COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Improving EU support to developing countries in mobilising Financing for Development. Recommendations based on the 2012 EU Accountability Report on Financing for Development.
Date: 2012-07-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, EU financing, biodiversity, climate change, developing countries, development aid, international trade, migrant, sustainable development

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 9.7.2012  
COM(2012) 366 final 

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

Improving EU support to developing countries in mobilising Financing for 
Development. 

Recommendations based on the 2012 EU Accountability Report on Financing for 
Development. 
{SWD(2012) 199 final} 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

4.3. 

5. 

5.1. 

5.2. 

5.3. 

6. 

6.1. 

6.2. 

6.3. 

7. 

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

EU Support for Stronger Public Finances in Developing Countries............................ 4 

Increased Domestic Revenue Mobilisation.................................................................. 4 

Maintaining Sustainable Debt Levels .......................................................................... 4 

Fostering International Private Flows for Development.............................................. 5 

Trade as an Engine of Development ............................................................................ 5 

The Development Impact of Remittances.................................................................... 5 

Official Financing for Global Goals ............................................................................ 6 

Scaling up Official Development Assistance............................................................... 6 

Accounting for all ODA............................................................................................... 6 

Scaling up Funding for Tackling Climate Change and Preserving Biodiversity in the 
wider context of Sustainable Development.................................................................. 6 

Leveraging Development Finance and Seeking Synergies.......................................... 6 

Innovative Financing Sources ...................................................................................... 6 

Innovative Financing Mechanisms and Engaging Private Sector................................ 6 

Strengthening Synergies between various Financing Sources..................................... 6 

Making EU Actions more effective: Busan Implementation at Country Level........... 6 

Country-Level Results Frameworks ............................................................................ 6 

Mutual Accountability Frameworks ............................................................................ 6 

Reduced Fragmentation ............................................................................................... 6 

Conclusions .................................................................................................................. 6 

EN 

2 

   EN 

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

Improving EU support to developing countries in mobilising Financing for 
Development. 

Recommendations based on the 2012 EU Accountability Report on Financing for 
Development. 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  EU  has  constantly  been  the  driving  force  in  mobilising  international  support  for 
development:  it  is  the  largest  aid  donor  and  the  leader  in  aid  effectiveness,  the  largest  and 
most  open  market  for  developing  countries  and  is  at  the  forefront  promoting  the  three 
dimensions of sustainable development. 

This  standing  has  been  achieved  through  a  number  of  specific  EU  commitments  to  support 
developing countries in their efforts. Many of these contribute to the overall goal of helping 
developing countries to mobilise all sources of financing for development for achieving their 
development goals. 

The  international  Financing  for  Development  agenda,  set  at  the  Monterrey  conference1  in 
2002 and taken forward at the Doha conference in 2008, is a crucial ingredient in all major 
international discussions on issues requiring global cooperation. MDGs, international climate 
action, sustainable development, international trade negotiations — they all touch on how to 
finance progress towards the goals set. Rightly so, as taking into account the available means 
is essential for setting realistic goals. 

What are these means in the development context? By far the biggest source of financing for 
development available to governments is the domestic revenue — this also explains why the 
primary  responsibility  for  development  lies  with  the  developing  countries  themselves.  Aid 
from development partners complements this, and can catalyse other flows, but is in itself not 
the  major  element  for  many  developing  countries.  It  is,  however,  international  trade, 
investments  and  money  sent  back  home  by  migrants  that  can  stimulate  the  real  economy, 
given the right conditions. There are also outflows from developing countries, which need to 
be taken into account.  

Still,  donors  have  an  important  role  in  development  and  Official  Development  Assistance 
(ODA)  matters.  Firstly,  donors  can  take  action  that  supports  or  creates  leverage  for  other 
development  finance.  Secondly,  ODA  is  more  important to the poorest countries, who have 
limited  access  to  other  sources.  These  two  considerations  also  underpin  the  EU  Agenda  for 
Change. 

1 

International Conference on Financing for Development. 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
                                                 
At  the  same  time,  we  need  to  look  at  all  development  finance  —  domestically  mobilised 
finance, international inflows, and also outflows — as in reality developing countries have to 
design and implement their development policies taking into account the combination of the 
resources available. 

The EU and Member States, in contrast to other donors, have made various commitments in 
all areas of financing for development and annually monitored our progress towards these. 

This  Communication  builds  on  the  previous  progress  as  well  as  the  new  principles  set 
out in the Agenda for Change, and proposes improvements in EU support for mobilising 
development  finance.  These  proposals  are  based  on  data  presented  in  the  Staff  Working 
Document accompanying this Communication and the previous Reports published since 2003. 

2. 

EU SUPPORT FOR STRONGER PUBLIC FINANCES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 

2.1. 

Increased Domestic Revenue Mobilisation  

Domestic  revenues  tend  to  be  the  most  important  source  of  development  finance  directly 
available to governments. Considering that revenue collection levels2 in developing countries, 
and more so among Low Income Countries, are clearly below the global average, this is one 
area where significant additional efforts should be made. Increases in government revenue can 
translate directly into increased investment on development priorities, which also underlines 
the responsibility for spending it well. 

2 

Usually expressed as tax-to-GDP ratio. 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
                                                 
It is up to the partner government to enact and uphold the appropriate regulatory measures and 
policies to ensure that the virtuous cycle of tax collection-development spending-development 
progress-increased  tax  collection  materialises.  Donors  can  only  facilitate  this  process  if  the 
partner government is ready and committed. In this spirit, the EU should continue to increase 
its support to strengthen the capacity of tax systems in line with the three principles of Good 
Governance in the tax area (transparency, exchange of information and fair tax competition) 
and public financial management. 

Actions:  The  EU  and  its  Member  States  should  incorporate  tax  administration  and  fair  tax 
collection,  including  rationalising  tax  incentives  and  good  governance  in  tax  matters,  into 
policy dialogue with partner countries. 

In  addition,  donors  can  support  developing  countries  in  domestic  revenue  mobilisation  by 
regulatory  means.  To  combat  illicit  capital  flows  from  developing  countries,  the  EU 
contributes  to  improving  transparency  of  international  financial  flows,  e.g.  by  supporting 
capacity  in  identifying  misuse  of  transfer  pricing.  These  efforts  are  complemented  by 
cooperation initiatives such as strengthening the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative 
and adopting legislation for country by country reporting for multinational enterprises3. The 
EU and its Member States should continue these actions.  

2.2.  Maintaining Sustainable Debt Levels  

Ensuring that debt is sustainable is an integral part of good management of public finances, 
including  appropriate  macroeconomic  policies  to  ensure  stability.  The  prolonged  period  of 
economic crisis has reduced the ability of many developing countries to respond to possible 
additional shocks4, while also reducing the ability of developed countries to extend support. 

The  debt-management  capacities  of  developing  countries  and  their  resilience  against 
economic shocks should be enhanced further. The EU and its Member States have delivered 
on  their  debt-relief  commitments  and  increased  their  level  of  involvement.  The  EU  also 
monitors developing countries’ finances in cooperation with the IMF, and supports reforms in 
public-finance management, including debt management. 

In  the  light  of  the  increased  use  of  lending  mechanisms  for  developing  countries,  and  the 
increased share of non-Paris Club loans in developing countries’ debt portfolios, the EU and 
its  Member  States  should  continue  to  promote  responsible  lending  and  borrowing  practices, 
and  encourage  the  involvement  of  all  lenders  in  debt  workout  settlements.  Five  Member 
States have also taken specific action to prevent litigation by distressed-debt funds in respect 
of developing countries, and such measures should be expanded. 

Actions:  The  EU  and  its  Member  States  should  i)  continue  to  use  responsible  lending 
practices, including in blending and in export-credit operations, ii) push for the participation 
of  non-Paris  Club  members  in  debt  workout  settlements,  and  iii)  take  national  action  to 
restrict litigation against developing countries by distressed-debt funds. 

COM(2011) 637 final,  

3 
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0637:FIN:EN:PDF  
4 

http://www.imf.org/external/pp/longres.aspx?id=4611  

EN 

5 

   EN 

                                                 
3. 

FOSTERING INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE FLOWS FOR DEVELOPMENT 

3.1. 

Trade as an Engine of Development  

International  trade  is  the  biggest  source  of  external  finance  for  developing  countries. 
However, emerging economies and more generally Middle Income Countries have been able 
to  take  better  advantage  of  international  trade  than  do  Least  Developed  Countries  (LDCs). 
Further  efforts  are  needed  to  better  integrate  LDCs  and  other  countries  most  in  need  in  the 
Multilateral Trading System.  

Overall,  the  EU  is  the  biggest  trade  partner  and  the  most  open  market  for  developing 
countries,  accounting  for  16%  of  their  total  trade.  The  EU  works  steadily  to  improve 
coherence  and  complementarity  between  its  trade  and  development  policies.5  Furthermore, 
the  recent  Communication  on  "Trade,  Growth  and  Development"6  sets  new  orientations  for 
the next decade on ways to improve the contribution of the EU’s trade and investment policies 
to inclusive growth and sustainable development. Like the Agenda for Change, the new EU 
trade  and  development  policy  will  be  based  on  greater  differentiation  among  developing 
countries, prioritising LDCs and other countries most in need. 

Alongside  the  significant  policy  support,  EU  development  assistance  also  reflects  this 
commitment.  The  total  Aid  for  Trade  funds  committed  by  the  EU  and  Member  States 
amounted to EUR 10.7 billion in 2010. The EU and its Member States exceeded already in 
2008  the  specific  target  to  increase  Trade-Related  Assistance  to  EUR  2  billion  per  year  by 
2010. Africa remains the primary target of EU Aid for Trade (38 %), but the share of LDCs 
decreased  to  16 %  from  23 %  in  2009.  This  is  partially  due  to  cyclical  and  programming 
factors, but it also indicates the need to implement the orientations of the Communication on 
"Trade, Growth and Development". Concerning future financing commitments, The EU Aid 
for  Trade  Strategy  makes  a  commitment  to  increase  Aid  for  Trade  in  coherence  with  the 
gradual increase of overall EU aid. 

3.2. 

The Development Impact of Remittances 

 267.5 billion in 2011 and 
Global remittance flows to developing countries were estimated at €
are expected  to  grow at a rate of 7-8  per cent annually7. However remittances from  the EU 
have kept momentum since 20088. While these are private flows, the figures underline their 
potential  for  development  impact;  achieving  the  G8  target  of  reducing  the  cost  of  sending 
remittances  to  5 %  would  increase  the  funds  reaching  developing  countries  by  around  €
 11 
billion9.  

At EU level, significant progress has been made in making remittance services cheaper, more 
transparent, more competitive and more reliable, through initiatives such as the transposition 
of  the  2007  Payment  Services  Directive  (PSD)  into  the  national  legislation  of  a  majority  of 
EU  Member  States,  the  setting  up  by  several  EU  Member  States  of  remittance  price 
comparison  websites  and  support  to  developing  countries'  capacities  to  maximise  the 
development  contribution  of  remittances.  Like  trade  policy,  this  issue  is  analysed  in  greater 

5 
6 
7 

8 
9 

See: EU 2011 Report on Policy Coherence for Development (PCD), SEC(2011) 1627 final. 
COM(2012)22 final of 27 January 2012, http://ec.europa.eu/trade/wider-agenda/development/  
Migration  and  Development  Brief  No  17,  World  Bank,  Migration  and  Remittances  unit,  December 
2011.  
Eurostat Statistic Focus 4/2012. 
‘Innovation With Impact: Financing 21st Century Development’, Report by Bill Gates to G20 leaders, 
Cannes Summit, November 2011. 

EN 

6 

   EN 

                                                 
detail in the EU PCD report. The EU has outlined the necessary actions in the Communication 
on ‘The global approach to migration and mobility’10, as well as in the accompanying Staff 
Working  Paper11,  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  need  to  implement  the  commitments 
confirmed in the 29 May 2012 Council Conclusions12 to maximise the development impact of 
migration and mobility. 

4. 

OFFICIAL FINANCING FOR GLOBAL GOALS 

4.1. 

Scaling up Official Development Assistance 

ODA is a key resource for development, especially for the poorest countries. Unfortunately, 
 53.5 billion in 2010. This 
in 2011 the EU’s collective ODA decreased to €
limited reduction, in a context of sharp budget cuts due to the ongoing economic crisis, brings 
the  EU  ODA  level  to  0.42 %  of  GNI,  down  from  the  2010  outcome  of  0.44 %  of  GNI. 
Nevertheless, the EU is by far the biggest global ODA donor, accounting for over half of the 
total ODA to developing countries. 

 53.1 billion from €

The  EU  Foreign  Affairs  Council  of  14  May  2012  adopted  the  ‘Annual  Report  2012  to  the 
European  Council  on  EU  Development  Aid  Targets’13,  expressing  serious  concern  over  the 
slow progress towards the ambitious EU target of 0.7 % ODA/GNI by 2015. 

Reflecting the strong EU commitment to focus on the poorest, the EU and its Member States 
have  also  made  specific  commitments  to  increase  aid  to  Africa  and  Least  Developed 
Countries.  Since  committing  in  2005  to  direct  50 %  of  EU  aid  increases  to  Africa,  the 
combined EU aid to Africa has risen by about EUR 6.2 billion at constant prices so that 28 % 
of total EU ODA growth between 2004 and 2011 went to Africa. While short of the target, 
most EU Member States are taking steps to increase the ODA targeted at Africa and stress the 
 25.3 
importance of Africa’s share in their overall ODA. In 2011, EU ODA to Africa stood at €
billion, accounting for a significant 43 % of total EU ODA. 

Also, in 2011 the EU fulfilled for the first time its commitment to collectively provide at least 
0.15 %  of  GNI  to  LDCs.  The  LDCs’  share  of  EU  ODA  has  increased  over  the  years  and 
reached 35 % in 2011; this is EUR 18.8 billion or 0.15 % of GNI. 

4.2. 

Accounting for all ODA 

With  greater  use  of  a  differentiated  approach  to  development  and  aiming  to  increase  the 
impact  of  funding,  donors  are  using  more  loans  as  a  development  tool,  especially  for  more 
advanced developing countries. This calls for a clearer understanding of how the concessional 
character  of  loans  is  determined  in  accounting  for  ODA,  to  avoid  artificially  inflating  or 
deflating ODA figures, and ensure comparable information on donors. 

Action: To this end, the EU and its Member States should agree that the existing method for 
determining concessionality of loans and equity in ODA reporting needs to be clearly defined 
in the OECD DAC, ensuring equal treatment of all donors. 

10 
11 
12 
13 

COM(2011) 743. 
SEC(2011) 1353. 
9417/12 
9372/12; http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/12/st09/st09372.en12.pdf  

EN 

7 

   EN 

                                                 
4.3. 

Scaling  up  Funding  for  Tackling  Climate  Change  and  Preserving  Biodiversity 
in the wider context of Sustainable Development 

Sustainable development including social development, economic growth and environmental 
protection  is  a  key  global  challenge.  The  EU  is  helping  developing  countries  to  devise  an 
inclusive approach to addressing all of its elements, including decent work, labour standards 
and  environmental  protection  through  various  specific  actions  as  well  as  through 
mainstreaming, while promoting a unified approach in the provision of support. At the recent 
United  Nations  Conference  on  Sustainable  Development  in  Rio,  the  EU  renewed  its 
commitment  to  support  all  aspects  of  sustainable  development.  On  some  areas,  the  EU  has 
taken specific financial commitments.  

As regards climate finance, the EU and its Member States are by far the largest contributor, 
accounting in 2010 for more than 70 % of both mitigation-related and adaptation-related ODA 
globally. The EU remains on track to achieve the goal of providing fast-start climate finance 
of EUR 7.2 billion over the period 2010-2012, having delivered another EUR 2.33 billion in 
2011. The details of EU progress on the latter have already been presented in May14. The EU 
also reiterated the commitment for doing its fair share in the context of the longer term global 
financial  pledge  of  USD  100  billion  per  annum  by  2020,  and  confirmed  the  continued 
importance of transparent reporting on progress made. 

Also,  the  EU  has  adopted  the  ‘EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  to  2020’,  which  reconfirms  the 
commitment  to  support  developing  countries  in  implementing  international  biodiversity 
agreements, including by substantially increasing resource mobilisation to this end. In 2010, 
EU collective biodiversity-related ODA stood at EUR 3 billion.  

Addressing all these challenges means mobilising significant resources from all possible areas 
of financing for development. But it also means that financing for these policy areas cannot be 
seen separately from the domestic policy environment of partner countries, e.g. the fossil fuel 
 309  billion  in  201015 
subsidies  in  emerging  and  developing  countries  which  amounted  to  €
and which more than offset the effects of financing provided to reduce global greenhouse gas 
emissions.  This  also  shows  that  EU  should  continue  to  promote  policies  in  both  donor  and 
partner countries that reinforce each other to leverage the best possible development results. 

5. 

LEVERAGING DEVELOPMENT FINANCE AND SEEKING SYNERGIES 

5.1. 

Innovative Financing Sources  

‘Innovative  financing’  is  considered  an  important  financing  source  for  most  global  public 
goods,  including  addressing  global  development  challenges.  At  the  same  time,  given  their 
innovative nature, it is impossible to establish a complete list of sources and mechanisms that 
fall  under  this  term.  Because  of  this,  the  estimated  potential  of  innovative  financing  to 
mobilise new funds varies greatly. 

14 
15 

EN 

10029/12, http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/12/st10/st10029.en12.pdf  
e.g.  OECD 
Climate 
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/28/18/44287948.pdf  

Tackling 

Change 

(2011), 

and  Growing 

the 

Economy. 

8 

   EN 

                                                 
The  Commission  has  proposed  an  EU-wide  financial  transaction  tax,  strongly  supported  by 
the  European  Parliament16,  which  would  contribute  through  the  EU  budget  also  to  tackling 
global challenges. Although not explicitly directed to development financing, it would reduce 
the share of other resources in the EU budget, in the magnitude of EUR 54 billion by 202017, 
which  could  in  turn  make  it  easier  for  Member  States  to  mobilise  funding  required  for 
meeting  aid  targets  and  tackling  other  global  challenges.  Another  potential  source  of 
increasing importance is the revenue from the Emissions Trading System that some Member 
States already partly direct towards supporting developing countries. 

Action: The Council should adopt the proposed EU-level Financial Transaction Tax. 

5.2. 

Innovative Financing Mechanisms and Engaging Private Sector 

There is an increasing range of ways to collect and pool revenues, use traditional development 
finance  and  deliver  aid.  Engaging  the  private  sector  in  development  financing  is  another 
innovative way of mobilising new funds. 

In  many  developing  countries,  the  expansion  of  the  private  sector  is  a  powerful  engine  of 
economic  growth  and  the  main  source  of  job  creation.  Foreign  investment  also  plays  an 
important  role,  including  through  domestic  firms’  linkages  to  international  markets  and 
through investments. One of the main challenges for governments in developing countries is 
to  ensure  an  environment  that  supports  private  sector  development.  This  often  requires  far-
reaching economic reforms aimed at improving the investment climate and facilitating access 
to  finance.  Accordingly,  and  as  outlined  in  the  EU  Agenda  for  Change18,  the  EU  should 
continue to assist partner countries’ efforts to improve their business environment with a view 
to fostering inclusive growth.  

The  EU  promotes  actively  the  Corporate  Social  Responsibility  (CSR)  principles  including 
human and labour rights, decent work parameters, as well as attention to local environmental 
conditions. The recent Commission Communication on CSR19 outlined this in detail and the 
Council took specific commitments in its Conclusions on “Reinforcing Industrial Policy in the 
EU”20.  

The EU should also use its grants more strategically and effectively for leveraging public and 
private  sector  resources.  Half  of  the  Member  States  are  already  actively  engaged  in  several 
innovative  mechanisms.  The  EU  and  Member  States,  together  with  European  and 
International  public  financing  institutions  are  actively  collaborating  though  various  regional 
blending mechanisms which are expected to be further scaled up in future in order to leverage 
grant  resources.  This  includes  the  potential  to  make  greater  use  of  guarantee  mechanisms, 
equity investments and other types of innovative financing. In this context, the EU is currently 
exploring  with  Member  States  and  financing  institutions,  the  establishment  of  an  "EU 
Platform  for  External  Cooperation  and  Development"  to  maximise  the  impact  of  resources 

16

17

18 
19 
20 

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/12/375&format=HTML&ag

ed=0&language=en&guiLanguage=en  

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/12/300&format=PDF&aged=0&l

anguage=EN&guiLanguage=fr  
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/what/development-policies/documents/agenda_for_change_en.pdf  
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sustainable-business/files/csr/new-csr/act_en.pdf  
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/intm/126548.pdf  

EN 

9 

   EN 

                                                 
 
 
through  enhanced  cooperation,  coherence,  monitoring  and  development  of  new  innovative 
financing mechanisms. 

Action:  The  EU,  Member  States  and  public  financing  institutions  should  step  up  efforts  for 
increased  use  of  innovative  financing  mechanisms  on  a  coherent,  coordinated  and  strategic 
basis.  The  EU  should  leverage  more  private  resources  and  capacities  through  blending 
mechanisms  that  can  crowd-in  additional  private  and  public  financing:  i)  create  a  private 
sector window within the regional blending mechanisms, ii) make greater use of risk-sharing 
mechanisms  such  as  guarantees  that  can  unlock  investments  and  iii)  promote  investments 
through  instruments  that  entail  improved  risk  management  and  equity  participation  in 
structured funds.  

5.3. 

Strengthening Synergies between various Financing Sources 

The  resources  covered  in  the  previous  chapters  are  intrinsically  linked  to  each  other,  as  are 
also  the  global  challenges  these  need  to  address.  Ultimately,  each  country  needs  to  find  its 
individual balance between these priorities in domestic implementation for delivering the best 
compound return on all fronts. However, the tendency for different policy areas to ‘compete’ 
for resources contributes to aid fragmentation and less development effectiveness. This can be 
observed in the overlap of financing sources through which the various challenges can be met, 
with all parties vying for more domestic resources and international finance, increased private 
sector  engagement  and  use  of  innovative  mechanisms.  Therefore,  there  is  scope  for  finding 
synergies between all these policies.  

In this light, the tendency to set boundaries between policy areas and instruments can prove 
counterproductive.  While  in  theory  locking  in  expenditure  on  specific  policies,  the  artificial 
categories  will  restrict  the  policy  space  of  countries  to  target  resources  according  to  what 
brings  best  results  in  the  national  context.  While  there  are  early  signs  of  an  emerging 
international consensus that a  joined-up approach is needed to tackle global challenges, this 
will  need  further  analytical  work  and  a  cross-cutting  approach  to  avoid  undermining  policy 
goals. 

Action: The EU and its Member States should support an integrated approach to development 
financing, including monitoring its various elements, possibly in the context of the discussions 
on a post-2015 development framework, and should establish a common EU position on this. 

6. 

MAKING  EU  ACTIONS  MORE  EFFECTIVE:  BUSAN  IMPLEMENTATION  AT  COUNTRY 
LEVEL 

In responding to the outcomes of the Busan High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, the EU 
should  focus  on  country-level  implementation  of  aid  and  development  effectiveness 
commitments, in particular through supporting partner country capacity and leadership to set 
priorities  and  achieve  results.  The  EU  has  in  place  a  broad  spectrum  of  guidance  for  this 
purpose:  the  EU  Common  Position  for  Busan,  the  Operational  Framework  on  Aid 
Effectiveness  and  the  EU  Code  of  Conduct  on  Complementarity  and  Division  of  Labour. 
These remain valid; however, some key issues should be prioritised for collective EU action 
at the country level in line with Busan outcomes and the Council Conclusions on the Agenda 
for Change. 

EN 

10 

   EN 

6.1. 

Country-Level Results Frameworks 

Focus on results was identified in Busan as a major priority. The Busan outcome document 
states that all development partners should rely to the maximum extent possible on country-
led and country-level results frameworks as a common tool to monitor outputs and outcomes 
drawn from the development goals of partner countries.  

Considerable work is still required in establishing and using country-level results frameworks. 
While  acknowledging  partner  countries’  lead,  the  EU  should  play  an  active  role  in  this 
process  in  coordination  with  existing  initiatives.  EU  collective  action  should  follow  the 
approach for mutual accountability frameworks as set out in the EU Operational Framework, 
namely  EU  Delegations  initiating  discussions  to  support  existing  frameworks  and  develop 
new ones together with Member States, partner countries and other stakeholders. 

6.2.  Mutual Accountability Frameworks 

Country-level  mutual  accountability  frameworks  are  key  tools  with  which  to  foster  the 
implementation of aid and development effectiveness commitments on the ground. These are 
also  likely  to  be  instrumental  in  any  future  monitoring  within  the  Global  Partnership  for 
Effective Development Cooperation. 

The full potential of mutual accountability frameworks is yet to be tapped, thus collective EU 
support to strengthen or establish these frameworks is timely. This support should be provided 
under  partner  country  leadership  and  in  coordination  with  other  processes  and  actors,  and 
giving consideration to the expected supporting role of UNDP country offices. The EU should 
place  particular  emphasis  on  how  to  address  in  these  frameworks  the  partner  countries’ 
priorities in relation to Busan, including the use of country systems and capacity development. 

6.3. 

Reduced Fragmentation 

Development  partners  committed  themselves  in  Busan  to  increased  use  of  country-led 
coordination arrangements to reduce fragmentation. Collective EU action on the ground is of 
particular value as the Fast Track Initiative on Complementarity and Division of Labour has 
built EU experience in this area and should be pursued, preparing the ground for further joint 
programming. 

Donor mapping is one of the activities that can enhance in-country division of labour. In line 
with Busan priorities, the EU and its Member States should expand country-level mapping to 
cover the support they give to climate action based on Fast Track Initiative methodology and 
building  on  the  OECD  Rio  Marker  system.  It  would  complement  the  EU’s  and  Member 
States’  potential  measures  to  support  national  strategies  for  climate  action  and  promote  the 
integration of climate risks into development strategies. 

Action:  Collective  EU  action  to  strengthen  country-level  implementation  of  aid  and 
development effectiveness commitments based on the EU Operational Framework through i) 
supporting  country-level  results  and  mutual  accountability  frameworks,  and  ii)  continued 
division  of  labour  activities,  including  mapping  of  EU  support  for  climate  action  at  the 
country level, leading to conducive environments for joint programming. 

EN 

11 

   EN 

7. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The  next  three  years  will  see  important  developments.  The  EU  will  need  to  deliver  on  its 
commitments and prepare a common and coherent approach also on the means for reaching 
any new goals. Even with the changing global context, the EU has to remain focused on the 
essential objective: providing the best support it can to developing countries in mobilising all 
available resources for development.  

EN 

12 

   EN