COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Increasing the impact of EU Development Policy: an Agenda for Change
Date: 2011-10-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: coordination of aid, coordination of financing, democratisation, development aid, economic growth, human rights, poverty

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 13.10.2011 
COM(2011) 637 final 

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

Increasing the impact of EU Development Policy: an Agenda for Change 

{SEC(2011) 1172 final} 
{SEC(2011) 1173 final} 

 
 
 
 
  
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

Reducing poverty in a rapidly changing world ............................................................ 3 

Human rights, democracy and other key elements of good governance...................... 5 

Inclusive and sustainable growth for human development .......................................... 7 

Social protection, health, education and jobs............................................................... 7 

Business environment, regional integration and world markets .................................. 8 

Sustainable agriculture and energy .............................................................................. 8 

Differentiated development partnerships ..................................................................... 9 

Coordinated EU action............................................................................................... 10 

Improved coherence among EU policies ................................................................... 11 

Embracing the Agenda for Change ............................................................................ 12 

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1. 

REDUCING POVERTY IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD  

At a critical juncture - facing new global challenges, close to the 2015 target for achieving the 
Millennium  Development  Goals  (MDGs)  and  in  the  midst  of  preparations  for  the  next 
Multiannual  Financial  Framework  (MFF)  -  the  EU  must  choose  the  right  mix  of  policies, 
tools and resources to be effective and efficient in the fight against poverty in the context of 
sustainable development. The Commission is proposing an Agenda for Change to strengthen 
Europe’s solidarity with the world’s developing nations in this fight. 

As  the  Lisbon  Treaty  states,  supporting  developing  countries’  efforts  to  eradicate 
poverty  is  the  primary  objective  of  development  policy  and  a  priority  for  EU  external 
action  in  support  of  EU's  interests  for  a  stable  and  prosperous  world.  Development 
policy also helps address other global challenges and contributes to the EU-2020 Strategy.  

The EU has already done much to help reduce poverty and in particular to support the 
achievement of the MDGs. Yet severe poverty persists in many parts of the world. A series 
of  global  shocks  has  left  many  developing  countries  vulnerable.  As  the  world’s  population 
continues to grow, more action is needed to tackle global challenges like conflict prevention, 
security, environmental protection, climate change, and to deliver global public goods such as 
food security, access to water and sanitation, energy security and migration. 

Meanwhile, people-led movements in North Africa and the Middle East have highlighted that 
sound  progress  on  the  MDGs  is  essential,  but  not  sufficient.  This  leads  to  two  conclusions: 
first, that the objectives of development, democracy, human rights, good governance and 
security are intertwined; second, that it is critical for societies to offer a future to young 
people.  

EU  development  policy  must  take  into  account  the  increased  differentiation  between 
developing  countries.  Recently,  several  partner  countries  have  become  donors  in  their 
own  right,  while  others  are  facing  increasing  fragility.  The  EU  must  now  explore  new 
ways of working with them and promote a more inclusive international development agenda. 

There is also scope for the EU to work more closely with the private sector, foundations, 
civil society and local and regional authorities as their role in development grows.  

At  EU  level,  the  Lisbon  Treaty  has  firmly  anchored  development  policy  within  EU 
external  action.  The  creation  of  the  post  of  High  Representative/Vice-President  (HR/VP), 
assisted by the European External Action Service (EEAS), offers new opportunities for more 
effective development cooperation and more joined-up policy-making.  

The EU is not simply the 28th European donor. While the Commission implements 20 % of 
the collective EU aid effort, it also acts as coordinator, convener and policy-maker. The EU is 
an  economic  and  trading  partner,  and  its  political  dialogue,  security  policy  and  many  other 
policies - from trade, agriculture and fisheries to environment, climate, energy and migration - 
have a strong impact on developing countries. It must translate this multi-faceted role into 
different policy mixes adapted to each partner country. To be fully effective, the EU and 
its  Member  States  must  speak  and  act  as  one  to  achieve  better  results  and  to  improve  EU's 
visibility.  

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Difficult economic and budgetary times make it even more critical to ensure that aid is spent 
effectively, delivers the best possible results and is used to leverage further financing for 
development.  

With  this  new  context  in  mind,  in  2010  the  Commission  launched  a  consultation  on  EU 
development  policy1.  This  confirmed  the  relevance  of  the  existing  policy  framework,  while 
agreeing on the need to increase impact.  

Changes on a number of fronts are called for. In particular, the EU must seek to focus its offer 
to  partner  countries  where  it  can  have  the  greatest  impact  and  should  concentrate  its 
development cooperation in support of: 

– 

– 

human rights, democracy and other key elements of good governance; 

inclusive and sustainable growth for human development. 

To ensure best value for money, this should be accompanied by: 

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differentiated development partnerships; 

coordinated EU action; 

improved coherence among EU policies. 

The Commission proposes an Agenda for Change that would lead to: 

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an increased share of EU country and regional cooperation programmes dedicated to 
the policy priorities given in sections 2 and 3 below; 
the concentration of EU activities in each country on a maximum of three sectors; 
an increased volume and share of EU aid to the countries most in need and where the 
EU can have a real impact, including fragile states; 
enhanced  importance  of  human  rights,  democracy  and  good  governance  trends  in 
determining the mix of instruments and aid modalities at country level; 
continued support for social inclusion and human development through at least 20% 
of EU aid; 
a greater focus on investing in drivers for inclusive and sustainable economic growth, 
providing the backbone of efforts to reduce poverty; 
a  higher  share  of  EU  aid  through  innovative  financial  instruments,  including  under 
facilities for blending grants and loans; 
a  focus  on  helping  reduce  developing  countries'  exposure  to  global  shocks  such  as 
climate  change,  ecosystem  and  resource  degradation,  and  volatile  and  escalating 
energy and agricultural prices, by concentrating investment in sustainable agriculture 
and energy; 
tackling the challenges of security, fragility and transition; 
joint EU and Member States response strategies based on partners' own development 
strategies, with a sectoral division of labour; 
a common EU results reporting framework; 

COM(2010) 629 - http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/how/public-consultations/5241_en.htm 

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• 

improved  Policy  Coherence  for  Development,  including  through  new  thematic 
programmes that build synergies between global interests and poverty eradication. 

The  proposed  Agenda  for  Change  does  not  seek  to  re-write  basic  policy  principles.  There 
will  be  no  weakening  of  the  EU’s  overarching  objective  of  poverty  elimination  in  the 
context of sustainable development, as set out in the European Consensus on Development2. 
EU  commitments  on  financing  for  development,  MDG  achievement  and  aid  effectiveness 
remain firm, as do its ambitions as a political leader and key donor. 

Development  strategies  led  by  the  partner  country  will  continue  to  frame  EU  development 
cooperation  in  line  with  the  principles  of  ownership  and  partnership.  The  EU  is  seeking 
greater  reciprocal  engagement  with  its  partner  countries,  including  mutual  accountability 
for  results.  Dialogue  at  country  level  within  a  coordinated  donor  framework  should 
determine exactly where and how the EU intervenes. More effective collaboration within the 
multilateral system will also be pursued. 

2. 

HUMAN RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY AND OTHER KEY ELEMENTS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE 

Good governance, in its political, economic, social and environmental terms, is vital for 
inclusive and sustainable development. EU support to governance should feature more 
prominently in all partnerships, notably through incentives for results-oriented reform and a 
focus  on  partners’  commitments  to  human  rights,  democracy  and  the  rule  of  law  and  to 
meeting their peoples’ demands and needs.  

As long-term progress can only be driven by internal forces, an approach centred on political 
and  policy  dialogue  with  all  stakeholders  will  be  pursued.  The  mix  and  level  of  aid  will 
depend on the country’s situation, including its ability to conduct reforms.  

Support  for  governance  may  take  the  form  of  programmes  or  project-based  interventions  to 
support actors and processes at local, national and sectoral level. EU general budget support 
should  be  linked  to  the  governance  situation  and  political  dialogue  with  the  partner 
country, in coordination with the Member States3. 

Should  a  country  loosen  its  commitment  to  human  rights  and  democracy,  the  EU  should 
strengthen its cooperation with non-state actors and local authorities and use forms of aid 
that provide the poor with the support they need. At the same time, the EU should maintain 
dialogue with governments and non-state actors. In some cases, stricter conditionality will 
be warranted. 

The focus on results and mutual responsibility does not mean that the EU will neglect fragile 
situations where impact is slower or more difficult to measure. The EU should strive to help 
countries  in  situations  of  fragility  to  establish  functioning  and  accountable  institutions  that 
deliver basic services and support poverty reduction. Decisions to provide budget support to 
such countries will be taken on a case-by-case basis, weighing up the benefits, costs and risks.  

EU action should centre on: 

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2006/C 46/01. 
COM(2011) 638. 

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Democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The EU should continue to support 
democratisation,  free  and  fair  elections,  the  functioning  of  institutions,  media 
freedom and access to internet, protection of minorities, the rule of law and judicial 
systems in partner countries.  

Gender  equality  and  the  empowerment  of  women  as  development  actors  and 
peace-builders4  will  be  mainstreamed  in  all  EU  development  policies  and 
programmes through its 2010 Gender Action Plan.  

Public-sector  management  for  better  service  delivery.  The  EU  should  support 
national  programmes  to  improve  policy  formulation,  public  financial  management, 
including the setting up and reinforcement of audit, control and anti-fraud bodies and 
measures,  and  institutional  development,  including  human  resource  management. 
Domestic reform and pro-poor fiscal policies are vital.  

Tax  policy  and  administration.  The  EU  will  continue  to  promote  fair  and 
transparent  domestic  tax  systems  in  its  country  programmes,  in  line  with  the  EU 
principles of good governance in the tax area, alongside international initiatives and 
country by country reporting to enhance financial transparency. 

Corruption.  The  EU  should  help  its  partner  countries  tackle  corruption  through 
governance programmes that support advocacy, awareness-raising and reporting and 
increase the capacity of control and oversight bodies and the judiciary.  

Civil society and local authorities. Building on the ‘Structured Dialogue’5, the EU 
should strengthen its links with civil society organisations, social partners and local 
authorities, through regular dialogue and use of best practices. It should support the 
emergence of an organised local civil society able to act as a watchdog and partner in 
dialogue  with  national  governments.  The  EU  should  consider  ways  of  mobilising 
local  authorities’  expertise,  e.g.  through  networks  of  excellence  or  twinning 
exercises. 

Natural resources. The EU should scale up its support for oversight processes and 
bodies  and  continue  to  back  governance  reforms  that  promote  the  sustainable  and 
transparent management of natural resources, including raw materials and maritime 
resources, and ecosystem services, with particular attention to the dependence of the 
poor on them, especially smallholder farms.  

Development-security nexus. The EU should ensure that its objectives in the fields 
of development policy, peace-building, conflict prevention and international security 
(including cyber security) are mutually reinforcing. It should finalise and implement 
the requested Action Plan on security, fragility and development6. 

SEC(2010) 265 final. 
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/who/partners/civil-society/structured-dialogue_en.htm 
Council Conclusions 14919/07 and 15118/07. 

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3. 

INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 

Inclusive  and  sustainable  economic  growth  is  crucial  to  long-term  poverty  reduction  and 
growth patterns are as important as growth rates. To this end, the EU should encourage more 
inclusive  growth,  characterised  by  people’s  ability  to  participate  in,  and  benefit  from, 
wealth and job creation. The promotion of decent work covering job creation, guarantee of 
rights at work, social protection and social dialogue is vital.  

Development  is  not  sustainable  if  it  damages  the  environment,  biodiversity  and  natural 
resources and increases the exposure/vulnerability to natural disasters. EU development 
policy  should  promote  a  ‘green  economy’  that  can  generate  growth,  create  jobs  and  help 
reduce  poverty  by  valuing  and  investing  in  natural  capital7,  including  through  supporting 
market  opportunities  for  cleaner  technologies,  energy  and  resource  efficiency,  low-carbon 
development while stimulating innovation, the use of ICT, and reducing unsustainable use of 
natural resources. It should also contribute to improving the resilience of developing countries 
to the consequences of climate change. 

Public actors should forge partnerships with private companies, local communities and civil 
society. Corporate social responsibility at international and national level can help avoid a 
‘race  to  the  bottom’  on  human  rights,  international  social  and  environmental  standards  and 
promote responsible business conduct consistent with internationally recognised instruments. 

The EU should focus its support for inclusive and sustainable growth on:  

• 

• 

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those  sectors  which  build  the  foundations  for  growth  and  help  ensure  that  it  is 
inclusive, notably social protection, health and education; 

the  enabling  vectors  for  inclusive  and  sustainable  growth,  notably  a  stronger 
business environment and deeper regional integration;  

those  sectors  that  have  a  strong  multiplier  impact  on  developing  countries’ 
economies  and  contribute  to  environmental  protection,  climate  change  prevention 
and adaptation, notably sustainable agriculture and energy. 

3.1. 

Social protection, health, education and jobs 

The  EU  should  take  a  more  comprehensive  approach  to  human  development.  This 
involves  supporting  a  healthy  and  educated  population,  giving  the  workforce  skills  that 
respond  to  labour  market  needs,  developing  social  protection,  and  reducing  inequality  of 
opportunity.  

The  EU  should  support  sector  reforms  that  increase  access  to  quality  health  and  education 
services and strengthen local capacities to respond to global challenges. The EU should use its 
range of aid instruments, notably ‘sector reform contracts’ with intensified policy dialogue.  

The  EU  should  take  action  to  develop  and  strengthen  health  systems,  reduce  inequalities  in 
access  to  health  services,  promote  policy  coherence  and  increase  protection  against  global 
health threats so as to improve health outcomes for all.  

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COM(2011) 363 final. 

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The  EU  should  enhance  its  support  for  quality  education  to  give  young  people  the 
knowledge and skills to be active members of an evolving society. Through capacity-building 
and exchange of knowledge, the EU should support vocational training for employability and 
capacity to carry out and use the results of research. 

The EU should support the decent work agenda, social protection schemes and floors and 
encourage  policies  to  facilitate  regional  labour  mobility.  The  EU  will  support  targeted 
efforts to fully exploit the interrelationship between migration, mobility and employment. 

3.2. 

Business environment, regional integration and world markets 

Economic  growth  needs  a  favourable  business  environment.  The  EU  should  support  the 
development  of  competitive  local  private  sectors  including  by  building  local  institutional 
and  business  capacity,  promoting  SMEs  and  cooperatives,  supporting  legislative  and 
regulatory  framework  reforms  and  their  enforcement  (including  for  the  use  of  electronic 
communications as a tool to support growth across all sectors), facilitating access to business 
and financial services and promoting agricultural, industrial and innovation policies. This will 
also allow developing countries, especially the poorest, to harness the opportunities offered by 
globally  integrated  markets.  Better  and  more  targeted  Aid  for  Trade  and  trade  facilitation 
must accompany these efforts. 

In  the  same  vein,  crucial  to  developing  countries’  success  is  attracting  and  retaining 
substantial  private  domestic  and  foreign  investment  and  improving  infrastructure.  The 
EU should develop new ways of engaging with the private sector, notably with a view to 
leveraging private sector activity and resources for delivering public goods. It should explore 
up-front  grant  funding  and  risk-sharing  mechanisms  to  catalyse  public-private  partnerships 
and private investment. The EU should only invest in infrastructure, where the private sector 
cannot do so on commercial terms.  

The  EU  will  further  develop  blending  mechanisms  to  boost  financial  resources  for 
development, building on successful experiences such as the European investment facilities or 
the  EU-Africa  Trust  Fund  for  infrastructure.  In  selected  sectors  and  countries,  a  higher 
percentage  of  EU  development  resources  should  be  deployed  through  existing  or  new 
financial  instruments,  such  as  blending  grants  and  loans  and  other  risk-sharing 
mechanisms,  in  order  to  leverage  further  resources  and  thus  increase  impact.  This 
process  should  be  supported  by  an  EU  platform  for  Cooperation  and  Development 
incorporating the Commission, Member States and European financial institutions. 

Regional development and integration can spur trade and investment and foster peace and 
stability. The EU should support regional and continental integration efforts (including South-
South initiatives) through partners’ policies in areas such as markets, infrastructure and cross-
border  cooperation  on  water,  energy  and  security.  Support  will  be  offered  to  tackle 
competitiveness gaps, as part of the EU’s substantial and growing Aid for Trade activities, 
Economic  Partnership  Agreements  and  other  free  trade  agreements  with  developing 
regions. 

3.3. 

Sustainable agriculture and energy 

The EU should use its support in agriculture and energy to help insulate developing countries 
from shocks (such as scarcity of resources and supply, price volatility) and thus help provide 

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the foundations for sustainable growth. It should tackle inequalities, in particular to give poor 
people better access to land, food, water and energy without harming the environment.  

In  agriculture,  the  EU  should  support  sustainable  practices,  including  the  safeguarding  of 
ecosystem services, giving priority to locally-developed practices and focusing on smallholder 
agriculture  and  rural  livelihoods,  formation  of  producer  groups,  the  supply  and  marketing 
chain,  and  government  efforts  to  facilitate  responsible  private  investment.  The  EU  will 
continue  working  on  strengthening  nutritional  standards,  food  security  governance  and 
reducing food price volatility at international level. 

In energy, the EU should offer technology and expertise as well as development funding, and 
should focus  on  three  main challenges: price volatility and  energy  security; climate change, 
including  access  to  low  carbon  technologies;  and  access  to  secure,  affordable,  clean  and 
sustainable energy services8.  

In  both  sectors,  the  EU  should  support  capacity  development  and  technology  transfer, 
including in climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.  

The  EU  is  looking  for  long-term  partnerships  with  developing  countries,  based  on  mutual 
accountability.  

4. 

DIFFERENTIATED DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIPS  

The EU must seek to target its resources where they are needed most to address poverty 
reduction and where they could have greatest impact.  

Grant-based aid should not feature in geographic cooperation with more advanced developing 
countries  already  on  sustained  growth  paths  and/or  able  to  generate  enough  own  resources. 
Conversely, many other countries remain heavily reliant on external support to provide basic 
services to their people. In between, there is a spectrum of situations requiring different policy 
mixes and cooperation arrangements. A differentiated EU approach to aid allocation and 
partnerships is therefore key to achieving maximum impact and value for money.  

The EU should continue to recognise the particular importance of supporting development in 
its  own  neighbourhood9  and  in  Sub-Saharan  Africa10.  It  should,  in  all  regions,  allocate 
more funds than in the past to the countries most in need, including fragile states.  

More precisely, EU development assistance should be allocated according to: 

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Country  needs:  assessed  using  several  indicators,  taking  into  account,  inter  alia, 
economic  and  social/human  development  trends  and  the  growth  path  as  well  as 
vulnerability and fragility indicators.  

Capacities: assessed according to a country’s ability to generate sufficient financial 
resources, notably domestic resources, and its access to other sources of finance such 

Taking account of ongoing initiatives such as the UN High Level Group on Sustainable Energy for all. 
COM(2011) 303. 
Including through the Joint Africa-EU Strategy. 

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as  international  markets,  private  investment  or  natural  resources.  Absorption 
capacities should also be considered. 

– 

Country  commitments  and  performance:  positive  account  should  be  taken  of  a 
country’s  investment  in  education,  health  and  social  protection,  its  progress  on  the 
environment,  democracy  and  good  governance,  and  the  soundness  of  its  economic 
and fiscal policies, including financial management.  

– 

Potential EU impact: assessed through two cross-cutting objectives: 

(1) 

Increasing  the  extent  to  which  EU  cooperation  could  promote  and  support 
political,  economic,  social  and  environmental  policy  reforms  in  partner 
countries;  

(2) 

Increasing  the  leveraging  effect  that  EU  aid  could  have  on  other  sources  of 
finance for development, in particular private investment.  

Through  comprehensive  political  and  policy  dialogue  with  all  partner  countries,  the  EU 
should  define  the  most  appropriate  form  of  cooperation,  leading  to  informed  and  objective 
decisions on the most effective policy mix, aid levels, aid arrangements and the use of new 
and existing financial tools, and building on the EU's own experience in managing transition.  

For some countries this may result in less or no EU development grant aid and the pursuit of a 
different  development  relationship  based  on  loans,  technical  cooperation  or  support  for 
trilateral cooperation.  

In  situations  of  fragility,  specific  forms  of  support  should  be  defined  to  enable  recovery 
and  resilience,  notably  through  close  coordination  with  the  international  community  and 
proper  articulation  with  humanitarian  activities.  The  aim  should  be  to  maximise  national 
ownership both at state and local levels so as to secure stability and meet basic needs in the 
short term, while at the same time strengthening governance, capacity and economic growth, 
keeping state-building as a central element.  

This process of country-based decision-making would give the EU the flexibility to respond 
to unexpected events, notably natural or man-made disasters. 

5. 

COORDINATED EU ACTION  

Fragmentation  and  proliferation  of  aid  is  still  widespread  and  even  increasing,  despite 
considerable recent efforts to coordinate and harmonise donor activities. The EU must take a 
more active leadership role, as mandated by the Lisbon Treaty, and put forward proposals to 
make European aid more effective. 

Joint  programming  of  EU  and  Member  States’  aid  would  reduce  fragmentation  and 
increase its impact proportionally to commitment levels. The aim is for a simplified and faster 
programming process, to be largely carried out on the ground. 

Where  the  partner  country  has  formulated  its  own  strategy,  the  EU  should  support  it  by 
developing,  wherever  possible,  joint  multi-annual  programming  documents  with  the 

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Member States. Where the partner country has not done so, the EU will endeavour to develop 
a joint strategy with the Member States. 

This process would result in  a single joint programming document which  should indicate 
the  sectoral  division  of  labour  and  financial  allocations  per  sector  and  donor.  The  EU  and 
Member  States  should  follow  the  document  when  devising  their  bilateral  implementation 
plans.  Participation  should  be  open  to  non-EU  donors  committed  to  the  process  in  a  given 
country.  

To boost country ownership, joint programming should be synchronised with the strategy 
cycles of partner countries where possible. 

Operationally,  the  EU  and  Member  States  should  make  use  of  aid  modalities  that  facilitate 
joint action such as budget support (under a ‘single EU contract’), EU trust funds and 
delegated cooperation. 

On  cross-country  division  of  labour,  the  Commission  encourages  all  Member  States  to  be 
more transparent when entering or exiting, in line with the EU Code of Conduct on Division 
of Labour11. A coordinated approach is needed, including a coordination mechanism for 
cross-country division of labour. 

The  EU  should  develop  a  common  framework  for  measuring  and  communicating  the 
results of development policy, including for inclusive and sustainable growth. In line with the 
Operational Framework on Aid Effectiveness12, the EU will work with partner countries and 
other  donors  on  comprehensive  approaches  to  domestic  and  mutual  accountability  and 
transparency, including through the building of statistical capacity. 

Transparency is a cornerstone of effective and accountable aid. The Commission, which has 
adopted  the  International  Aid  Transparency  Initiative  standard,  is  already  one  of  the  most 
transparent donors. It should continue this effort, along with Member States.  

6. 

IMPROVED COHERENCE AMONG EU POLICIES 

The EU is at the forefront of the Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) agenda and will 
continue to evaluate the impact of its policies on development objectives. It will strengthen its 
country-level dialogue on PCD and continue to promote PCD in global fora to help shape an 
environment that supports the poorest countries’ efforts. 

The future MFF should reinforce PCD. Thematic programmes are envisaged as instruments to 
tackle  global  concerns  and  will  both  project  EU  policies  into  development  cooperation  and 
help eradicate poverty.  

The  EU  must  intensify  its  joined-up  approach  to  security  and  poverty,  where  necessary 
adapting  its  legal  bases  and  procedures.  The  EU's  development,  foreign  and  security  policy 
initiatives should be linked so as to create a more coherent approach to peace, state-building, 
poverty  reduction  and  the  underlying  causes  of  conflict.  The  EU  aims  to  ensure  a  smooth 

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9558/07. 
18239/10. 

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transition  from  humanitarian  aid  and  crisis  response  to  long-term  development 
cooperation.  

In terms of the development-migration nexus, the EU should assist developing countries in 
strengthening  their  policies,  capacities  and  activities  in  the  area  of  migration  and  mobility, 
with  a  view  to  maximising  the  development  impact  of  the  increased  regional  and  global 
mobility of people.  

7. 

EMBRACING THE AGENDA FOR CHANGE 

The  Commission  calls  on  the  Council  to  endorse  the  proposed  Agenda  for  Change  which 
seeks to: 

– 

– 

equip  the  EU  with  high-impact  development  policy  and  practice  for  the  coming 
decade  and  give  it  a  leading  role  in  setting  a  comprehensive  international 
development agenda up to and beyond 2015;  

support  the  change  needed  in  partner  countries  to  bring  about  faster  progress 
towards poverty reduction and the MDGs. 

The  Commission  services  and  EEAS  will  ensure  that  the  guiding  principles  set  out  in  this 
Communication are progressively reflected during the remainder of the current programming 
cycle  and  in  future  programming  documents,  as  well  as  in  the  proposals  regarding  the 
architecture, legislation and programming of future financial instruments for external action.  

Member States are urged to also implement the Agenda. 

EN 

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   EN