countries do not have any formal responsibility for regional projects, they 
do not report on any activities that may have taken place under these projects in their country21.

a similar situation has arisen in East africa, where the regional organisation comEsa, based in Zambia, 
has formal responsibility for the main regional integration projects (risp/rism), but part of the project 
activities relate to the Eac ’s integration agenda, and are implemented by the Eac, based in  tanzania, 
while certain activities concern, in principle, all countries belonging to the East africa region. neither 
the Delegation in Zambia as the main contact point for comEsa, nor any of the other Delegations has 
a complete overview of the progress of these projects and only the four Delegations in the countries 
where the four regional organisations are based report to commission Headquarters on those activities 
for which ‘their’ regional organisation is responsible. 

21  an exception is the regional project ‘appui au programme de formation de l’asEcna’ (support for asEcna’s training programme) for 

which the responsibility is shared by the Delegations in senegal and niger.

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38.  

 the cour t ’s obser vations concer ning the lack of coordination be -
t w e e n   t h e   d i f f e r e n t   D e l e g a t i o n s   i n   t h e   r e g i o n   c o r r o b o r a t e   t h e 
findings of the evaluations commissioned by the commission. the 
e va l u at i o n   re p o r t   fo r  We s t   af r i c a   o b s e r ve d   t h at   t h e   co m m i s s i o n 
h a d   n o t   e f fe c t i v e l y   u s e d   i t s   n e t w o r k   o f   D e l e g a t i o n s   t o   m a n a g e 
inter ventions at the regional and national levels in a complemen-
ta r y and co o rdinated way.  the  evaluat ion  also con clud ed t hat,  in 
the absence of a func tioning coordination system, the separation 
of the aid management bet ween abuja and ouagadougou caused 
problems and re - enforced the impression that the region was ac -
tually composed of t wo independent sub -regions. the evaluation 
r e p o r t   fo r   E a s t   a f r i c a   o b s e r v e d   t h a t   t h e r e   w e r e   n o   m e c h a n i s m s 
i n   p l a c e   t o   e n s u r e   a   c o o r d i n a t e d   p o l i c y   d i a l o g u e   b e t w e e n   t h e 
D ele gat ions re sp on sib l e for the  r egional organ isat ions involved 
a n d   b e t w e e n   t h e s e   a n d   t h e   D e l e g a t i o n s   w i t h   n a t i o n a l   c o m p e -
t e n c e s .  t h e   e v a l u a t i o n   a l s o   s t a t e d   t h a t  ‘a c t u a l   c o o r d i n a t i o n   r e -
main s  weak …  as  t here  is   no   joint   m on itor i ng   syste m  at   r egional 
organisation level and communication bet ween Delegations with 
n a t i o n a l   r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s   a n d   r e g i o n a l   r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s   r e m a i n s 
l o w ’.   D u r i n g   t h e   a u d i t ,   t h e   co u r t   d i d   n o t   f i n d   e v i d e n c e   t h a t   a p -
pro pr iate  ac t io n   h a d  b ee n  t ak en   by  the   commi ss ion   in   res pon se 
to t he e val uatio n fin dings.

OVER ALL COORDINATION, REPOR TING A ND 
M ONITORING BY REGIONAL ORGA NISATIONS  IS 
INADEQUATE

39.  

 i n   b o t h   r e g i o n s ,   t h e   r e g i o n a l   or g a n i s a t i o n s   h a v e   s e t   u p   m e c h-
anisms to suppor t coordination between themselves and to monitor 
implementation of programmes. i n 2003, the four r egional organ-
isations in East afr ica established the i nter r egional coordinating 
committee  (ir cc ),  the  s ecretar iat  of  which  is  cur rently  suppor ted 
through  an  EDf  projec t  (‘suppor t  to  s ecretar iat  of  ir cc ’).  i n West 
africa EcoW as and  uEmoa established a Joint  technical secretariat 
in 2004. this body is also suppor ted through an EDf-funded project 
(‘rip m onitor ing m echanism’).

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40.  

41.  

 the ircc is regarded by all par ties concerned as a key coordinating 
i n s t r u m e nt   b e t we e n   t h e   r e gi o n a l   org a n i s at i o n s   a n d   to   h e l p   e n-
sure coherence bet ween the different individual projec ts and the 
app rove d re gio n al  s trategy.  Howe ver, t he  ir cc h as so far  n ot en-
sured t hat  an overall  monitor ing and  e valuati on system  cove r ing 
t h e   w h o l e   r e gi o n a l   i n d i c at i ve   pro gra m m e   h a s   b e e n   e s t a b l i s h e d. 
in prac tice, the ircc monitors the financial implementation of the 
regional projects, but not the progress made by these programmes 
against predefined targets and their contribution towards the re -
gional integration process as such. a mid-term review of the  ircc 
pro jec t,  car r ied  out  in  20 05,   re com me n de d,   amo ng   ot he r   th i ng s, 
t h e   s e t t i n g   u p   o f   a   c o m m o n   m o n i t o r i n g   a n d   e v a l u a t i o n   s y s t e m 
a n d   a   q u a l i t y - re v i e w   s y s t e m   o f   f i n a n c i n g   p ro p o s a l s,   t o   i n c re a s e 
co o rd i n at i o n   b e t we e n   t h e   nat i o n a l   a n d   r e gi o n a l   i n d i c at i ve   pro -
gramm es.  the   r egion al   orga nisat ion s  and  the  commiss ion   h ave, 
h o w e v e r,   b e e n   s l o w   t o   a d j u s t   t h e   p r o j e c t   a c c o r d i n g l y,   a s   t h e s e 
recommendations will only be taken up in new terms of reference 
for  t he  pro jec t ’s   ex tensio n  p hase   un de r   th e   1 0 t h  E Df ,  wh ich   will 
beco me o p eratio nal  du r ing the co ur s e  of  2 0 0 9 .

 i n West  afr ica,  the  Joint technical  s ecretar iat  has  the  potential  to 
be an impor tant instrument for coordinating between the regional 
org a n i s at i o n s   a n d   e n s u r i n g   t h e   co h e re n ce   b e t we e n   t h e   d i f fe re nt 
i n d i v i d u a l   p ro j e c t s   a n d   t h e   a p p rove d   re gi o n a l   s t r a te g y.   s o   f a r,   i t 
has not been able to under take these roles effec tively, due to lim-
ited  human  resources  capacit y  and  limited  author it y. the  ac tivit y 
re p o r t s   p ro d u ce d   by   t h e   r i p  m o n i to r i n g   m e c h a n i s m   p ro j e c t   h ave 
m e n t i o n e d   p r o b l e m s   s u c h   a s   l a c k   o f   s t a f f   a n d   t h e   u n a v a i l a b i l i t y 
o f   m o n i t o r i n g   d a t a   i n   t h e   a b s e n c e   o f   t i m e l y   p r o g r e s s   r e p o r t s   b y 
p ro j e c t s.  th e s e   p ro b l e m s,   w h i c h   we re   a l s o   re p o r te d   to   t h e   ste e r-
i n g   co m m i t t e e   fo r   t h e   r e g i o n a l   i n d i c a t i ve   pro g r a m m e,   o n   w h i c h 
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   i s   r e p r e s e n t e d ,   i l l u s t r a t e   t h e   f a i l u r e   o f   t h e   t w o 
regional organisations (EcoW as and  uEmoa ) and the commission 
to  overcome  basic  constraints,  which  were  already  k nown  and  re -
por ted in 2007 and which prevent an effec tive monitor ing and co -
ordination of the r egional i ndicative p rogramme in West a fr ica.

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42.  

43.  

 t h e   c o u r t   f o u n d ,   i n   a l m o s t   4 0   %   o f   t h e   p r o j e c t s   e x a m i n e d ,   t h a t 
r e p o r t i n g   b y   t h e   r e g i o n a l   o r g a n i s a t i o n s   o r   b y   s e p a r a t e   p r o j e c t 
management teams was poor and, in some cases, delayed. i n West 
a f r i c a   n o   m i d - t e r m   r e v i e w,   n o r m a l l y   r e q u i r e d   f o r   e v e r y   p r o j e c t , 
w a s   c a r r i e d   o u t   o n   t h e   fo u r   c l o s e d   e i g h t h   E Df  p ro j e c t s   a n d   o n l y 
one end- of-projec t evaluation was per formed, while all the reviews 
scheduled for the seven ongoing projec ts had been postponed be -
cause of late star ts and insufficient progress. there is a risk that the 
mid-term review of the latter projects will be held either too late to 
allow  implementation  of  its  recommendations,  or  not  under taken 
at all. i nadequate repor ting makes it difficult, if not impossible, to 
assess and conclude on projec t effec tiveness (see B ox 5).

 although the t wo coordination committees (i.e. the ir cc and the 
r i p   s t e e r i n g   c o m m i t t e e )   a r e   u n d e r   t h e   d i r e c t   r e s p o n s i b i l i t y   o f 
t h e   r e g i o n a l   or g a n i s a t i o n s   t h e m s e l ve s,   t h e   co m m i s s i o n   h a s   a n 
i n d i re c t   re s p o n s i b i l i t y   fo r,   a n d   i n f l u e n c e   o n ,   t h e   f u n c t i o n i n g   o f 
th ese   co mmit te e s,   as  it  p rovide s  f in anc i al  and   tec h n ic a l  s uppor t 
to  the m  t hro ug h  t he  t wo  pro jec t s  m e nt ion e d  an d   is   re pre se nted 
on both committees. the commission has therefore been aware of 
the   s hor tcomin gs  in   resp ec t   of  th e  m on itor i ng   an d   coordi nati on 
systems in both regions, but its influence and suppor t have so far 
bee n in suff ic ie nt  to overco me th es e problem s.

IMPLEMENTATION OF REGIONAL  PROJ EC TS IS  COMPLEX 
AND SLOW

44.  

 the cour t examined whether the 18 selec ted regional inter ventions 
we re   i m p l e m e nte d   w i t h i n   t h e   t i m e t a b l e   p l a n n e d   a n d   w h e t h e r   t h e 
use  of  contr ibution  agreements  contr ibuted  to  improving  the  im-
plementation of regional projec ts.

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45.  

 for   11  p ro jec t s  (8  clo sed  and  3   on g oi n g)   of   t he   1 8  exam in ed   t he 
duration had to be extended due to a late star t following a lengthy 
preparation process and/or because of slow implementation. con-
tr ibuting fac tors include the complexit y of regional projec ts, the 
we a k   i n s t i t u t i o n a l   c a p a c i t i e s   o f   t h e   r e g i o n a l   org a n i s a t i o n s   a n d 
the lack of ownership in some cases on the par t of national author-
ities and other stakeholders such as civil societ y. o verestimation 
by   t h e   co m m i s s i o n   o f   t h e   r e g i o n a l   org a n i s a t i o n s’  m a n a g e m e n t 
a n d   a b s o r p t i o n   c a p a c i t i e s   h a s   l e d   t o   t h e   fo r m u l a t i o n   o f   p ro j e c t 
o b j e c t i v e s   w h i c h   w e r e   t o o   a m b i t i o u s ,   w i t h   t o o   w i d e   a   r a n g e   o f 
ac t ivit ies and projec t b udget s wh i c h  are  to o  larg e ( se e  B ox   3).

B O X   3

REGIONAL PRO JE C T CO M PLEX  A N D   S LOW

the main ninth EDf support for regional integration in West  africa is channelled through one large 
project with a financial allocation of 105 million euro. this complex project started in 2007 and is im-
plemented under the responsibility of the two regional organisations, EcoWas and uEmoa, through 
the following instruments: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 a contribution agreement with each of the regional organisations for 44,8 and 31,6 million euro 
respectively with a focus on the common market, macroeconomic stability and capacity building for 
the regional organisations and member states; 

 a financing agreement of 28,6 million euro, with a focus on improving the competitiveness of the 
private sector and capacity building for non-state actors, signed with uEmoa acting on behalf of 
the two organisations;

 the ‘private sector’ component of this financing agreement consists of three sub-components: 1) a 
‘Quality’ programme implemented through a contribution agreement with uniDo (15 million euro); 
2) ‘Harmonisation of business law’ (4 million euro) and 3) ‘Harmonisation of fisheries legislation’ 
(5 million euro), to be implemented by uE moa through programme estimates and direct labour 
operations, but delegated to the national a uthorising o fficers in member states;

 the ‘capacity building for non-s tate actors’ component (2,6 million euro) is implemented by EcoWas 
through grant contracts following a call for proposals.

implementation under the fifteen different components has been very slow, mainly due to the weak insti-
tutional capacity of the two regional organisations. in early 2009, after almost 2 years of implementation, 
the implementation rate of the contribution agreements was 4 % 22. payments by the commission under 
the financing agreement, signed in 2006, amounted to some 20 % of the budget, while in January 2009, 
the deadline by which all contracts had to be signed, more than 5 million euro (or 17 % of the  financing 
agreement’s budget) were not yet committed and are in principle lost for the project.

22  Excluding payments under the financial compensation mechanism for loss of government revenues due to customs tariff reductions.

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46.  

47.  

48.  

28

 th e   co u r t ’s   o b s e r vat i o n s   co r ro b o rate   t h o s e   o f   t h e   co m m i s s i o n’s 
internal audit ser vice in its repor t on the financial management of 
regional programmes (see footnote 16), which mainly focused on 
the s outhern africa region as far as acp countries are concerned. 
i t found the programming and design of regional projec ts to be a 
complex process involving numerous ac tors, which, together with 
th e  l imited  cap acit y   o f  the  counte r par ts,   l ed   to  signi fi c ant   o per-
ational difficulties for the implementing bodies and D elegations, 
re s u l t i n g   i n   l o n g   i n ce p t i o n   p e r i o d s   a n d   s i gn i f i c a nt   i m p l e m e nt a -
tion  del ays.

23  financial regulation of  

27 march 2003 applicable to the 

9th EDf, article 16 (oJ l 83, 

1.4.2003, p. 1); council regulation (Ec) 

no 215/2008 of 18 february 2008 

on the financial regulation applicable 

to the 10th fED, article 29 (oJ l 78, 

19.3.2008, p. 1).

 i n   o rd e r   t o   i m p ro ve   t h e   e f f i c i e n c y   a n d   e f fe c t i ve n e s s   o f   p ro j e c t s 
and  inc reas e owners hip  by t he r egional organ isat ion s, t he  com-
m i s s i o n   d e c i d e d   t o   a p p l y   t h e  ‘ j o i n t   m a n a g e m e n t ’  m o d e   f o r   t h e 
main   ninth   E Df  region al   p rojec t s.   J oint  man ag em e nt   is   th e   main 
method of implementation foreseen in the financial r egulation 23 
fo r   co o p e r a t i o n   w i t h   i n te r n a t i o n a l   o rg a n i s a t i o n s.   i t s   m a i n   c h a r -
a c t e r i s t i c   i s   t h a t   t h e   o r g a n i s a t i o n   i n   q u e s t i o n   i s   a l l o w e d   t o   u s e 
its own accounting, inter nal control, audit and procurement pro -
ced ures, p rovided  a fo ur-p il l ar ex- ante  as se ss me nt  con f ir m s t hat 
these procedures comply with inter national standards. following 
a   p o s i t i ve   a s s e s s m e n t ,   t h e   co m m i s s i o n   c a n   p rov i d e   i t s   f i n a n c i a l 
sup po r t   for  the  org anisat io n  in   que s ti on   t hro ug h   a  contr ibution 
agre eme nt.

 t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   s i g n e d   c o n t r i b u t i o n   a g r e e m e n t s   w i t h   uEm o a  
a n d   EcoW a s  fo r   t h e   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   o f   a   s i gn i f i c a n t   p a r t   o f   t h e 
ninth  E Df  regio nal  p ro gramme  in   s pi te  of   t he   f ac t  th at  th e   four-
pillar  as sessme nt   concl u sio n  was  n eg at ive.  as  a  result,  th e  com-
m i s s i o n   h a d   t o   a d d   s p e c i a l   c o n d i t i o n s   c o n c e r n i n g   t h e   f i n a n c i a l, 
p r o c u r e m e n t   a n d   e x t e r n a l   a u d i t   p r o c e d u r e s   t o   c o m p e n s a t e   f o r 
weak ness es  fo und  in  t he  orga nisati ons’  s ys tem s  a nd  proced ures. 
i nstead of strengthening the ownership, this inter im solution re -
s u l t e d   i n   c o n s i d e r a b l e   d i s c o n t e n t   o n   t h e   p a r t   o f   uEm o a,   a s   i n 
i t s   v i e w   t h e s e   c o n d i t i o n s   d e fe a t e d   t h e   p u r p o s e   o f   u s i n g   a   co n-
tr ib u tio n agre eme nt. the e nvisag ed in c reas ed effic ien c y  h as no t 
y e t   m a t e r i a l i s e d   e i t h e r,   a s   t h e   D e l e g a t i o n s   c o n c e r n e d   a r e   s t i l l 
o b l i g e d   t o   m o n i t o r   f i n a n c i a l   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   c l o s e l y,   g i v e n   t h e 
w e a k   f i n a n c i a l   m a n a g e m e n t   c a p a c i t i e s   o f   t h e   o r g a n i s a t i o n s .   i n 
p r a c t i c e,   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   o f   t h e   c u r re n t   n i n t h   E D f   p ro g r a m m e s 
in West afr ica has been ver y slow (see  B ox 3), and the absor ption 
c a p a c i t y   fo r   i n c re a s e d   a i d   f l ows   re m a i n s   l i m i te d   fo r   t h e   fo re s e e -
a b l e   f u t u r e .   i n   t h i s   c o n t e x t ,   t h e   d o u b l i n g   o f   f u n d s   a l l o c a t e d   t o 
r e g i o n a l   c o o p e r a t i o n   u n d e r   t h e   1 0 t h   E Df  i s   l i k e l y   t o   a g g r a v a t e 
th e im pl eme ntation p rob le ms  expe r ie n ced  i n  th i s regi on.

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49.  

50.  

 i n East afr ica, one r egional organisation ( comEsa ) has so far re -
ceived a positive assessment of its financial management capacity 
and the commission has used a contribution agreement to chan-
n e l   i t s   s u p p o r t   t o   t h e   t w o   m a i n   n i n t h   E Df  r e g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n 
projec ts (risp/rism). However, some of the ac tivities under these 
projec ts are to be carried out by the other regional organisation, 
E ac ,   w h e re a s   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n a l   c a p a c i t y   o f   i t s   s e c re t a r i a t   i s   s t i l l 
we a k   a n d   t h e   fo u r- p i l l a r   a s s e s s m e n t   wa s   n e g at i ve.   ag a i n ,   a n   i n -
terim solution was agreed which required the Eac to manage  risp 
funds on the basis of comEsa procedures. However, according to 
inter nal  au dit rep o r ts  by comEs a,  in  prac tice Eac is ac tually  ap -
plying  its  ow n p rocedu res,  w hich  h ave n ot  ye t  be e n vali dated  by 
th e c o mmis sio n.

HAVE THE COMMISSIO N’S  I NDI VI DUAL  PRO J EC TS 
IN SUPPORT OF RE GIONA L  INT EGR ATI ON   M E T 
THEIR OBJEC TIVES?

 th e   co u r t   e x a m i n e d   a   s a m p l e   o f   re gi o n a l   p ro j e c t s   to   a s s e s s   t h e 
e x t e n t   t o   w h i c h   t h e i r   o b j e c t i v e s ,   i n   t e r m s   o f   r e s u l t s   a c h i e v e d 
o r   l i k e l y   t o   b e   a c h i e v e d ,   h a d   b e e n   m e t .   i n   r e s p e c t   o f   o n g o i n g 
p ro j e c t s,   t h e   a s s e s s m e n t   h a s   t a k e n   i n t o   a c c o u n t   t h e i r   s t a t e   a n d 
p a c e   o f   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n .   t h e   e f f e c t i v e n e s s   w a s   r a t e d   a s  ‘s a t i s-
f a c t o r y ’  w h e re   t h e y   h ave   b e e n ,   o r   a re   l i k e l y   t o   b e,   s u c c e s s f u l   i n 
a c h i e v i n g   t h e i r   r e s u l t s ,  ‘p a r t i a l l y   s a t i s f a c t o r y ’  w h e r e   t h e y   h a v e 
e x p e r i e n c e d   s o m e   p ro b l e m s   a n d   h a ve   a c h i e ve d,   o r   a re   l i k e l y   t o 
achieve, only par t of their results and ‘unsatisfac tor y ’ where they 
have exper ienced significant problems and have achieved, or are 
l i k e l y   to   a c h i e ve,   fe w   o f   t h e   p l a n n e d   re s u l t s.  th e   l i s t   o f   p ro j e c t s 
and  th eir resp ec tive ratin gs is in clude d  in A nnex  I I I.

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51.  

52.  

PROJEC T EFFEC TIVENESS  DIFFICULT TO A SSESS B UT  IN 
M OST C ASES LIMITED

 the objec tives and expec ted results of projec ts are of ten not for -
mulated clearly in the financing agreements and the related indi -
cato rs  to   mea sure  p rogress   are  not  we ll  d ef in ed.  i n   such  c ases  it 
is difficult to determine objec tively whether the expec ted results 
have  b een ob t ained.

 m oreover,   for  five  p rojec ts,   al ready   c los ed   or   o ng oin g  fo r   a  lon g 
period, even though planned ac tivities were generally carried out 
and expec ted outputs produced, the cour t was not able to assess 
the results due to the absence of adequate progress repor ts and/
or  th e requ ired mo nitor in g an d e va luat ion  re por ts  ( se e  B ox  4) .

B O X   4

UNABLE TO ASSE SS EF FEC TI VE N ES S

in East africa the regional integration programme (phase ii) aimed to strengthen regional integration 
policy-making by increasing the analytical and information capacity of the  comEsa secretariat. the 
court found that the project had not reported, as required, on the progress made every six months, 
but had instead only reported in the annual work plans on the activities carried out during the preced-
ing year. the project did not have a steering committee to assess periodically the progress achieved. 
apart from a mid-term review, no other external monitoring missions had taken place, nor had an in-
dependent evaluation mission at the end of the project been carried out, although this was foreseen 
in the financing agreement. the indicators provided in the project’s logical framework were found to 
be too vague to permit a reliable and detailed assessment of the project’s effectiveness for each of the 
expected results.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

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53.  

 for six projec ts, including the main regional integration projec ts 
in both regions 24, the cour t assessed the effec tiveness as ‘unsatis-
fac tor y ’. these are all ninth ED f projec ts which were still ongoing 
at the time of the audit. i n view of these projec ts’ wide scope and 
obj ec t ives,  the ir  sl ow   p ace   of   im ple mentati on  and   low   di sbur se -
ment   of   fu nds,  it   is   u nl ikel y  t hat  mo st   of  t h es e  o ng oi n g  proje c ts 
w i l l   b e   a b l e   t o   a c h i e v e   t h e i r   e x p e c t e d   r e s u l t s   i n   t h e   r e m a i n i n g 
per iod  (see  B ox   5).

24  in East africa this concerns:
— 

 regional integration support 

programme (risp);

— 

 regional integration support 

mechanism (rism).

in West africa this concerns:
— 

 Economic integration and trade;

— 

 support for regional integration in 

West africa.

B O X   5

PROJEC T RESULTS UNSATI S FAC TO RY

the court found that the regional integration support  project in East africa, which is scheduled to be 
completed by mid 2010, had by the end of 2008 accomplished only three out of the seven intermediate 
targets proposed in the contribution agreement. in particular the lack of relevant results regarding 
the adoption of regional policies by the national authorities is putting at risk the project’s overall ef-
fectiveness.

in West africa, the transport facility project (64 million euro) aims to improve regional transport services, 
in particular by establishing joint border posts along the main regional transport corridors. the project 
has experienced significant delays during its start-up phase and after three years of implementation the 
main achievement has been the completion of a detailed study concerning the intended functioning 
of these border posts. in order to be able to continue with the design and eventually the construction 
of the border posts, the commission had to provide a ‘waiver’ for what is known as the D+3 rule, which 
requires contracts within a project to be signed not later than three years after the project’s financial 
commitment has been approved. Even with the two years’ extension obtained, the two regional or -
ganisations EcoWas and uEmoa are still facing a difficult task to complete the construction works and 
to establish detailed and harmonised arrangements between the countries concerned to operate the 
border posts efficiently.

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54.  

55.  

 t h e   r e m a i n i n g   s e v e n   p r o j e c t s   a p p e a r   t o   h a v e   a c h i e v e d ,   o r   a r e 
likely to achieve, par t of their expec ted results, but for the closed 
projec ts fur ther suppor t is required and is in most cases provided 
or  pro grammed  und er th e var ious on g oin g  proj ec t s ( se e B ox  6) .

 th e   t wo   e v a l u a t i o n s   c o m m i s s i o n e d   by   t h e   co m m i s s i o n   h ave   fo -
cuse d mo re o n the rel evance and  co he re nce  of  t he  commiss ion’s 
re gi o n a l   s t rate gi e s   a n d   c h o i ce   o f   fo c a l   s e c to r s,   t h a n   o n   t h e   p e r -
fo r m a n ce   o f   i n d i v i d u a l   p ro j e c t s.  th e  We s t   af r i c a   re gi o n a l   e va l u-
at i o n   s t ate s   t h at   t h e   m a j o r i t y   o f   t h e   n i nt h   E Df   re gi o n a l   p ro j e c t s 
had been too recent to allow an assessment of their effec tiveness. 
i t   d o e s   r e m a r k ,   h o w e v e r,   o n   t h e   l a c k   o f   w e l l - d e f i n e d ,   e x p e c t e d 
 res ul t s  an d  b asel ine  reference s,   wh i c h  m ake  i t  dif f ic ult   to   de ter-
mine  th e imp ac t o f EDf p rojec ts.

B O X   6

PROJEC T RESULTS PARTI A LLY S ATI S FAC TO RY

in West africa the pari project (‘p rogramme d’appui à l’i ntégration régionale de la zone uEmoa ’/sup -
port programme for regional integration in the WaEmu zone) aimed to support  uEmoa and its member 
states in improving the legal and administrative framework, in establishing a regional market and in 
consolidating the macro-economic framework. although these project objectives and related indicators 
were formulated in very general terms, the final evaluation of the project found improvements in the 
regional integration process. specifically, the legislation regarding the customs union and the liberalisa-
tion of intra-community trade, produced by uEmoa, was of good quality and was introduced into the 
legal systems of the various member states. However, the free circulation of goods, persons, services and 
capital as well as the right of establishment were still far from being achieved. similarly, the functioning 
of the multilateral macro-economic surveillance mechanism of uEmoa had improved, but this had not 
yet resulted in a better convergence of the uEmoa-zone economies, which was the main objective. the 
same areas are again being addressed under the ongoing Economic i ntegration and trade project. 

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

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conclusions anD 
rEcommEnD ations

33

56.  

57.  

EDF SUPPORT FOR REGI O NA L  ECO N O MI C 
INTEGR ATION IN EAST  A FR IC A   A N D  W ES T  A F RI C A 
HAS SO FAR BEEN ONLY  PA RTI A LLY  EF F EC TI VE

 the regional integration process is making progress in both regions 
i n   t e r m s   o f   r e a c h i n g   a g r e e m e n t s   o n   r e g i o n a l   o b j e c t i v e s   a n d 
policies relating to trade and transpor t issues, such as establishing 
f r e e   t r a d e   a r e a s   a n d   c u s t o m s   u n i o n s   a n d   e s t a b l i s h i n g   r e g i o n a l 
t r a n s p o r t   c o r r i d o r s   w i t h   h a r m o n i s e d   r u l e s   a n d   w i t h o u t   u n d u e 
cont ro l s. the  EDf has bee n p roviding con s ide ra ble te c hn ic al an d 
f i n a n c i a l   s u p p o r t   fo r   t h i s   p ro ce s s.   H owe ve r,   t h e   i m p l e m e nt at i o n 
of such agreements by the national author ities is lagging behind 
a nd   t h e   f re e  move me nt   o f   g o od s,   s er v ice s,   c a p i ta l   a n d   pe o pl e   is 
not  yet  a realit y  in either of the  t wo  re gi on s.

 E Df  s u p p o r t   f o r   r e g i o n a l   e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n   h a s   s o   f a r   b e e n 
only par tially effec tive, due to a number of fac tors. some of these 
f a c t o r s   a r e   o u t s i d e   t h e   d i r e c t   c o n t r o l   o f   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n ,   e v e n 
t h o u g h   i t   c a n   i n f l u e n c e   t h e m   t h r o u g h   i t s   s u p p o r t   a n d   p o l i c y 
dialogue. in both regions there are multiple regional organisations 
w i t h   ove r l a p p i n g   m e m b e r s h i p   a n d   m a n d ate s.   m o re ove r,   d e s p i te 
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n’s   c a p a c i t y   b u i l d i n g   s u p p o r t ,   a l l   t h e   r e g i o n a l 
o r g a n i s a t i o n s   s t i l l   l a c k   i n s t i t u t i o n a l   c a p a c i t y,   a l b e i t   i n   v a r y i n g 
degrees, in all aspects of the projec t c ycle, from programming and 
p ro j e c t   p re p a r a t i o n   t o   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n ,   re p o r t i n g   a n d   f i n a n c i a l 
m a n a g e m e n t .   fu r t h e r m o r e ,   m e m b e r   c o u n t r i e s   d o   n o t   a l w a y s 
gi ve   a   h i g h   p r i o r i t y   to   re gi o n a l   i nte grat i o n   a s   a   p o l i c y   o b j e c t i ve 
i n   v i e w   o f   t h e   m a ny   o t h e r   p re s s i n g   n e e d s   i d e n t i f i e d   a t   n a t i o n a l 
l e v e l .   o t h e r   f a c t o r s   r e l a t e d   t o   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n’s   a p p r o a c h   a n d 
m a n a g e m e n t   a l s o   u n d e r m i n e   t h e   e f f e c t i v e n e s s   o f   E D f   s u p p o r t 
(see p aragra phs  58  to  60 ).

RE C O M M E N D AT I O N   1

t h e   co m m is s i o n   s h o u l d   m a ke   t h e   co nt i n u at i o n   o f   i t s   su p p o r t 
f o r re g i o nal  inte gr ati o n co n d i ti o na l o n an  e ar l y  a g re e m e nt  o n 
h ow   to   a ch i eve   t h e   n e ce s s a r y   co nve r g e n ce   b e t we e n   t h e   v a r i -
ous regional organisations in each region within a pre - def ined 
tim e f r am e and o n th e national autho rities t ak in g greater ow n -
e r ship  o f th e re g i o nal  inte gr ati o n  p ro ce ss .

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THE COM MISSIO N’S APPROAC H  TO   R EGI O N AL 
INTEGR ATION IS RELE VAN T BUT  COH ER EN C E 
IS INADEQUATELY ADDRE SS ED   A N D T H E  LE VE L 
OF FU NDING DOES NOT TA K E  ACCOUN T   O F  TH E 
LIMITED  ABSORPTION C APAC I TI ES

58.  

 t h e   c o m m i s s i o n’s   a p p r o a c h   t o   s u p p o r t i n g   r e g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n 
in  E ast   afr ica   a nd Wes t  afr ica   is  relevant  to  the   regions’,   an d   t he 
countries’ needs to achieve higher economic growth as a means to 
fight   p over t y,   an  o b jec t ive  wh ich   t h e  commiss ion’s  regional  and 
n a t i o n a l   s t ra te gi e s   a n d   i n te r ve n t i o n s   a l l   s h a re.   H owe ve r,   co h e r -
e n ce   i s   i n a d e q u a te l y   a d d re s s e d   i n   t h a t   t h e   s t r a te gi e s   a n d   i n te r-
ventions at the t wo levels have largely been designed and imple -
mented  indep endentl y  of  each  oth e r,   wit h   ins uf fi c ie nt  at tenti on 
paid to the possibility of creating complementarity between them, 
e xce p t   to   s o m e   e x te nt   i n   t h e   t ra n s p o r t   s e c to r.   fu r t h e r m o re,   t h e 
doubling of the financial allocation to regional programmes under 
t h e   1 0 t h   E D f   d o e s   n o t   t a k e   i n to   a cco u n t   t h e   l i m i te d   a b s o r p t i o n 
capa cit y o f t he r egion al organ isations  (paragraph s 1 9  to 3 1) .

RE C O M M E N D AT I O N   2

t h e co mmissi o n sh o ul d , f ro m th e 2010 mi d - te r m rev i ew of th e 
10 th ED f  s tr ate g i e s o nw ards , imp rove th e  co h e re n ce  b e t we e n 
its regional strategy and national strategies, by ‘mainstreaming’ 
regional integration in all its suppor t ac tivities at national level 
an d by s e e k in g m o re s y s te matic co mp l e m e nt ar i t y b e t we e n i t s 
sup p o r t a c ti v i ti e s  at th e t wo d i f f e re nt  l eve ls .

RE C O M M E N D AT I O N   3

a s   p a r t   o f   t h e   10 t h   E D f   m i d - t e r m   r e v i e w,   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n 
s h o u l d   e x a m i n e   w h e t h e r   t h e   f i n a n c i a l   a l l o c a t i o n   t o   r e g i o n a l 
p ro g r a mm e s is  to o  hi g h .

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special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

 
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THE COMM ISSION DOES  N OT A D EQUATELY  MA N AGE 
ITS SUPPORT FOR RE GIO NA L I N TEGR AT I ON

59.  

 t h e   c o m m i s s i o n’s   m a n a g e m e n t   o f   i t s   r e g i o n a l   p r o g r a m m e s   h a s 
lacked specific management and coordination instruments to ad-
e q u a t e l y   d e a l   w i t h   t h e   p r e p a r a t i o n ,   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n ,   r e p o r t i n g 
a n d   c o o r d i n a t i o n   o f   r e g i o n a l   a c t i v i t i e s :   t h e   r o l e s   a n d   r e s p o n s i-
b i l i t i e s   o f   t h e   d i f f e r e n t   D e l e g a t i o n s   i n   a   r e g i o n   a r e   n o t   c l e a r l y 
e s t a b l i s h e d ,   n o r   h a s   a   c o o r d i n a t i o n   m e c h a n i s m   b e t w e e n   t h e s e 
D ele gat ions b ee n set up. the larger  respons ibilit y  of t hose  D e le -
g a t i o n s   m a n a g i n g   r e g i o n a l   a s   w e l l   a s   n a t i o n a l   a c t i v i t i e s   i s   n o t 
re f l e c t e d   i n   t h e i r   s t a f f i n g   c a p a c i t y.   at   t h e   l e ve l   o f   t h e   r e g i o n a l 
orga nisatio ns,  coordination is  a lso i n ade quate  and  a mon itor in g 
s y s t e m   t o   t r a c k   t h e   o ve r a l l   p ro g re s s   o f   t h e   re g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n 
p r o c e s s   i n   t h e   i n d i v i d u a l   c o u n t r i e s   i s   l a c k i n g .   W h e r e   t h e   i n s t i-
t u t i o n a l   c a p a c i t y   o f   t h e   i m p l e m e nt i n g   o rg a n i s at i o n   i s   we a k ,   t h e 
u s e   o f   co n t r i b u t i o n   ag re e m e n t s   h a s   n o t   i m p rove d   t h e   s p e e d   o f 
pro jec t  impl em ent ation (p aragraphs  3 3  to  49 ) .

RE C O M M E N D AT I O N   4

i n   r e l a t i o n   t o   i t s   m a n a g e m e n t   o f   r e g i o n a l   p r o g r a m m e s   t h e 
co mm issi o n sh o u l d:

— 

 cl earl y de f in e th e resp onsibilities of the dif ferent D e le ga -
ti o ns  in th e  re g i o ns co n ce r n e d; 

— 

 establish an appropriate coordination mechanism bet ween 
D e l e g ati o ns in a  re g i o n; 

— 

— 

 r e v i e w   t h e   r e s o u r c e s   a l l o c a t e d   t o   D e l e g a t i o n s   f o r   t h e 
p r o g r a m m i n g   a n d   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   o f   i t s   r e g i o n a l   p r o -
g r am m e s;

 use contribution agre ement s with re gional organis ations 
o nl y  w h e re   th e   f inan cial  m ana g e m e nt   is  f o un d   to  co mp l y 
w i th inte r n ati o nal  s t an d ards .

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special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

 
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RE C O M M E N D AT I O N   5

t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   s h o u l d   i n c r e a s e   i t s   e f f o r t s   t o   h e l p   r e g i o n a l 
o r ganis ati o ns in:

— 

 improving co ordination bet we en themselves and bet we en 
th e m an d th e ir m e m b e r s t ate s;

— 

 establishing monitoring systems which will suppor t imple -
m ent atio n of p ro gr amm es an d p rov i d e co mp re h ensi ve in -
fo r mati o n o n th e p ro gress of th e ove r all re gi o nal inte gr a -
ti o n p ro ce ss , in clu din g  p ro gre ss  in  in di v i dual  co unt r i e s .

INDIVIDUAL PROJE C TS I N  SUP P O RT   O F 
REGIONAL INTE GR ATIO N  AR E  LI K E LY  TO   H AVE 
UNSAT ISFAC TORY  RE SULTS  OVE R A LL

60.  

 i t has been difficult for the cour t, and in some cases impossible, to 
assess the effec tiveness of individual inter ventions, because their 
obj ec t ives are o f ten no t wel l  def i n e d an d  t he  ne ce ss ar y info r m a-
tion is frequently lack ing due to inadequate quality and frequenc y 
of projec t repor ting, monitoring and evaluation. recent, ongoing  
projec ts mostly have a wide scope and ambitious objec tives; how-
e ve r,   t h e i r   i m p l e m e nt at i o n   h a s   s o   f a r   b e e n   s l ow.   o ve ra l l,   fo r   t h e 
1 8   re gi o n a l   p ro j e c t s   ex a m i n e d,   t h e   re s u l t s,   o r   l i k e l y   re s u l t s,   a re, 
at b es t, o nl y pa r tiall y satisf ac tor y  ( paragraphs  5 1  to  54 ) .

RE C O M M E N D AT I O N   6

t h e c o m missi o n sh o ul d:

—  

— 

 f o r m u l a te   p r o j e c t   o b j e c t i ve s   w h i c h   a r e   s p e c i f i c ,   m e a s u r-
ab l e,  a chi ev ab l e,  re l ev ant  an d  subj e c t  to  a  re alis ti c   tim e -
f r am e (‘ sm ar t ’ );

 p a y   m o r e   a t t e n t i o n   t o   r e g u l a r,   g o o d - q u a l i t y   p r o g r e s s 
r e p o r t i n g ,   a n d   s y s t e m a t i c   m o n i t o r i n g   a n d   e v a l u a t i o n   o f 
p roj e c t re su l t s .

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special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

 
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this r epor t was adopted by the cour t of auditors in luxembourg 
at it s m eet ing  o f 19 novemb er  20 0 9 .

Fo r  th e  Co u r t  o f  Au d ito r s

vítor m anuel da silva c aldeira 
Presi d e nt

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

 
 
 
 
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A N N EX   I

CH ART OF EAST AND SOUTHER N AFR IC A  REGION AL ECON OM IC INTEGR ATI ON 
ARR ANGEMENTS

COMESA

Egypt

Burundi
Rwanda

SADC

Angola
DR Congo

EAC

IGAD

Somalia

Djibouti
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Sudan

Kenya

Uganda

Tanzania

Zambia

Mozambique

Zimbabwe

Malawi

IOC

Mauritius
Seychelles

Comoros
Madagascar

Reunion

Botswana
Lesotho
South Africa

Namibia
Swaziland

SACU

comEsa:  c o mmo n  m ar ket  for  Easter n  and s outh er n  a fr ica
Eac:  Eas t a fr ica n c o mmu nit y
igaD:  i nterg over nm ent al  a u th or it y on  D evelopment 
ioc:  i ndia n o cean  c o mm issio n
sac u: s o ut her n a fr ica n c u sto ms union
saDc: s o ut her n a fr ica n D eve lopment c ommun it y

S o urce: r egion of Eastern and southern africa and the indian ocean — European community: regional strategy  
paper and regional indicative programme for the period 2002–07, annex 6.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

39

A N N EX   I I

MAIN REGIONAL ORGANISATION S  IN  EAST  AFR IC A  AND WEST A FRIC A

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special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
40

A N N EX   I I I

LIST OF PROJEC TS EXAMINED

Reference

Project title

Amount1 

Rating

9 ACP RSA 03

9 ACP RSA 08

9 ACP RSA 16

EAST AFRICA

Support to Secretariat of IRCC 

Trade Negotiations Facility

Regional Information and Communication Technologies 
Support Programme

9 ACP RSA 19

Regional Integration Support Programme

9 ACP RSA 25/26

Regional Integration Support Mechanism

8 ACP ROR 01

Regional Harmonisation of Customs and Trade Statistics 
Systems

8 ACP ROR 02

Regional Integration Programme Phase II

TOTAL EAST AFRICA

WEST AFRICA

Economic Integration and Trade

Support for Regional Integration in West Africa

Facilitation des Transports (Transport Facilitation)

RIP Monitoring Mechanism

Appui à l’intégration régionale et aux négociations de 
l’Accord de Partenariat Économique entre la CE et la 
région de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (Support for Regional 
Integration and the Economic Partnership Agreement 
between the EC and the West Africa Region)

Appui technique à la CEDEAO pour la facilitation des 
transports en Afrique de l’Ouest (Technical Support for 
ECOWAS Transport Facilitation in West Africa)

Appui au programme de formation de l’ASECNA  
(Support for the ASECNA Training Programme)

ECOWAS Statistical Development Programme

ECOWAS Capacity Building Programme for Regional 
Integration

PARI II — Secteur privé (PARI II — private sector)

PARI II 

TOTAL WEST AFRICA

9 ACP ROC 16

9 ACP ROC 15

9 ACP ROC 14

9 ACP ROC 10

9 ACP ROC 09

9 ACP ROC 08

9 ACP ROC 01

8 ACP ROC 44

8 ACP ROC 33

8 ACP ROC 31

8 ACP ROC 21

GRAND TOTAL

1  financing/contribution agreement + riders. in million euro.

9,7

2,0

21,0

33,5

78,0

13,6

9,5

167,2

76,4

28,6

63,8

6,0

7,0

partially satisfactory

unable to assess

partially satisfactory

unsatisfactory

unsatisfactory

partially satisfactory

unable to assess

unsatisfactory

unsatisfactory

unsatisfactory

unsatisfactory

unable to assess

2,0

partially satisfactory

14,2

unable to assess

partially satisfactory

unable to assess

partially satisfactory

partially satisfactory

2,0

1,9

15,0

65,0

281,9

449,1

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

4141

rEpl Y of tHE 
commission

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I.
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   h a s   b e e n   a   s t a u n c h 
a n d   r e l i a b l e   s u p p o r t e r   o f   t h e   r e g i o n a l 
integration process in africa for more than 
20 years. putting regional integration into 
p r a c t i ce   i s   a   l o n g - te r m   s t r a t e g i c   c h o i c e, 
with  significant  challenges. the  Eu  itself, 
w i t h   m o r e   f a v o u r a b l e   c i r c u m s t a n c e s   i n 
a l l   r e s p e c t s ,   i s   s t i l l   i n   t h e   m a k i n g   a s   a n 
i n t e g r a t e d   s i n g l e   m a r k e t   ( f o r   i n s t a n c e 
fo r   s e r v i ce s )   a f te r   m o re   t h a n   5 0   ye a r s   o f 
histor y.

II.
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   w i s h e s   t o   d r a w   t h e 
attention to the fact that beyond economic 
i n t e g r a t i o n ,   i t s   s u p p o r t   f o r   r e g i o n a l 
i n t e g r a t i o n   i n c l u d e s   s t r o n g   p o l i t i c a l 
c o m p o n e n t s   s u c h   a s   g o v e r n a n c e,   p e a c e 
building  and  conflic t  prevention,  as  well 
as suppor t to gradually building regional 
p o l i c i e s ,   s t r a t e g i e s   a n d   i n s t i t u t i o n s   i n 
areas  of  sustainable  development. these 
c o m p o n e n t s   m a k e   a n   i m p o r t a n t ,   a l b e i t 
indirect contribution to regional economic 
integration.

III.
the commission agrees that moving from 
agreed  political  objec tives  to  a  prac tical 
reality for regional economic ac tors is the 
key challenge of the nex t years.

IV.
r e g i o n a l   e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n   h a s 
achieved significant progress over the last 
years. this  could  not  have  been  achieved 
without Ec suppor t, of a financial, political 
or technical nature.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

42

rEpl Y of tHE 
commission

VI. 
t h e   co m m i s s i o n   i s   a w a re   o f   t h e   n e e d   t o 
p r o v i d e   u p - t o - d a t e   a n d   m o r e   a r t i c u l a t e 
g u i d a n c e   t o   t h e   s t a f f   i n   D e l e g a t i o n s . 
initiatives have already been taken in order 
to produce guidelines on trade and private 
sector development, which include a section 
on  regional  integration,  as  well  as  tailored 
r e g i o n a l   t r a i n i n g   w o r k s h o p s   w h i c h   a r e 
delivered in three to five regions per year. 

coordination has also clearly improved at 
t h e   l e ve l   o f   re gi o n a l   o rg a n i s at i o n s,   w i t h 
a   m u c h   b e t te r   co o rd i n at i o n   t h ro u g h   t h e 
i r cc  i n   E a s t   a f r i c a ,   a n d   i n   t h e   c o m m o n 
s t r a t e g y   fo r   t h e   pa pE D   (p ro g r a m m e   a pE 
po u r   l e   D é v e l o p p e m e n t )   i n   We s t   a f r i c a . 
t h e s e   h a v e   t o   b e   s e e n   a s   f i r s t   s t e p s 
towards the goal of a much better regional 
integration. 

th e   co m m i s s i o n   a c k n ow l e d g e s   t h e   n e e d 
fo r   a d e q u a t e   m o n i t o r i n g   s y s t e m s   i n   t h e 
re gi o n a l   o rg a n i s a t i o n s   a n d   i s   t a k i n g   t h e 
necessar y steps to address this issue. 

VIII. First indent
the commission recognises the challenges 
of the institutional complexity for effective 
regional integration. this complexity is the 
result of histor y and political compromises 
b e t w e e n   a f r i c a n   n a t i o n s .   t h i s   i s s u e   i s 
d i re c t l y   a d d re s s e d   i n   t h e   c o n t e x t   o f   t h e 
Joint Eu– africa s trategy.

r at h e r   t h a n   i m p o s i n g   co n d i t i o n s   fo r   t h e 
Eu suppor t, the commission believes that 
the convergence of regional organisations 
i s   b e s t   s u p p o r t e d   t h r o u g h   p o l i t i c a l   a n d 
p o l i c y   d i a l o g u e   a n d   a s s i s t a n c e   f o r   t h e 
convergence of regionally-led policies.

as a result of the Eu contribution, tangible 
progress  has  been  accomplished  in  liber -
alising and harmonising the trade regime, 
t r a d e   f a c i l i t a t i o n ,   s t a n d a r d s   a n d   q u a l i t y 
systems,  facilitating  transpor t,  har monis -
ing monetar y polic y and other areas of the 
regional economic integration agenda. re -
gional organisations have acquired a lead -
ing role in these areas and in the coordin-
ation of the par ticipation of their member 
s t a t e s   i n   t h e   n e g o t i a t i o n s   o f   f r e e   t r a d e 
agreements with the Eu (Epa s).

W h i l e   d i f f i c u l t i e s   a n d   s o m e   s e t b a c k s 
h ave   b e e n   e x p e r i e n ce d,   t h e y   h ave   to   b e 
put  in  the  perspec tive  of  the  par ticularly 
c o m p l e x  
i n s t i t u t i o n a l   s e t t i n g   a n d 
l o w   a d m i n i s t r a t i v e   c a p a c i t i e s   r i g h t l y 
emphasised by the c our t ’s repor t. 

V.
the commission ack nowledges that com-
p l e m e n t a r i t y   b e t w e e n   r e g i o n a l   a n d   n a-
t i o n a l   s t rate gi e s   i s   a   k e y   i s s u e.  th e   wo r k 
done  by  the  commission  and  its  D elega -
t i o n s   i n   t h e   1 0 t h   E D f   w a s   a l re a d y   a   s i g -
n i f i c a n t   i m p r o v e m e n t   o v e r   t h e   9 t h   E D f 
programming. 

H o w e v e r,   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   a g r e e s   t h a t 
f u r t h e r   i m p ro ve m e n t s   a re   s t i l l   p o s s i b l e. 
c o m p l e m e n t a r i t y   w i l l   b e   a   k e y   e l e m e n t 
i n   t h e   m i d - te r m   re v i e ws   o f   t h e   1 0 t h   E Df  
n a t i o n a l   s t r a t e g i e s   t h a t   w i l l   t a k e   p l a c e 
i n   2 0 1 0 ,   i n   w h i c h   s p e c i a l   a t t e n t i o n   w i l l 
b e   g i v e n   t o   e n s u r i n g   t h a t   t h e   r e g i o n a l 
i n te gr a t i o n   o b j e c t i ve s   s u p p o r te d   by   t h e 
r e g i o n a l   i n d i c a t i v e   p r o g r a m m e s   (r i p) 
w i l l   b e   i n t e g r a t e d   i n   t h e   a n a l y s i s   o f   t h e 
national i ndicative p rogrammes (nip).

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

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VIII. Four th indent
th e   co m m i s s i o n   a gre e s   t h at   t h e   D e l e g a-
tions’  capacities  to  manage  regional  pro-
g r a m m e s   s h o u l d   b e   i m p r o v e d   a n d   t h e i r 
r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s   b e t t e r   d e f i n e d .   i n   a d d-
ition to regular regional seminars, a more 
formal  co - operation  mechanism  bet ween 
the regional Delegations has already been 
introduced since Januar y 2009.  i mproved 
coordination modalities have been agreed 
which  will  include  t wo  meetings  per  year 
at Heads of Delegations level.

INTRODUC TION

2. 
re gional inte gration is a major priorit y of 
th e   D eve l o p m e nt   co o p e r ati o n   p o li c y,   as 
r e f l e c te d   i n   t h e   Eu r o p e a n   co n s e n su s   o n 
D e v e l o p m e n t .   t h e   n e e d   t o   d e e p e n   a n d 
accelerate re gional inte gration pro cesses 
i n   t h e   a c p  i s   d e t a i l e d   i n   t h e   v a r i o u s 
c o m m i s s i o n   c o m m u n i c a t i o n s   i n c l u d i n g 
co m(2 0 0 8)   6 0 4   o n   r e g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n 
for development in acp countries but also 
i n   co m m u n i c a t i o n s   d a t i n g   b a c k   to   19 95, 
2 0 0 0 ,   2 0 07.   D e v e l o p m e n t   a s s i s t a n c e   i s 
underpinning the trade and development 
s t r a t e g y ,   i n c l u d i n g   t h e   c o n s i d e r a b l e 
c h a l l e n g e   o f   t h e   n e g o t i a t i o n s   a n d 
i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   o f   t h e   E c o n o m i c 
par tnership a gre ement s.

t h e   r e g i o n a l   p r o g r a m m e s   a r e   t h e   m a i n 
vehicle to deliver on the commitment s to 
provide sp e cif ic trade - relate d assis t ance, 
sup p o r t  to  tr a d e - re late d  inf r as tr u c tures , 
building - up  of  pro duc tive  c ap acities  and 
trade - relate d adjustment measures.

VIII. Second indent
sp e c i f i c   e f f o r t s   a r e   b e i n g   u n d e r t a k e n , 
i n   p a r t i c u l a r   t h ro u g h   re gi o n a l   s e m i n a r s, 
to   i m p rove   co h e re n ce   b e t we e n   n i ps   a n d 
r i ps,   s u c h   a s   t h e   re c e n t   lu s a k a   m e e t i n g 
a n d   t h e   We s t   af r i c a   r e gi o n a l   s e m i n a r   i n 
abuja (15–16/10/2009).

the mid-term reviews of the countr y strat-
e g y   pa p e r s   (c s ps )   a n d   r e g i o n a l   s t r a t e g y 
pa p e r s   ( r s ps )   w i l l   i n d e e d   a i m   t o   f u r t h e r 
r e i n f o r c e   t h e   i n t e r a c t i o n   b e t w e e n   b o t h 
levels. the national mid-term review (mtr) 
guidelines already foresee this aspec t.

VIII. Third indent
th e   i n c re a s e d   f u n d i n g   i s   c l o s e l y   re l a t e d 
t o   t h e   r e c o g n i s e d   n e e d   o f   s i g n i f i c a n t 
f i n a n c i a l   re s o u rce s   fo r   t h e   d e ve l o p m e n t 
d i m e n s i o n   o f   t h e   E c o n o m i c   pa r t n e r s h i p 
agreements (Epa s).

p r o g r e s s   m a d e   i n   i m p l e m e n t i n g   t h e 
r e g i o n a l   p r o g r a m m e s   a n d   t h e   r e g i o n a l 
a l l o c a t i o n   i s   r o u t i n e l y   e x a m i n e d   u n d e r 
the mid-term review in the light of current 
n e e d s   a n d   p e r f o r m a n c e .   c o n s i d e r i n g 
t h e   s h o r t   p e r i o d   o f   t i m e   d u r i n g   w h i c h 
t h e   1 0 t h   E Df  re gi o n a l   p ro gra m m e s   h ave 
been implemented, it is too early to draw 
conclusions on the resources.

there is a need to concentrate on strength-
e n i n g   t h e   a b s o r p t i o n   c a p a c i t y   o f   t h e   r e -
gional organisations, rather than to already 
envisaging the revision of the volume of re -
sources of the regional programmes.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

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4. 
the  four  areas  of  inter vention  mentioned 
by   co u r t :   s t re n g t h e n i n g   re gi o n a l   i n s t i t u-
tions, building regional integrated markets, 
suppor ting business development and con-
n e c t i n g   re g i o n a l   i n f r a s t r u c t u re   n e t wo r k s 
are  those  direc tly  related  to  regional  eco -
nomic integration. Yet the commission 2008 
communication also identified a fifth, non-
economic, policy area: ‘developing regional 
policies for sustainable development’.

5. 
t h e   f i n a n c i a l   e nve l o p e   fo r   t h e   1 0 t h   E Df  
reflec ts  the  impor tance  of  regional  i nte -
gration and trade in the political agendas 
of  both  the  European  union  and  the  afri-
can s tates.

8.
t h e   r s p/r i p  f o r   t h e   We s t   a f r i c a   r e g i o n 
takes into account the institutional struc -
ture  of  the  region  (uEmoa  and  EcoW as) 
and  the  specific  mandate  of  each  organi-
sation. 

t h e   r s p/r i p  f o r   t h e   Es a –i o  r e g i o n   a l s o 
takes into account the different mandates 
a n d   g e o g r a p h i c a l   s c o p e   o f   t h e   f o u r 
r e g i o n a l   o r g a n i s a t i o n s ,   w i t h   c o mEs a  
a n d   Eac  fo c u s e d   m o re   o n   e co n o m i c   a n d 
p o l i t i c a l   i n t e g r a t i o n   i n   t h e i r   r e s p e c t i v e 
geographical  areas,  and igaD  and  ioc  on 
func tional cooperation.

10.
t h e   o v e r l a p p i n g   m e m b e r s h i p s   i n   E a s t 
 africa has been addressed by the tripar tite 
summit in K ampala in october 2008, where 
the  direc tion  was  set  towards  a  merger  of 
the  three  regional  organisations  comEsa , 
Eac  a n d   s aDc,   t h u s   p av i n g   t h e   way   fo r   a 
free trade area and a subsequent customs 
union. With this new regional structure the 
i s s u e   o f   ove r l a p p i n g   m e m b e r s h i p   s h o u l d 
d i s a p p e a r   i n   t h e   m e d i u m   te r m .   th e   co m-
m i s s i o n   w i l l   c l o s e l y   m o n i to r   a n d   s u p p o r t 
where possible this ambitious but complex 
and lengthy process. the regional meeting 
(s e p t e m b e r   2 0 0 9   —   lu s a k a )   h a s   fo c u s e d 
o n   s h o w c a s i n g   a n d   s u p p o r t i n g   t h e   tr i-
par tite  effor ts. the  commission  has  made 
demarches  to  igaD  to  encourage  them  to 
streamline their minimum integration plan 
into  the  regional  fta  and  cu  plans  of  the 
tripar tite  (points  raised  especially  during 
the igaD –Ec  troik a m inisterial meeting).

11.
t h e   i r c c  m e c h a n i s m   i s   i n t e n d e d   t o 
a d d re s s   s o m e   o f   t h e   p ro b l e m s   p o s e d   by 
t h e   i s s u e   o f   o v e r l a p p i n g   m e m b e r s h i p , 
w h i c h   w a s   f u r t h e r   h i g h l i g h t e d   a n d 
d i s c u s s e d   a t   t h e   lu s a k a   m e e t i n g   w h e r e 
a   s e r i e s   o f   s te p s   to   d e a l   e f fe c t i ve l y   w i t h 
the issues of alignment, convergence and 
c o o r d i n a t i o n   w e r e   a g r e e d .   ul t i m a t e l y, 
the  completion  of  the tr i-par tite  process 
s h o u l d   e f fe c t i ve l y   d e a l   w i t h   t h e   i s s u e   o f 
overlapping memberships.

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OBSERVATIONS

19. 
the  share  of  the  regional  envelope  within 
t h e   o v e r a l l   1 0 t h   E Df   e n v e l o p e   i s   s o l i d l y 
grounded. the regional envelope has been 
i n c re a s e d   to   re f l e c t   i t s   p ro m i n e nt   ro l e   i n 
Eu  D e v e l o p m e n t   p o l i c y,   a s   s t a t e d   i n   t h e 
E u r o p e a n   c o n s e n s u s   o n   D e v e l o p m e n t . 
D e ve l o p m e n t   a s s i s t a n c e   i s   u n d e r p i n n i n g 
Eu  t r a d e   a n d   d e v e l o p m e n t   s t r a t e g y , 
i n c l u d i n g   t h e   c o n s i d e r a b l e   c h a l l e n g e   o f 
t h e   n e g o t i a t i o n s   a n d   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   o f 
t h e   E c o n o m i c   p a r t n e r s h i p   a g r e e m e n t s . 
i n   a d d i t i o n ,   t h e   r e g i o n a l   o r g a n i s a t i o n s ' 
a g e n d a   h a s   b e e n   e x t e n d e d   t o   c o n f l i c t 
prevention, good governance, migrations, 
promotion of human rights and sustainable 
development.

the amount for the 10th EDf is for six years 
i n s t e a d   o f   f i ve   ye a r s   u n d e r   t h e   9 t h   E Df . 
H o w e v e r,   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   i s   a w a r e   t h a t 
t h e   a b s o r p t i v e   c a p a c i t y   o f   t h e   r e g i o n a l 
o r g a n i s a t i o n s   n e e d s   t o   b e   i n c r e a s e d . 
one  of  the  aims  of  the  programmes  is  to 
increase absorption capacity. 

see also reply to paragraph 2.

13.
the  complexit y  of  the  process  leading  to 
a gradual convergence of the two regional 
organisations  in West  africa  poses  serious 
c h a l l e n g e s   i n   t e r m s   o f   c o o rd i n a t i o n   a n d 
management. the progress achieved should 
be acknowledged. in particular, the regional 
o r g a n i s a t i o n s   h a v e   b e e n   e n c o u r a g e d   t o 
w o r k   o n   a   c o m m o n   p r o g r a m m e   f o r   t h e 
development of the region and their effor ts 
f o r   e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n   h a v e   r e s u l t e d 
i n   t h e   pa pE D   (p r o g r a m m e   a pE   p o u r   l e 
Développement)  on  the  basis  of  which  the 
first focal area of the 10th EDf  rip (suppor t 
to regional integration) will be developed.

t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   h a s   r e q u e s t e d   a n d 
d i s c u s s e d   w i t h   r os   i n   W e s t   a f r i c a   t o 
develop a roadmap for regional integration 
(as stated in the 10th EDf regional strategy 
p a p e r )   o n   t h e   b a s i s   o f   g e n u i n e   re g i o n a l 
o w n e r s h i p   ( r e g i o n a l   o r g a n i s a t i o n s   a n d 
m e m b e r   s t a t e s )   a n d   t h e   r e g i o n ’s   o w n 
a g e n d a   f o r   r e g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n   i n   t h e 
wider sense. the roadmap would also take 
i n t o   c o n s i d e r a t i o n   m e m b e r   s t a t e s '   o w n 
e f fo r t s   a s   we l l   a s   d o n o r s’  i n t e r ve n t i o n s. 
pro j e c t   s e l e c t i o n   w i l l   b e   m a d e   b a s e d   o n 
the roadmap.

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23.
t h e   p r o c e s s   o f   l i n k i n g   n a t i o n a l   a n d   r e -
g i o n a l   p r o g r a m m e s   m u s t   b e   l e d   b y   t h e 
c o u n t r i e s   a n d   r e g i o n a l   o r g a n i s a t i o n s 
( ow n e r s h i p ) .   s t i l l,   t h e   wo r k   d o n e   by   t h e 
c o m m i s s i o n   i n   t h e   p r o g r a m m i n g   o f   t h e 
10th EDf resulted in a significant improve -
ment  compared  to  that  of  the  9th  EDf.  i n 
West  africa,  12  out  of  16  national  indica-
tive  programmes  foresee  suppor t  for  the 
implementation  of  regional  policies:  t wo 
as a focal sector (n igeria and senegal) and 
10 as non-focal sec tor ac tivities.

H o w e v e r,   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   a g r e e s   t h a t 
f u r t h e r   i m p r o v e m e n t s   a r e   s t i l l   p o s s i b l e . 
these must result from discussions with all 
concerned par tners. notably in the context 
o f   t h e   m i d - te r m   re v i e w   s p e c i a l   at te nt i o n 
w i l l   b e   gi ve n   to   e n s u re   t h at   t h e   re gi o n a l 
i n t e g r a t i o n   o b j e c t i ve s   s u p p o r t e d   b y   t h e 
rip  will  be  integrated  in  the  analysis  and, 
w h e r e   a p p r o p r i a t e ,   i n   t h e   r e v i e w   o f   t h e 
nips,  to  assess  the  impac t  of  the  regional 
p r o g r a m m e s   a t   n a t i o n a l   l e v e l   a n d   t o 
ensure  overall  complementar it y  bet ween 
t h e   n i ps   a n d   t h e   r i ps   ( a n d   o t h e r   Ec   a n d 
other donor instruments).

25.
t h e   co m m i s s i o n   c o n f i r m s   t h e   i n c re a s e d 
emphasis on regional interconnec tivity in 
the 10th EDf national programmes.

26.
the commission wishes to stress that nips 
a r e   p r o g r a m m i n g   d o c u m e n t s   t h a t   l e a v e 
room for fur ther needs assessment in the 
s u b s e q u e n t   p h a s e s   o f   t h e   p r o j e c t   c y c l e 
(identification and formulation).

21. 
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   n o t e s   t h e   p o s i t i v e 
assessment of the cour t on the approach of 
institution building suppor t to the regional 
o r g a n i s a t i o n s   i n   o r d e r   t o   i n c r e a s e   t h e i r 
capacit y  to  develop  regional  policies  and 
enforce their implementation. the rsp is a 
document jointly agreed with the regional 
organisations (ros) who in turn solicit and 
receive  the  agreement  of  their  respec tive 
constituents. the  lusak a  meeting  agreed 
t h a t   n a t i o n a l   a n d   r e g i o n a l   a u t h o r i s i n g 
officers  will  enhance  coordination  on  the 
design and implementation of programmes 
f u n d e d   u n d e r   t h e   n a t i o n a l   a n d   r e g i o n a l 
i n d i c a t i v e   p r o g r a m m e s   o f   t h e   1 0 t h   E Df . 
i n  this  contex t,  capacit y  building,  both  at 
national and regional levels, will be crucial. 
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   w i s h e s   t o   s t r e s s   t h a t 
t h e   r e g i o n a l   i n d i c a t i v e   p r o g r a m m e s   a r e 
designed as programming documents that 
l e ave   ro o m   fo r   f u r t h e r   n e e d s   a s s e s s m e nt 
i n   t h e   s u b s e q u e n t   p h a s e s   o f   t h e   p ro j e c t 
c y c l e .   r o a d m a p s   r e f l e c t i n g   t h e   r e g i o n s’ 
joint integration priorities are being drawn 
up by regional organisations as a basis for 
joint Eu–region identification of individual 
projec ts.

22.
t h e   a p r i l   2 0 0 9   tr i - p a r t i t e   p i l o t   n o r t h -
s o u t h   co r r i d o r   (n s c )   D o n o r   co n fe re n c e 
in  lusak a  is  a  case  in  point. this  meeting 
re s u l te d   i n   s u b s t a nt i a l   d o n o r   p l e d g e s   a s 
w e l l   a s   c o m m i t m e n t s   t o   a l i g n m e n t   a n d 
harmonisation  of  donor  suppor t  and  pol-
icies in the transpor t sec tor. the commis-
s i o n   w i l l   p ro v i d e   s u b s t a n t i a l   s u p p o r t   t o 
the nsc from the 10th EDf nip s and rip.

transpor t is also an impor tant component 
in  the  rsp/rip  in Wa.  as  a  direc t  result  of 
Ec suppor t to the regional road sector, the 
u E m oa   m e m b e r   s t a t e s   a d o p t e d   i n   a p r i l 
2009 a regional m inisterial declaration on 
axle load control.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

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30.
substantial discussions are under way with 
the  region  regarding  widening  the  scope 
of rism, e.g. to include the wider economic 
and social cost of adjustment. 

a  first  call  for  proposals  was  launched  in 
2008  by  the  comEsa  s ecretar iat  and  dis-
bursements  have  been  made  (s eptember 
2009), for r wanda 10 million euro and for 
B u r u n d i   4 , 4   m i l l i o n   e u ro   co mEs a  i s   p re -
par ing  the  launching  of  a  second  call  for 
i n t e r e s t ,   w h i c h   i s   e x p e c t e d   t o   r e s u l t   i n 
four  to  six  countries  manifesting  interest 
to benefit from the rism facility.

31.
the  commission  agrees  that  more  atten-
tion needs to be paid to follow-up ac tions 
a t   n a t i o n a l   l e ve l   a n d   i s   t a k i n g   t h e   s t e p s 
described below.

B ox  1 —  I ns u ff icie nt link  b e t ween 
regi on al a nd national  a c tivitie s
B o t h   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   a n d   t h e   r e g i o n a l 
o r g a n i s a t i o n s   a r e   a w a r e   o f   t h e   n e e d   t o 
e n s u re   a   b e t te r   a r t i c u l at i o n   b e t we e n   t h e 
r e g i o n a l   a n d   t h e   n a t i o n a l   c o m p o n e n t s 
o f   i n t e r v e n t i o n s .   t h i s   i s s u e   w i l l   l i e   a t 
t h e   h e a r t   o f   a   d e t a i l e d   r o a d m a p   f o r   t h e 
i m p l e m e nt at i o n   o f   t h e   1 0 t h   E Df  a n d   w i l l 
be systematically addressed during project 
identification and formulation process.

34. (a)
th e   re gi o n a l   D e l e g at i o n s   a re   d i re c t l y   i n-
volved in the rsp preparations and all the 
o t h e r   D e l e g a t i o n s   h a v e   b e e n   c o n s u l t e d 
t h ro u g h o u t   t h e   p ro gra m m i n g   p ro ce s s   o f 
th e 1 0t h EDf rs p .

t h e   n e e d   f o r   g u i d e l i n e s   o n   h o w   t o   c o -
ordinate and share responsibilit y for pro -
gra m m i n g   i s   a   co n ce r n   t h a t   t h e   re gi o n a l 
D e l e g a t i o n s   h a v e   r a i s e d .   i t   i s   a c k n o w l-
e d g e d   t h a t   t h e   d i v i s i o n   o f   r e s p o n s i b i l i-
t i e s   a n d   i n f o r m a t i o n   b e t w e e n   t h e   d i f -
fe re n t   D e l e g a t i o n s   i nvo l ve d   n e e d s   t o   b e 
s t r e n g t h e n e d .   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   i s   i n   t h e 
process of prepar ing  t hese  guide li n es.

34. (b)
th e   D e l e g at i o n s   e s t a b l i s h e d   i n   t h e   h e a d-
q u a r te r s   o f   t h e   d i f fe re nt   re gi o n a l   o rg a n i-
s at i o n s   h ave,   by   t h e i r   p hys i c a l   p rox i m i t y, 
the mandate and the coordinating respon-
sibilit y for the regional programmes.

34. (c)
coordination structures between the region-
alised  Delegations  and  the  Delegations  in 
the regions can and must still be improved: 
staff  increases  and  mission  budgets  are  in-
dispensible to improve the situation. the in-
ternal audit repor t has led to intensive con-
sultations  among  Delegations  and  related 
ser vices in headquar ters.

the need to reinforce suppor t to national 
Ec oW a s  f o c a l   p o i n t   h a s   b e e n   d u l y 
ack nowledged and could be addressed in 
a  new  projec t  to  be  approved  early  2010: 
‘ su p p o r t   t o   m o n i t o r i n g   o f   t h e   r e g i o n a l 
integration process’ (20 million euro).

a  s e m i n a r   o n   t h e   m a n a g e m e nt   o f   t h e   r e -
gional programmes took place in februar y 
2009, with ac tive par ticipation of D elega-
t i o n s   w i t h   re g i o n a l   re s p o n s i b i l i t i e s.  t h i s 
h a s   l e d   to   co n c l u s i o n s   fo r   i m p rove m e n t s 
in the flow of infor mation.

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B ox 2   — I nad equate  rep or t in g  and 
mon ito ring by  the  Commissio n
up until the Eamr of Januar y 2009, repor t -
i n g   o n   re g i o n a l   a c t i v i t i e s   f i g u re d   w i t h i n 
the respec tive national repor ts. as of July 
2009 a consolidated repor t for the regional 
programmes is established by the regional 
D e l e g at i o n s.   i n   t h e   s a m e   way,   h e a d q u a r-
ters now produce a consolidated reply en-
compassing all regional activities, which is 
sent  to  all  Delegations  in  the  region. this 
will contribute to an enhanced awareness 
of the regional activities by the Ec Delega-
tions in the region.

37. 
B e s i d e s   t h e   t o t a l   a m o u n t   o f   t h e   n e w 
p r o g r a m m i n g,   o t h e r   e l e m e n t s   p l a y   a l s o 
a n   i m p o r t a n t   r o l e   i n   t h e   D e l e g a t i o n s ' 
w o r k l o a d ,   s u c h   a s   t h e   s h a r e   a m o n g   t h e 
different means of aid implementation, the 
size  and  number  of  ac tions  and  financial 
o p e r a t i o n s   ( c o m m i t m e n t s ,   p a y m e n t s ) , 
number of focal sec tors, etc.

t h e   rElE X   c o m m i s s i o n e r s   d e c i d e d   i n 
2 0 0 8   to   s e r ve   b e t te r   t h e   p o l i t i c a l / p o l i c y 
d i a l o g u e   a n d   t h e   r e g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n 
a n d   t r a d e .   t h i s   w a s   a c h i e v e d   t h r o u g h 
r e d e p l o y m e n t   a n d   r e i n f o r c e m e n t 
m e a s u r e s ,   w h i c h   a r e   c u r r e n t l y   b e i n g 
i m p l e m e n t e d .   t h e   s i t u a t i o n   o f   s c a r c i t y 
i s   d u e   t o   e v o l v e   a s   n e w   r e s o u r c e s   w i l l 
b e   m a d e   a v a i l a b l e .   cl o s e   a t t e n t i o n   w i l l 
b e   g i v e n   t o   i m p r o v i n g   t h e   c a p a c i t y   o f 
Delegations to handle regional integration 
and trade issues. the Delegation in nigeria 
w i l l   b e   r e i n f o r c e d   b y   a   d e p u t y   h e a d   o f 
D e l e g a t i o n   w i t h   s p e c i f i c   r e s p o n s i b i l i t y 
for  regional  issues.  i n  addition  the  office 
i n   D j i b o u t i   h a s   b e e n   u p g r a d e d   t o   a   f u l l 
D e l e g at i o n   to   re i n fo rce   t h e   p o l i t i c a l   a n d 
d e v e l o p m e n t   c o o p e r a t i o n   t i e s   w i t h   t h e 
regional organisation (igaD).

35.
t h e   10 t h   E D f  p r o g r a m m i n g   g u i d e l i n e s 
sp e ci f i c a ll y  a d dre ss  th e  issu e  o f  subsi di -
a r i t y   a n d   co n s i s t e n c y   b e t w e e n   r e g i o n a l 
and national pro gramming in se c tion 2.4. 
anne x 2 of the document includes a para -
graph ‘3. Preparation of draf t Countr y Strat-
e g y   Pa p e r/ R e g i o n a l  Strate g y  Pa p e r ’  w h i ch 
d e f in es  th e  resp o nsib ili ti es  b e t we e n  th e 
r e g i o n a l   au t h o r i s i n g   o f f i ce r s ,   H e a d s   o f 
D e l e g a t i o n s   a n d   co m m i s s i o n   h e a d q u a r-
ters.

st r a te g i e s   a n d   i nte r ve n t i o n s   a t   n a t i o n a l 
a n d   r e g i o n a l   l e v e l   h av e   b e e n   d e s i g n e d , 
t o   t h e   e x t e n t   p o s s i b l e   t o   e n s u r e   c l o s e 
interac tion  and  subsidiarit y  b et we en  the 
t w o   l e v e l s .   B o t h   t h e   e s t a b l i s h m e n t   o f 
t h e   r e g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n   r o a d m a p s   a n d 
the  ongoing  mid -term  review  of  the  10 th 
EDf national pro grammes will b e use d to 
i m p r o v e   t h e   c o m p l e m e n t a r i t y   b e t w e e n 
the national and re gional pro grammes. 

in   a d d i t i o n   s p e c i f i c   e f f o r t s   a r e   o n g o i n g 
to  imp rove  co h e re n ce  b e t we e n  n i ps  an d 
rips. regional seminars were held in 20 09 
f o r   n ao  a n d   r ao  t o   i m p r o v e   co h e r e n ce 
bet ween national and regional strategies, 
such as the East africa (lusaka, september 
20 09) and the West africa regional (abuja, 
oc tober 20 09) seminars.

36. 
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   a g r e e s   t h a t   r e p o r t i n g 
should be improved with more coordinated 
r e v i e w s   b y   t h e   D e l e g a t i o n s   c o n c e r n e d 
o f   p r o j e c t s   i n   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n .   a  m o r e 
fo r m a l   co o p e rat i o n   m e c h a n i s m   b e t we e n 
t h e   r e g i o n a l   D e l e g a t i o n s   h a s   b e e n 
introduced since Januar y 2009.  i mproved 
coordination modalities have been agreed 
which  will  include  t wo  meetings  per  year 
at Heads of Delegation level.

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42.
s e v e r a l   m a j o r   p r o g r a m m e s   s t a r t e d 
t o w a r d s   t h e   e n d   o f   t h e   9 t h   E Df  c y c l e . 
t h i s   r e l a t i v e l y   l a t e   s t a r t   i s   m a i n l y   d u e 
t o   t h e   l a t e   s i g n a t u r e   o f   t h e   9 t h   E Df  
r i p,   t h e   c o m p l e x i t y   o f   t h e   s u b j e c t 
( e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n )   a n d   t h e   n u m b e r 
o f   s t a k e h o l d e r s   a n d   c o u n t r i e s   i nv o l v e d . 
a l s o ,   c r e a t i n g   o w n e r s h i p   a m o n g   t h e 
re g i o n a l   o rg a n i s a t i o n s   fo r   t h e   p ro p o s e d 
i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   m e c h a n i s m s   a n d 
procedures takes time.

as for the mid-term review of the 9th EDf 
p r o j e c t s   i n   We s t   a f r i c a ,   t h e i r   l a t e   s t a r t 
i s   d u e   t o   t h e   l a t e   s i g n a t u r e   o f   t h e   9 t h 
E Df  r i p,   t h e   c o m p l e x i t y   o f   t h e   s u b j e c t 
( e c o n o m i c   i n t e g r a t i o n )   a n d   g e n e r a l 
d e l a y s   i n   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   h a v e   l e d   t o 
postponement of the mid-term review. the 
commission will pay specific attention to 
e n s u re   t h at   t h e s e   e va l u at i o n s   a re   t i m e l y 
and  to  ensure  compliance  with  repor ting 
requirements.

43. 
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   h a s   r e c o g n i s e d   r e p o r t -
ing  weak nesses  and  has  raised  it  with  the 
ircc.  as  a  result  the  ircc  and  the  regional 
organisations are in the process of develop-
ing  comprehensive  m+E  systems.  for West 
africa the commission is addressing the is-
sue with the formulation of a new project to 
be approved early 2010.

45. 
t h e   f o r m u l a t i o n   o f   o b j e c t i v e s   i s   o f t e n 
t h e   e x p re s s i o n   o f   t h e   p o l i t i c a l   a m b i t i o n 
r a t h e r   t h a n   r e f l e c t i n g   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n 
capacity of the ros.  therefore Delegations 
have  reviewed  projec ts  of ten  downwards 
t o   p r o d u c e   a   b e t t e r   m a t c h   b e t w e e n 
o b j e c t i ve s   a n d   r o  c a p a c i t i e s.   th e   va r i e d 
a b s o r p t i o n   c a p a c i t i e s   o f   t h e   r o s   a r e 
i n d e e d   a n   i m p o r t a n t   r e a s o n   f o r   t h e 
e x te n s i o n   o f   t h e   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   p e r i o d 
of programmes. therefore the commission 
p u t s   a   h i g h   e m p h a s i s   t o   r o ' s   c a p a c i t y 
building in most of its 10th EDf projec ts.

38. 
to   i m p r o v e   c o o r d i n a t i o n   b e t w e e n   t h e 
D e l e g a t i o n s ,   s p e c i f i c   s t e p s   a r e   b e i n g 
t a k e n   b y   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   t o   e n s u r e 
e f f e c t i v e   n a t i o n a l   s u p p o r t   o f   r e g i o n a l 
p r o j e c t s   a n d   p r o g r a m m e s :   r e g i o n a l 
D e l e g a t i o n s   s u p p o r t   c o n t a c t s   b e t w e e n 
r e g i o n a l   a u t h o r i s i n g   o f f i c e r s   a n d 
n a t i o n a l   a u t h o r i s i n g   o f f i c e r s ;   r e g i o n a l 
p r o j e c t s   a n d   p r o g r a m m e s   d o c u m e n t s 
a re   c i rc u l a te d   b e t we e n   D e l e g a t i o n s   o f   a 
r e g i o n   a t   p r e p a r a t o r y   s t a g e   a n d   d u r i n g 
i m p l e m e n t a t i o n ;   r e g i o n a l   m e e t i n g s   a r e 
organized (if possible by videoconference) 
by   c l u s te r s   o f   p ro j e c t s   to   b r i n g   to g e t h e r 
t h e   D e l e g a t i o n   ‘c h e f   d e   f i l e ’  a n d   f o c a l 
p o i n t s   i n   o t h e r   D e l e g a t i o n s.   t h e   a n n u a l 
regional seminars of Dg Development are 
also intended to foster cooperation.

40.
W h i l e   i r cc  m a y   h a v e   s h o r t c o m i n g s ,   i t s 
ver y existence embodies the coordination 
that  takes  place  within  the  region  during 
t h e   p r o g r a m m i n g   a n d   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n 
of  the  rsp/rip.  i t  has  proved  an  effec tive 
tool for programming by encouraging the 
regional organisations to plan together.

41. 
th e   co m m i s s i o n   h a s   d u l y   a c k n ow l e d g e d 
constraints  resulting  from  limited  human 
resources  capacit y,  limited  authorit y  and 
lack  of  staff. they  illustrate  the  difficult y 
o f   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n a l   c o n t e x t   o f   r e g i o n a l 
cooperation in West a frica. 

a  n e w   p ro gra m m e   u n d e r   t h e   1 0 t h   E Df  i s 
currently in formulation that will incorporate 
lessons learned, e.g. extension of the project 
to all EcoW as/uEmoa monitoring capacities, 
r a t h e r   t h a n   E D f   p r o j e c t s   a n d   t o   p r o v i d e 
f o r   a   m o r e   r i g o r o u s   l o g i c a l   f r a m e w o r k 
aiming to fur ther develop and enhance the 
coordination between the roa s.

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49.
one  of  the  most  impor tant  improvements 
i n   re gi o n a l   co o p e rat i o n   l i e s   i n   t h e   u s e   o f 
c o n t r i b u t i o n   a g r e e m e n t s .   i t   h a s   m a d e 
t h e   c o n t r i b u t i o n   a g r e e m e n t   e l i g i b l e   r o 
c o mE s a  f u l l y   a w a r e   ( s i n c e   2 0 0 5 )   o f   i t s 
re s p o n s i b i l i t y   fo r   t h e   p a ce   o f   p ro gre s s   i n 
p r o j e c t   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n .   t h e   a l i g n m e n t 
with international standards and the relat-
ed  increased  ownership  are  of  over r iding 
impor tance.  capacit y  audits  and  their  re -
views have been and are under way for all 
four ros of the Esa -io region.  on regional 
c a p a c i t y   i s s u e s   t h e   fo l l o w - u p   fo u r - p i l l a r 
audit  of  Eac  concluded  that  —  in  spite  of 
some progress made — substantial fur ther 
capacity strengthening is required, notably 
in the areas of internal audit and procure -
m e n t .   i n   re s p o n s e   t o   t h e   f i n d i n g s   o f   t h e 
audit repor t, the commission has taken the 
lead to work with Eac on a comprehensive 
c a p a c i t y   D e v e l o p m e n t   a c t i o n   p l a n .   t h e 
commission's  suppor t  will  be  provided  as 
par t of the risp -programme.

51.
the formulation of objectives and expected 
r e s u l t s   w i l l   s p e c i f i c a l l y   b e   t a r g e t e d   i n 
the  identification  and  for mulation  phase 
o f   f u t u r e   p r o j e c t s ,   n o t a b l y   t h r o u g h   t h e 
internal Quality suppor t group process in 
the c ommission.

53.
E x p e n d i t u r e   o f t e n   a c c e l e r a t e s   a t   t h e 
e n d   o f   t h e   p ro j e c t   c yc l e   a n d   b e s i d e s   t h e 
c o m m i s s i o n   m a y   a g r e e   t o   e x t e n d i n g 
p r o j e c t   d u r a t i o n   w h e n   n e c e s s a r y . 
co n c l u s i o n s   re g a rd i n g   e f fe c t i ve n e s s   c a n 
o n l y   c o m e   a f t e r   t h e   f i n a l i s a t i o n   o f   t h e 
projec ts.

B ox  3 —  Regio na l p ro je c t  com p lex   and 
slow
contribution agreements are a new instru-
ment  used  by  the  commission  to  channel 
s u p p o r t   t o   r e g i o n a l   or g a n i s a t i o n .   t h e s e 
were the first such agreements signed with 
E co Wa s   a n d   u E m oa ,   b o t h   a f t e r   i n s t i t u -
tional audits of each organisation.

i n   t h e   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   o f   t h e   E c o n o m i c 
a n d   tr a d e   p r o j e c t ,   d e l a y s   w e r e   p a r t l y 
d u e   to   t h e   i n s u f f i c i e nt   u n d e r s t a n d i n g   o f 
t h e   c o n t r i b u t i o n   a g re e m e n t   b y   EcoW a s 
s e r v i c e s .   sp e c i f i c   m e a s u r e s   h a v e   b e e n 
t a k e n   t o   a vo i d   t h e   l o s s   o f   f u n d s   a s   we l l 
as to improve implementation modalities. 
r ecruitments  in  EcoW as  ser vices  and  ta 
suppor t have improved appropriation and 
implementation. the rate of absorption of 
the contribution agreements is now 33  % 
and is expec ted to reach 48 % by the end 
of 2009.

46. 
fo l l o w i n g   t h e   a u d i t   c o n d u c t e d   b y   t h e  
i nternal  audit  ser vice,  a  specific  work ing 
g ro u p   h a s   b e e n   e s t a b l i s h e d   a n d   a   s e m i-
n a r   o r g a n i s e d   b y   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   a n d  
a t t e n d e d   b y   t h e   H e a d s   o f   D e l e g a t i o n s 
took place. an action plan has been devel-
o p e d   to   a d d re s s   t h e   i a s  f i n d i n g s   a n d,   a s 
a   co n s e q u e n ce,   a   d ra f t   o f   p re c i s e   g u i d e -
l i n e s   f o r   r e g i o n a l   p r o g r a m m e s   i s   n o w  
being prepared.

48.
t h e   r e g i o n a l   o r g a n i s a t i o n s   a r e   g o i n g 
through  a  learning  cur ve.  although  more 
g r o u n d   n e e d s   t o   b e   c o v e r e d   f o r   i t   t o 
m a k e   a n   e f f i c i e n t   a n d   s m o o t h l y   r u n n i n g 
i n s t r u m e n t ,   c o n t r i b u t i o n   a g r e e m e n t s 
a re   co n s i d e re d   to   b e   t h e   p r i n c i p a l   m o d e 
fo r   i m p l e m e n t i n g   a i d   by   t h e   We s t   af r i c a 
re gi o n a l   o rg a n i s a t i o n s.  t h e y   s e r ve   a s   a n 
i m p o r t a n t   i n s t r u m e n t   i n   t h e   p o l i t i c a l 
d i a l o g u e   o n   r e g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n   a n d 
b u d g e t a r y   m a n a g e m e n t   b y   t h e   re g i o n a l 
organisations.

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t h e   p r e l i m i n a r y   d e s i g n   o f   j o i n t   b o r d e r 
p o s t s   s h ows   a   f i n a n c i n g   g a p   a n d   h a s   l e d 
t o   t h e   d e c r e a s e   i n   t h e   n u m b e r   o f   j o i n t 
b o r d e r   p o s t s   ( 7   t o   5 )   t o   b e   b u i l t .   t h i s 
selec tion is based on technical criteria to 
avoid political bargaining.

tender  procedures  for  wor ks  super vision 
h a v e   b e e n   l a u n c h e d .   p r e p a r a t i o n   o f 
works  tenders  is  under  way. the  calendar 
e s t a b l i s h e d   to   m e e t   t h e   D + 5   d e a d l i n e   i s 
being respec ted and continuous attention 
is being paid to this projec t.

B ox 6   — Proj ec t  result s p ar tially 
satis fac tor y
r e g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n   i s   a   p r o c e s s   a n d , 
i n   t h e   We s t   a f r i c a n   c o n t e x t   a n d   g i v e n 
t h e   r e g i o n ' s   o w n   l i m i t e d   r e s o u r c e s ,   i t 
r e p r e s e n t s   a   n e w   a n d   q u i t e   d r a m a t i c 
c h a n g e   i n   p o l i c i e s   a n d   a p p r o a c h e s   t h a t 
cannot  be  achieved  in  only  5  years  time. 
t h i s   p r o c e s s   w i l l   g o   o n   f o r   y e a r s   a n d 
commission funded projec ts will facilitate 
this  integration,  that  in  the  end,  rests  on 
the region and countries' own willingness 
and priorities.

B ox  5 —  Proj ec t re su lts  unsatis fac to r y
since the  cour t ’s visit the commission has 
noticed the positive development repor ted 
i n   t h e   m i d - t e r m   re v i e w   a n d   i n fo r m a t i o n 
available  for  2009  in  several  of  the  result 
a r e a s :   s i g n i n g   o f   t h e   i n t e r i m   E pa ,   t h e 
launching of the  comEsa  customs union, 
the adoption by the  comEsa  council of a 
har monised  legal  framewor k  for  s anitar y 
and phytosanitar y standards and the star t 
o f   t h e   re gi o n a l   p ay m e n t   a n d   s e t t l e m e n t 
s c h e m e ,   p r o g r e s s   w i t h   e x t e r n a l   t r a d e 
s t a t i s t i c s   a n d   t h e   h a r m o n i s e d   c o n s u m e r 
price index.

D e l a y s   i n   t h e   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   o f   t h e 
t ra n s p o r t   fa c i l i t y   pro j e c t   a re   m a i n l y   d u e 
t o   i n s u f f i c i e n t   p r o j e c t   f o r m u l a t i o n   t h a t 
was  too  general  and  did  not  pay  enough 
a t t e n t i o n   t o   c r o s s - b o r d e r   c o o p e r a t i o n 
a n d   p o l i c y   h a r m o n i s a t i o n   a s   we l l   a s   t h e 
f u n c t i o n a l   d e s i g n   r e q u i r e m e n t s   o f   t h e 
b o r d e r   p o s t s .   a  g r e a t   d e a l   o f   t i m e   w a s 
t h u s   n e e d e d   a f t e r   p r o j e c t   a p p r o v a l   t o 
a d d r e s s   t h e s e   i s s u e s   b e f o r e   p h y s i c a l 
implementation could begin.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

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rEpl Y of tHE 
commission

57.
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   h a s   b e e n   a   s t a u n c h 
a n d   r e l i a b l e   s u p p o r t e r   o f   t h e   r e g i o n a l 
integration process in africa for more than 
2 0   y e a r s .   s i g n i f i c a n t   p r o g r e s s   h a s   b e e n 
made in liberalising and harmonising the 
trade regime, trade facilitation, standards 
and quality systems, facilitating transpor t, 
h a r m o n i s i n g   m o n e t a r y   p o l i c y   a n d   o t h e r 
areas of the regional economic integration 
agenda.

Both  in  East  and West  africa,  agreements 
on harmonising structures for the regional 
o rg a n i s at i o n s   ( s u c h   a s   t h e   i r cc )   a n d   i m-
p r o v e m e n t s   o n   t h e i r   p e r f o r m a n c e   h a v e 
been achieved. commitments for their fu-
ture unification have also been obtained. 

regarding  polic y,  the  issue  of  the  ration-
alisation of regional organisations has be -
come par t of the Joint africa–Eu  strategy, 
t h e r e b y   e n h a n c i n g   p o l i t i c a l   a n d   p o l i c y 
dialogue on the issue between the african 
union, regional organisations and the Eu .

CONCLUSIONS AND  
RECOMMENDATIONS

56. 
putting regional integration into prac tice 
i s   a   l o n g - t e r m   s t r a t e g i c   c h o i c e .   t h e   Eu  
itself, with more favourable circumstances 
in all respec ts, is still in the mak ing as an 
i n t e g r a t e d   s i n g l e   m a r k e t   ( f o r   i n s t a n c e 
fo r   s e r v i ce s )   a f te r   m o re   t h a n   5 0   ye a r s   o f 
h i s t o r y.   t h e   co m m i s s i o n   r e c o g n i s e s   t h e 
challenges but believes that predic tability 
i n   t h e   c o n t e x t   o f   s t r a t e g i c   p o l i t i c a l , 
f i n a n c i a l   a n d   t e c h n i c a l   s u p p o r t   a t   t h e 
national and regional levels is par ticularly 
impor tant  for  the  concrete  advancement 
of regional integration.

t h e   f r e e   m o v e m e n t   o f   g o o d s ,   s e r v i c e s , 
c a p i t a l   a n d   p e o p l e   i n   t h e   t wo   re gi o n s   i s 
far  from  total  indeed,  but  it  is  a  realit y  in 
some  aspec ts  at  least  ( uEmoa's  common 
E x t e r n a l   t a r i f f ,   Ec oW a s'   p a s s p o r t ) . 
m o re   i m p o r t a n t l y,   i t   i s   e ve r   p ro g re s s i n g 
(adoption of the struc ture of the EcoW as 
common ex ternal tariff in June 2009).

E Df  s u p p o r t   h a s   b e e n   i n s t r u m e n t a l   t o 
some of the most visible achievements of 
re gi o n a l   i nte grat i o n   i n  We s t   af r i c a   ( s u c h 
a s   t h e   u E m o a   c u s t o m s   u n i o n )   o r   E a s t 
africa (such as the Eac customs union).

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

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rEpl Y of tHE 
commission

Recommendation 1
the commission recognises the challenges 
o f   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n a l   c o m p l e x i t y   f o r 
e f fe c t i ve   re gi o n a l   i nte grat i o n .   i t   i s   to   b e 
recalled  that  this  complexit y  is  the  result 
o f   h i s t o r y   a n d   p o l i t i c a l   c o m p r o m i s e s 
b e t w e e n   a f r i c a n   n a t i o n s .   t h i s   i s s u e   i s 
d i re c t l y   a d d re s s e d   i n   t h e   c o n t e x t   o f   t h e 
Joint Eu– africa s trategy.

r at h e r   t h a n   i m p o s i n g   co n d i t i o n s   fo r   t h e 
Eu  s u p p o r t ,   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   b e l i e v e s 
i n   c o n t i n u i n g   t o   w o r k   w i t h   t h e   p a r t n e r 
r e g i o n a l   o r g a n i s a t i o n s   a n d   t o   e n h a n c e 
t h e   p o l i t i c a l   a n d   p o l i c y   d i a l o g u e   w i t h 
them following the letter and spirit of the 
cotonou agreement.

t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   b e l i e v e s   t h a t   t h e 
c o n v e r g e n c e   o f   r e g i o n a l   o r g a n i s a t i o n s 
i s   b e s t   s u p p o r t e d   t h r o u g h   p o l i t i c a l 
d i a l o g u e   a n d   a s s i s t a n c e   i n   t h e   c o n t e x t 
o f   r e g i o n a l l y - l e d   e f f o r t s .   fu r t h e r m o r e , 
t h e   a c c r a   a g e n d a   f o r   a c t i o n ,   p o i n t   2 6 , 
a l s o   r e q u i r e s   ‘g r e a t e r   p r e d i c t a b i l i t y   i n 
t h e   p r o v i s i o n   o f   a i d   f l o w s   t o   e n a b l e 
d e v e l o p i n g   c o u n t r i e s   t o   e f f e c t i v e l y 
p l a n   a n d   m a n a g e   t h e i r   d e v e l o p m e n t 
p r o g r a m m e s ’  a n d   t h a t   d o n o r s   p r o v i d e 
d e v e l o p i n g   c o u n t r i e s   w i t h   r e g u l a r   a n d 
t i m e l y   i n fo r m at i o n   o n   t h e i r   ro l l i n g   t h re e 
t o   f i ve   ye a r   fo r w a rd   e x p e n d i t u re   a n d / o r 
implementation plans.

58.
specific  effor ts  are  under way  to  improve 
c o h e r e n c e   b e t w e e n   n i p s   a n d   r i p s . 
m o r e o v e r,   s t r a t e g i e s   a n d   i n t e r v e n t i o n s 
at   n at i o n a l   a n d   re gi o n a l   l e ve l   h ave   b e e n 
d e s i g n e d ,   t o   t h e   e x t e n t   p o s s i b l e ,   t o 
ensure  close  interac tion  and  subsidiar it y 
b e t w e e n   t h e   t w o   l e v e l s .   t h e   n a os   a n d 
raos have been associated to the regional 
programming exercise.

the 10th EDf allocation reflects clear politi -
cal choices and was determined on the basis 
of objective and specific allocation criteria. 

in the specific case of regional programmes 
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   w o u l d   l i k e   t o   u n d e r l i n e 
t h a t   t h e   i n c re a s e d   f u n d i n g   i s   c l o s e l y   re -
lated to the recognised need of significant 
f i n a n c i a l   r e s o u r c e s   fo r   t h e   d e v e l o p m e n t 
d i m e n s i o n   o f   t h e   E c o n o m i c   pa r t n e r s h i p 
a g r e e m e n t s   ( Epa s ) .   i n   t h i s   c o n t e x t ,   t h e 
co m m i s s i o n   i s   l e a d i n g   a   m a j o r   e f fo r t   to -
w a rd s   t h e   e s t a b l i s h m e n t   o f   re gi o n a l   a i d -
for-trade pack ages.

the commission is aware that the absorp -
t i v e   c a p a c i t y   o f   t h e   r e g i o n a l   o r g a n i s a-
t i o n s   n e e d s   t o   b e   i n c r e a s e d .   t h i s   i s   o n e 
of the main aims of the 10th EDf regional 
program me s.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

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rEpl Y of tHE 
commission

Recommendation 4 First indent
the commission agrees and is work ing on 
this in the contex t of the development of 
practical guidelines for the management of 
the regional programmes by Delegations.

Recommendation 4 Second indent
the  commission  agrees  and  is  addressing 
this issue of coordination through regular 
c o n s u l t a t i o n s   w i t h   re g i o n a l   D e l e g a t i o n s 
and with related ser vices in Headquar ters.

Recommendation 4 Third indent
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   a g r e e s .   r e d e p l o y m e n t 
a n d   r e i n f o r c e m e n t   m e a s u r e s   h a v e   b e e n 
d e c i d e d   b y   t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   i n   2 0 0 8 
i n   o r d e r   t o   i m p r o v e   c o o r d i n a t i o n   a n d 
n a t i o n a l - re gi o n a l   p ro gr a m m e   a l i gn m e n t 
and follow up. close attention will be given 
to  improving  the  capacit y  of  Delegations 
to handle regional integration.

Recommendation 4 Four th indent
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   c a n   o n l y   p a r t i a l l y 
a gre e   w i t h   t h e   co u r t ’s   re co m m e n d at i o n . 
c o n t r i b u t i o n   a g r e e m e n t s   p r e s e n t 
s i g n i f i c a n t   a d v a n t a g e s   i n   t e r m s   o f 
o w n e r s h i p   b y   t h e   r e g i o n   a n d   a r e 
i m p o r t a n t   i n s t r u m e n t s   i n   t h e   p o l i t i c a l 
d i a l o g u e   o n   r e g i o n a l   i n t e g r a t i o n   a n d 
budgetar y management with the regional 
o r g a n i s a t i o n s .   ne v e r t h e l e s s ,   s p e c i a l 
attention should be given to complement 
t h e   i n s u f f i c i e n c i e s   w i t h   t h e   a p p ro p r i a t e 
technical a ssistance.

Recommendation 2
t h e   co m m i s s i o n   a g re e s   a n d   h a s   a l re a d y 
t a k e n   a   n u m b e r   o f   s t e p s   t o   f u r t h e r 
i m p r o v e   c o h e r e n c e   a n d   c o n s i s t e n c y 
b e t w e e n   r e g i o n a l   s t r a t e g y   a n d   n a t i o n a l 
strategies,  in  par ticular  through  regional 
seminars.

the repor t by the cour t of auditors will be 
taken  into  account  by  the  commission  in 
t h e   m i d - te r m   re v i e w   o f   t h e   c s p  a n d   r s p. 
a  m o re   a c t i ve   i nvo l ve m e n t   o f   n aos   a n d 
w h e re   p o s s i b l e   no n -s t a te   ac to r s   w i l l   b e 
ex a m i n e d.  th e   n at i o n a l   m i d - te r m   re v i e w 
(m t r)   g u i d e l i n e s   a l r e a d y   f o r e s e e   t h i s 
aspec t.

Recommendation 3
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   r o u t i n e l y   r e v i e w s   t h e 
a l l o c a t i o n s   t o   r e g i o n a l   a n d   n a t i o n a l 
programmes  at  the  time  of  the  mid-ter m 
review. 

p r o g r e s s   m a d e   i n   i m p l e m e n t i n g   t h e 
r e g i o n a l   p r o g r a m m e s   a n d   t h e   r e g i o n a l 
a l l o c a t i o n   s h a l l   b e   e x a m i n e d   u n d e r   t h e 
m i d - t e r m   r e v i e w   i n   t h e   l i g h t   o f   c u r r e n t 
n e e d s   a n d   p e r f o r m a n c e .   c o n s i d e r i n g 
t h e   s h o r t   p e r i o d   o f   t i m e   d u r i n g   w h i c h 
t h e   1 0 t h   E Df  re gi o n a l   p ro gra m m e s   h ave 
been implemented, it is too early to draw 
conclusions on the resources.

t h e r e   i s   a   n e e d   t o   f i r s t   c o n c e n t r a t e   o n 
strengthening the absorption capacit y of 
t h e   r e g i o n a l   o r g a n i s a t i o n s ,   r a t h e r   t h a n 
t o   a l r e a d y   e n v i s a g i n g   t h e   r e v i s i o n   o f 
t h e   vo l u m e   o f   re s o u rc e s   o f   t h e   re g i o n a l 
programmes.

59. 
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   i s   a w a r e   o f   t h e   n e e d 
t o  
i m p r o v e   t h e   m a n a g e m e n t   a n d 
coordination instruments for the regional 
i n t e g r a t i o n   a n d   t r a d e   p r o g r a m m e s   a n d 
i s   t a k i n g   t h e   n e c e s s a r y   s t e p s   i n   t h i s 
d i re c t i o n   ( g u i d e l i n e s,   s p e c i f i c   s e m i n a r s, 
focal points, etc.).

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

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rEpl Y of tHE 
commission

Recommendation 6 First indent
the commission agrees and effor ts are on-
going  to  improve  the  logical  framewor ks 
a c c o m p a n y i n g   p r o g r a m m e s / p r o j e c t s . 
th e   n e e d   fo r   s ma r t  i n d i c ato r s   h a s   b e e n 
s t r e s s e d   b y   t h e   Q u a l i t y   su p p o r t   gr o u p s 
(Qsgs) for all projec ts foreseen in the  aap 
2 0 0 9 .   c o n t i n u e d   p r e s s u r e   w i l l   b e   m a i n-
t a i n e d   t o   a c c o m p a n y   p r o g r a m m e s   w i t h 
i n d i c a to r s   re s p o n d i n g   to   t h e   s ma r t   c r i -
teria.

Recommendation 6 Second indent
the  commission  agrees. the  wor k  on  the 
i n d i c a t o r s   g o e s   h a n d   i n   h a n d   w i t h   i m-
p rov i n g   m& E   s ys te m s.   i n   a d d i t i o n ,   at   re -
gional level the ircc are in the process of 
improving  the  rip  monitor ing  system.  at 
comEsa level too, work is ongoing (nota-
bly for the risp programme) to develop a 
more comprehensive monitoring system.

Recommendation 5 First indent
the commission agrees with the cour t rec-
o m m e n d at i o n   to   f u r t h e r   i m p rove   co o rd-
i n a t i o n   b e t w e e n   r e g i o n a l   o r g a n i s a t i o n s 
and their member states and progress has 
a l r e a d y   b e e n   m a d e   i n   t h i s   r e s p e c t .   D e l-
e g a t i o n s   h ave   re c e i ve d   g u i d a n c e   i n   t h i s 
respec t during the februar y 2009 regional 
s e m i n a r   a n d   i n   a   fo l l o w - u p   n o t e   i n   J u l y 
2 0 0 9 .   m o r e o v e r,   t h e   Es a  rEcs   h a v e   a d-
justed  the  ircc ’s  mandate  to  ensure  bet-
ter coordination with national ac tions.

Recommendation 5 Second indent
t h e   co m m i s s i o n   a g re e s   a n d   wo r k   i s   o n-
going  with  the  ros  to  improve  m&E.  this 
wo r k   i s   b e i n g   s u p p o r te d   at   t h e   co m m i s-
s i o n' s   H Q s   l e ve l   w i t h   t h e   co m p i l a t i o n   o f 
a  ser ies  of  indicators  in  several  areas,  in-
cluding regional integration.

60.
t h e   c o m m i s s i o n   a g r e e s   a n d   w i l l   p a y 
s p e c i f i c   a t t e n t i o n   t o   e n s u r e   t h a t 
m o n i t o r i n g   a n d   e v a l u a t i o n   o f   t h e   E D f 
p ro j e c t s   a re   t i m e l y.   H owe ve r,   a s   s o m e   o f 
t h e s e   p ro j e c t s   s t a r t e d   i n   2 0 0 8 ,   i t   i s   s t i l l 
too early to judge on their final results.

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

special r eport no 18/2009 — Effectiveness of EDf support for r egional Economic i ntegration in East africa and West africa

European court of auditors

Special Report No 18/2009

Effectiveness of EDF support for Regional Economic Integration in East Africa and West Africa

luxembourg: publications office of the European union

2010 — 55 pp. — 21 × 29,7 cm

isBn 978-92-9207-615-3

doi:10.2865/96764

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in tHis  rEport, tHE  EuropEan  court  of  auDitors  analYsEs 

t H E   c o m m i s s i o n ’ s   a p p r o a c H   t o   r E g i o n a l   E c o n o m i c 

intEgration in East africa anD WEst africa, its managEmEnt 

of tHE  support  proviDED  anD tHE  rEsults  of  a  samplE  of 

proJEc ts.  tHE  rEport  contains  rEcommEnDations  WHicH 

aim  at  HElping  tHE  commission  to  improvE  its  approacH 

to,  anD  managEmEnt  of,  rEgional  Economic  intEgration 

programmEs.

EuropEan court of auDitors