Development and cooperation : fighting poverty in a changing world.
Date: 2014-06-06
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communication
Subjects: EU aid, European Union, European cooperation, aid policy, developing countries, development aid, development plan, development policy, economic development, integrated development programme, international aid, poverty, public awareness campaign, social development, sustainable development

T H E   E U R O P E A N  
U N I O N  
E X P L A I N E D

Fighting 
poverty in a 
changing world

Development 
and 
cooperation

‘It is recognised today that we have 
the technological, financial and 
material resources to eliminate 
extreme poverty from our planet by 
2030. There is no excuse not to do so.’

And r is P ieb al gs , Eu r op ean 
C o mm i ss io ner fo r D evel o p m ent

CONTENTS

Why we need an EU development  
and cooperation policy
More than the sum of its parts  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . . 3

How the EU goes about it
A customised approach  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . . 6

What the EU does
From words to action  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . . 9

Outlook
Living up to our ambitions .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 15

Find out more  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 16

The European Union explained: Development and 
cooperation

European Commission
Directorate-General for Communication
Publications
1049 Brussels
BELGIUM

Manuscript completed in February 2014

Cover and page 2 picture: © iStockphoto.com/lucadp

pp. 16 — 21 × 29.7 cm
ISBN 978-92-79-24205-2
doi:10.2775/56933

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 
2014

© European Union, 2014
Reproduction is authorised. For any use or reproduction 
of individual photos, permission must be sought directly 
from the copyright holders.

THE EUROPEAN UNION 
EXPLAINED

This publication is a part of a series that explains  

what the EU does in different policy areas,  

why the EU is involved and what the results are.
You can see online which ones are available  
and download them at:
http://europa.eu/pol/index_en.htm

How the EU works
Europe 2020: Europe’s growth strategy
The founding fathers of the EU

Agriculture
Borders and security
Budget
Climate action
Competition 
Consumers
Culture and audiovisual
Customs

Development and cooperation 

Digital agenda
Economic and monetary union and the euro 
Education, training, youth and sport
Employment and social affairs
Energy
Enlargement
Enterprise
Environment
Fight against fraud
Fisheries and maritime affairs 
Food safety
Foreign affairs and security policy
Humanitarian aid and civil protection
Internal market 
Justice, citizenship, fundamental rights
Migration and asylum
Public health
Regional policy
Research and innovation
Taxation
Trade
Transport

3

Why we need an EU development and 
cooperation policy

More than the sum of its parts

With €55.2 billion of official development assistance 
made available in 2012, the European institutions 
and 28 EU countries together provided for more than 
half of global official aid, making it the biggest donor 
worldwide. 

The European Commission, meanwhile, provided  
over €13.5 billion of external aid in 2012. The EU’s 
strong commitment to help developing countries catch 
up is both an expression of solidarity and a means of 
achieving a safer and more prosperous world. Joining 
forces at European level has proved effective in many 
ways: due to its unique position, the EU can take action 
where single countries cannot make as much difference.

Solidarity at the heart of European 
construction

Development cooperation has been part of the 
European integration process from the beginning. The 
Treaty of Rome (1957) provided for the creation of the 
European Development Fund to grant assistance to 
colonies and overseas territories. When decolonisation 
began in the early 1960s, Member States agreed 
to share part of the cost of supporting their former 
colonies following their independence. The policy 
was gradually extended to include more and more 
developing countries in Asia, Latin America and the 
European neighbourhood. 

The EU has a global presence in 140 countries,  
wide-ranging expertise and a unique credibility and 
neutrality when it comes to human rights, electoral 
observation, governance and crisis resolution.  
The EU programmes stretch over several years,  
thus mobilising long-term and predictable aid.  
Both are essential factors in achieving sustainability  
in development. 

The year 2000 saw the signature of the far-reaching 
Cotonou Agreement between the EU and African, 
Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. This trade and 
aid agreement is the most comprehensive partnership 
between ACP countries and the EU to date and was 
concluded for a 20-year period. It aims to work together 
to eradicate poverty and to help ACP countries integrate 
into the world economy. 

The EU plays a role in coordinating the actions of  
the different donors. Thanks to its supranational 
dimension, it can set ambitious joint objectives  
and map out comprehensive solutions to global 
development challenges. In the current economic 
climate, avoiding duplication makes more sense than 
ever. Finally, the EU has the critical weight to respond  
to global challenges.

The EU’s development activities are coordinated with 
its efforts in other fields, such as humanitarian aid, 
environment, security and trade policy. 

Additional financial instruments, such as the 
Development Cooperation Instrument and the European 
Neighbourhood Instrument, allow the EU to pursue its 
work in other parts of the world.

Furthermore, in 2000, the EU committed itself to 
supporting the United Nations millennium development 
goals to reduce extreme poverty by 2015.

The Treaty of Lisbon has further strengthened the 
legal basis for EU development cooperation. It clearly 
states that the reduction and the eradication of 
poverty are the primary objectives of the Union’s 
development cooperation policy. This goal must be 
respected when the Union implements policies likely 
to affect developing countries. This implies also that 
development policy is a policy in its own right.

DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION A key contribution to the millennium 
development goals

At the United Nations summit in 2000, the 
EU joined global leaders in their pledge to 
eradicate poverty by 2015. Eight 
millennium development goals were 
identified:

 — eradicating extreme poverty and 

hunger; 

 — achieving universal primary education; 

 — promoting gender equality; 

 — reducing child mortality; 

 — improving maternal health; 

 — combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and  

other diseases; 

 — ensuring environmental sustainability; 

 — developing a global partnership.

Constantly striving for greater 
efficiency

The millennium development goals are at the heart 
of the European work on development cooperation 
and form its key objectives. Mobilising the necessary 
funding is part of the challenge of achieving these 
goals. To this end, the United Nations International 
Conference on Financing for Development was held in 
Monterrey, Mexico, in 2002, leading to the Monterrey 
consensus, in which heads of state or government 
committed to mobilise all sources of development 
finance (domestic and international, public and private), 
including by substantially stepping up development 
assistance.

Ever since, the EU has performed annual reviews of its 
collective contribution to developing countries.

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Children on the road between Keren and Barentu, Eritrea.  
The EU helped the country get back on its feet following the 
border war with Ethiopia in 1998.

‘Agenda for change’: the EU’s response 
to new challenges

To deliver on development objectives, the EU 
policies must keep up with a rapidly changing global 
environment. From the scarcity of natural resources to 
growth in emerging economies and consequences of 
the economic crisis, new challenges and opportunities 
require the EU to adapt its development cooperation. 

The ‘Agenda for change’, adopted in 2011, is a strategy 
to reduce poverty by introducing key changes in the way 
EU assistance is delivered. These include the following 
changes.

•  Differentiation: a double-focused approach of 

granting aid in countries where development aid can 
have the greatest impact and where aid is needed 
most. The most efficient type of support should be 
defined, based on the situation of each country.

•  Focusing EU activities on a maximum of three sectors 

per country.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
 
•  Improving EU coordination for better development 

impact and results.

Integrated action to lift people out  
of poverty 

5

•  Emphasising human rights, democracy and good 

governance, drawing on lessons learnt from recent 
changes in north Africa and the Middle East.

•  Increasing support for inclusive and sustainable 

growth by engaging more actively in strategic sectors 
such as agriculture and energy, and promoting private 
sector development.

•  Maximising policy coherence to ensure that 

development aspects are taken into account in all 
areas of EU action. This will enable the EU to address 
the link between development and trade, for instance.

High hopes, high stakes

While the proportion of people living in extreme poverty 
in developing countries dropped from 46 to 27 % 
between 1990 and 2005, around 1.2 billion people 
worldwide still live below the internationally defined 
poverty line of $1.25 a day. These figures highlight both 
the encouraging progress achieved and the scale of the 
challenges that still lie ahead.

More than a decade after the adoption of the 
millennium development goals, many countries have 
emerged out of poverty and conflict. Some of them 
have become responsible international donors and 
dynamic economies. Unfortunately, many have also 
slipped back into deeper poverty, conflict and insecurity 
and some still deny basic human rights to their citizens.

Poverty is not the only issue at stake. Recent uprisings, 
especially in the Mediterranean area, have highlighted 
that development must go hand-in-hand with defending 
human rights and freedoms. The EU is integrating these 
issues into all aspects of its development policy. 

The EU pays specific attention to the most vulnerable 
countries. Nearly half of its development aid goes 
to fragile states. In crisis-prone countries, home to 
the world’s most vulnerable populations, aid will be 
increasingly geared towards peace-building and state-
building to improve its quality and maximise impact. 
In post-crisis situations, after conflicts or natural 
disasters, all donors will be encouraged to ensure a 
smooth transition from humanitarian aid to sustainable 
development aid and to improve coordination to help 
bring stability. The EU is a key partner in this ‘new deal’ 
for fragile states.

Development policy is linked to major global issues that 
the EU is working on with its partners. From climate 
change and security concerns, such as terrorism or 
human trafficking, to migration and energy security: 
development cooperation can make a positive 
contribution to the EU’s action in the world.

Working with developing nations also plays a role in 
achieving the growth objectives the EU has set for the 
coming years. Working in partnership with developing 
countries and emerging economies fosters smart, 
sustainable and inclusive growth, in line with its Europe 
2020 strategy. Boosting prosperity and promoting open 
and fair markets worldwide creates a win-win situation 
in which both the partner countries and the EU reap 
economic benefits.

Efficient spending is vital. The EU aims to make the best 
use of available funds through coordinated EU action. 

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EU cooperation with Sudan focuses on linking relief, 
rehabilitation and development, as in this camp for the 
displaced in North Darfur. 

DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION  
 
 
6

How the EU goes about it

A customised approach

The EU combines different strategies to deliver aid to 
countries in need. The aid is mainly made available 
through projects, grants and contracts but also through 
sector and budget support.

  To benefit from budget support, countries must show 
commitment to human rights, democracy and rule 
of law, and fulfil rigorous criteria, including public 
financial management. 

•  Projects, grants and contracts 

•  Sector support 

A project is a series of activities carried out to reach 
specific objectives within a defined time period and 
budget. Grants are direct financial contributions to 
organisations or to projects run by them. Grants are 
attributed to the best candidates through calls for 
proposals. Contracts are awarded through tender 
procedures to purchase services, supplies or works.

A large part of the development funding made 
available by the EU targets specific sectors in partner 
countries such as energy, agriculture or education. 
Sectors are supported by giving a financial boost to 
programmes run by the partner countries. Funding 
can translate into sector budget support, grants and 
contracts or pool resources from different donors.

•  Budget support 

Budget support involves financial transfers to the 
national treasury of the partner country, combined 
with intense policy dialogue. It also entails measures 
to assess and improve the impact of these funds. 
Based on partnerships and mutual responsibility, 
budget support is an important tool to finance 
partner country development strategies. Aid delivery 
is adapted to the needs identified by a given country 
and strong emphasis is put on nationally owned 
strategies.

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Lida and Alina from 
Cazanesti in Moldova have 
benefited from EU support to 
social services in the country. 

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
7

A horizontal and a vertical approach

The EU’s development funding mechanisms can have 
either a geographical or a thematic scope. For the 
years 2014–20, three geographic and three thematic 
instruments define where and how the money is spent.

The bulk of development funding comes from 
geographical instruments.

•  The European Development Fund is the main 

instrument providing aid to African, Caribbean and 
Pacific (ACP) countries and overseas countries and 
territories.

•  The Development Cooperation Instrument covers 

cooperation with Latin America, Asia, central Asia, the 
Middle East and southern Africa. It encompasses five 
thematic programmes addressing global challenges: 
environmental protection, the role of non-state 
actors, food security, migration, and human and social 
development.

•  Finance for cooperation with the other neighbouring 

countries is provided through the European 
Neighbourhood Instrument. 

These tools are complemented by instruments with a 
thematic focus, open to all developing countries.

•  The European Instrument for Democracy and Human 

Rights aims to protect human rights and basic 
freedoms and to promote democracy and the rule of 
law.

•  The instrument contributing to stability and peace 

strengthens security in crisis situations and supports 
the transition to stability in their aftermath.

•  The Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation 

promotes nuclear safety, radiation protection and 
emergency preparedness.

The EU’s thematic programmes encourage the 
participation of civil society organisations and local 
authorities in development cooperation.

Better, faster, more: aid and 
development effectiveness

The European consensus on development sets out a 
framework of common principles which allow the EU 
and its member countries to implement development 
policies in a spirit of complementarity and efficiency. 

The EU monitors the quality of aid using concrete 
targets agreed internationally in the Paris Declaration 
(2005), the Accra Agenda for Action (2008) and revised 
by the Busan high-level forum, which created the 
Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation 
(2011).

As a member of the Development Assistance 
Committee of the Organisation for Economic 
Cooperation and Development (OECD-DAC), the EU 
has been active in international forums to improve 
the impact of development cooperation. It has set 
ambitious targets to increase the effectiveness of 
global development assistance and reformed the way  
it delivers aid to meet those targets.

The Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in 
2011 in Busan, South Korea, marked a turning point 
for global development cooperation. Participants 
from over 160 governments, as well as from 
international organisations, civil society and the private 
sector, agreed on a number of principles, goals and 
commitments to achieve greater effectiveness in 
development cooperation, moving from an ‘aid only’ 
focus to a more comprehensive approach including all 
development actors.

The  EU  decided  to  focus  its  immediate  collective  
follow-up actions on two initiatives. 

•  The EU Transparency Guarantee aims to provide 
internationally comparable information on aid 
which is up to date and easy to access. In order 
to achieve this, the European Commission and a 
number of EU countries are already implementing 
the globally agreed common standard for publication 
of aid information, making available detailed timely 
information on where and how aid is spent.

DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION 8

•  Joint programming aims at giving a joint European 

response to a partner country’s development 
plan, including through division of labour. The EU 
and its member countries define together which 
donor works in which sector, leading to more 
effectiveness and improved results. The EU takes 
on the role of coordinator and facilitator. The EU 
has started joint programming in more than 20 
countries and is planning to implement it in about 
40 partner countries, thereby covering more than 
60 % of country programmable aid managed by EU 
institutions. 

The next step in this international process is the 
first high-level meeting of the Global Partnership for 
Effective Development Cooperation in Mexico in April 
2014, which will review progress on commitments 
and aim to address challenges and accelerate 
implementation.

The EU’s development policy and its member countries’ 
bilateral cooperation with developing countries reinforce 
each other. Many other EU policies have an impact on 
developing countries and are therefore coordinated with 
development policy. 

The Commission's Directorate-General for Development 
and Cooperation — EuropeAid is responsible for 
defining the EU’s development cooperation policy and 
for implementing aid in partner countries. To strengthen 
coherence between external relations and development 
cooperation, the European External Action Service 
(EEAS) strives to bring all its policies and actions in line 
with the development objectives.

The EU operates 140 delegations and offices around 
the world. They manage development and cooperation 
programmes while representing the EU in their host 
countries. Following a conflict or a natural disaster, 
for instance, the local EU delegation can readjust aid 
priorities and respond to urgent needs.

In defining policies, delivering and monitoring 
assistance, the EU works with international 
organisations whose networks and expertise 
complement its resources. Key bodies and groupings 
include the United Nations, the OECD, the World Bank, 
the G8 and the G20. Through regular dialogue and 
contacts, the EU engages other important traditional 
donors (e.g. United States, Japan and Korea) and, 
increasingly, emerging economies. 

The role of civil society

Civil society is a key partner of donors in 
developing countries. Non-state actors can, 
for instance, include non-governmental 
organisations (NGOs), professional 
associations, social partners, universities or 
the media. They are usually close to local 
communities and can help donors to 
respond to people’s needs. Hence, they 
increasingly take on more responsibility in 
shaping strategies and programming.

A stronger role of civil society in 
development helps improving local 
ownership. 

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The EU runs programmes to promote reproductive and child 
health in refugee camps, as here in Thailand. 

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
What the EU does

From words to action

As the 2015 deadline for attaining the millennium 
development goals approaches, their state of play 
provides a clear indication on the scale and pace of 
development achieved over the last 12 years.

According to a United Nations report from July 2012, 
several key targets have already been met:

•  extreme poverty has been reduced by half and is 

falling across all regions;

•  the proportion of people without access to improved 

sources of water has been halved;

•  the lives of over 200 million slum dwellers — twice 

the 2020 target — have improved;

•  primary school enrolment of girls now equals that of 

boys;

•  progress in reducing child and maternal mortality 

rates is gathering speed.

The EU’s contribution to the results achieved is 
significant. From investments in health, education or 
road infrastructure to funding agriculture, its support 
produced tangible progress. Since 2000, EU support 
contributed to enrolling over 13 million children in 
primary education and providing immunisation against 
measles to over 18 million children. EU development 
aid was instrumental in giving access to water and 
sanitation to millions of households. As some goals, 
including hunger and sanitation, still remain off track, 
in September 2011 the EU decided to allocate an 
additional €1 billion to support progress on these 
objectives in most off-track countries of the ACP group.

Together with its member countries, the EU is the 
biggest donor in energy worldwide and has already 
helped millions of people to gain access to sustainable 
energy. The EU is also the largest contributor of 
climate-related financing to developing countries. Its 
support helps to protect biodiversity worldwide, protect 
countries against natural disasters and improve forest 
protection by, for example, fighting against illegal 
logging.

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Tailor-made support

The EU’s support is adapted to the needs of each 
specific area of development cooperation. It supports 
a number of programmes and initiatives that benefit 
regions rather than individual countries or sectors. 
Regional cooperation is effective for tackling challenges 
like climate change and trade which go beyond 
borders. Global initiatives with thematic coverage are 
implemented taking the specific local situations into 
account.

Four in five of the world’s least developed countries are 
ACP countries, most of them African. The lion’s share 
of EU funding for this region comes from the European 
Development Fund which made available a total of 
€22.7 billion for the 2008–13 period.

The Africa–EU strategic partnership provides the 
framework for cooperation between the two continents. 
In 2007, the partners agreed on a Joint Africa–EU 
strategy defining milestones for each sector. It is 
making an important contribution to the progress 
on the millennium development goals by setting out 
measurable targets and monitoring progress. For 
instance, European and African partners are pursuing 
a number of concrete goals to achieve reliable, secure, 
affordable and climate-friendly energy services for both 
continents by 2020. 

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A 'food for work' project operating in the Nairobi area, Kenya, 
provides water for livestock and crops.

DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION  
 
10

A focus on cooperation rather than aid also 
characterises the Union’s work with its neighbourhood. 
To strengthen prosperity, security and stability beyond 
the EU borders, the European neighbourhood policy 
provides assistance to neighbouring countries. Almost 
€12 billion were made available for this purpose during 
the 2007–13 period.

In response to the popular uprisings in the 
Mediterranean region, the EU has been implementing 
a new approach to support the demands for political 
participation and freedom. The EU is also a large 
contributor of aid to fragile countries (50 % of total 
EU aid). In emergencies, the priority is to address 
urgent needs while ensuring coherence between the 
humanitarian response and sustainable development.

The EU is the leading donor and second foreign investor 
in Latin America as well as its second most important 
trade partner. This partnership has been successful 
in achieving progress on the millennium development 
goals in the region, especially regarding access to 
primary education. The remaining challenges include 
inequalities, infrastructure deficits and access to 
drinking water. EU funding to Latin America represents 
an annual average amount of €500 million. The support 
focuses on social cohesion, regional integration, good 
governance and sustainable development. 

Helping people help themselves

From food security and environmental challenges to 
social aspects and human rights, the EU intervenes 
where needed and where it can make a difference. 

Democratic governance — This is one of the key 
priorities of development cooperation. In recent years, 
the EU has successfully combined policy dialogue 
with partner countries, sector-specific support and 
awareness-raising activities to improve governance. 
In 2010 alone, €1.5 billion from the development 
resources managed by the EU were channelled towards 
actions that support governance.

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Egypt has achieved its target of universal  
primary education.

Rapid development across Asia has led to a significant 
drop in poverty rates. Yet the region is still home to two 
thirds of the world’s poor. Therefore, a differentiated 
approach, which distinguishes between poor countries 
and emerging economies, is needed. In its relations with 
emerging economies, the EU is increasingly moving 
away from being an aid donor to the role of strategic 
partner. As such, it has played its part in the progress 
achieved. An indicative amount of €775 million was 
earmarked for regional cooperation with Asia during the 
2007–13 period.

OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT AID (IN BILLION €)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

49.2

53.3

53.1

51

20.7

6.8

22.9

22.1

24

8.3

7.6

8

2009

2010

2011

EU-27

US

2012

Japan

The EU was the biggest global donor in 2012. The overall 
amount in 2012 was slightly lower than in 2011, as aid 
increases in some EU countries were offset by crisis-induced 
decreases in others.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
 
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The EU funds a project for biodiversity conservation in the 
Gola Forest Reserves in Sierra Leone, one of the world’s least 
developed countries.

Agriculture and food security — The EU has made 
the eradication of poverty and of hunger a priority. 
It makes €600 million available every year to give 
people around the world access to basic food. This is 
supplementary to humanitarian food assistance given 
in crisis situations. More than 50 million people have 
benefited from the €1 billion EU Food Facility Fund, 
launched in 2009. The EU provided around 24 million 
people with seeds, tools, cash transfers and food 
during the 2004–10 period to help them move out of 
poverty. The productivity of smallholder farmers and 
the resilience of rural communities could be enhanced 
through the promotion of a sustainable agricultural 
model adapted to the reality of developing countries.

Trade — Trade has helped lift millions of people out 
of poverty in the last decade. The EU is the largest 
provider of aid for trade and has the world’s most open 
market to developing countries. The General System of 
Preferences allows reduced tariffs for goods from 176 
developing countries and territories. The EU provides 
assistance to help ACP countries integrate into the 
world economy. Local economies and growth can be 
boosted through economic partnership agreements 
with the EU. These go beyond free-trade agreements 
by taking the socioeconomic context into account and 
by assisting countries with their implementation. While 
opening up EU markets, they allow ACP countries up to 
25 years to open up to EU imports.

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Trade-led growth for countries  
most in need

To fully include the least developed 
countries in the international trading 
system, the EU pays special attention to 
their needs in its ‘Aid for trade’ strategy. 
These efforts have contributed to making a 
difference on the ground: between 2000 
and 2008, the GDP per capita in these 
countries increased from $325 to over 
$625. In 2012, the EU tabled plans to 
enable the least developed countries to 
take full advantage of open markets. It will 
help them tackle trade barriers, meet 
international standards and upgrade their 
business environment.

Water and energy — Since 2004, more than 70 million 
people in developing countries have been connected to 
drinking water and 24.5 million to sanitation facilities. 
EU water and sanitation programmes amount to almost 
€400 million per year. They help build infrastructure 
for drinking and wastewater systems and provide basic 
sanitation and hygiene.

As energy poverty remains a pressing global 
challenge, the EU is heavily investing in energy access, 
sustainability and security in developing countries. In 
2010 alone, it committed a total of €319.49 million for 
energy generation and supply. These efforts are starting 
to pay off. In ACP countries, where the problem is most 
acute, 15 million beneficiaries were provided with access 
to modern energy services between 2007 and 2011.

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Children brushing their teeth at an EU healthcare project in 
Nicaragua, Central America.

DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION  
 
 
 
 
12

REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF EU AID TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN 2012

Multilateral aid, €155, 1 %

Europe, €2 354, 18 %

Bilateral unallocated, €2 494, 19 %

Oceania, €103, 1 %

Africa, north of Sahara, €739, 6 %

America, €815, 7 %

Asia, south and central, Far East, €1 414, 11 %

Africa, south of Sahara, €4 014, 31 %

Asia, Middle East, €789, 6 %

Commitments in million €

Sustainable energy for all

Following the launch of the United Nations’ 
initiative to achieve sustainable energy for 
all, the EU made this goal a top priority for 
its development policy. A threefold 
objective has been set for 2030:

 — universal access to modern energy 

services; 

 — doubling the rate of improvement in 

energy efficiency; 

 — doubling the share of renewable energy 

in the global energy mix. 

At the EU Sustainable Energy for All 
Summit in 2012, President José Manuel 
Barroso announced that the EU would 
assist developing countries in providing 
energy access for an additional 500 million 
people by 2030.

Environment and natural resources — The poorest 
countries in the world are also the most vulnerable 
to environmental hazards, namely to the effects of 
climate change. They are hit hard by the depletion of 
natural resources. The EU is the strongest international 
advocate of sustainable development and has ratified 
all major multilateral environmental agreements. It is 
implementing a strategy to address the management of 

natural resources in its poverty reduction policies. This 
strategy contributed directly to ensuring environmental 
sustainability, which is one of the millennium 
development goals. Progress in this field includes a 
decreasing rate of deforestation, slum upgrades and 
better access to safe drinking water. The environmental 
challenges, however, remain high. For the 2011–13 
period, around €517 million have been earmarked for 
the strategy.

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A water point in Papua New Guinea. Access to clean drinking 
water continues to be a problem in developing countries.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
 
 
 
 
A boost to food security in disaster-
struck Haiti

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the 
world. When it was hit by a massive 
earthquake, in January 2010, the disaster 
added to an ongoing food crisis. High 
import prices, combined with agricultural 
losses in the aftermath of several 
hurricanes, had had a devastating effect on 
food security.

This situation was improved thanks to an 
EU-funded project targeting 300 000 rural 
households in Haiti’s north-eastern 
province. Activities aimed to increase and 
diversify agriculture and to improve water 
management and aquaculture.

The initiative made a huge difference for 
the local population. The construction of 
692 water tanks and 2 550 silos for grain 
conservation and the distribution of seeds 
greatly improved yields and livelihoods.

‘If there is a drought and you do not have a 
basin, you lose all the production,’ explains 
Gédéon Richè, a project beneficiary. ‘Thanks 
to the basin now the yield is good, I have 
vegetables to eat and this helps my family 
a lot.’

The project, implemented in partnership 
with the Food and Agriculture Organisation 
of the United Nations, received a total of 
€9.6 million in EU funding over the 2009–
11 period.

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Vital care for babies and their mothers in 
Kazakhstan

Following Kazakhstan’s independence in 
1991, a reduction in public funding for 
health services led to a drop in quality. As a 
result, thousands of babies and small 
children die every year for want of 
adequate care, and maternal health 
remains a serious issue.

To improve the availability of high-quality 
prenatal and child care in the country, the 
EU decided to provide targeted help. It 
supported a project assisting the Kazakh 
Ministry of Health in developing a national 
strategy on maternal and child health. 
Families, communities and healthcare 
providers were included in the reform 
process which saw the introduction of 
guidelines for the most common conditions 
and their complications. Health providers 
received training and advice.

The approach proved effective. Maternal 
and child health services could be improved 
and made more efficient, and the capacity 
of healthcare services to improve them 
further was strengthened. The involvement 
of families and communities in improving 
mother and child health increased. ‘One of 
the many assets of integrated 
management of childhood illnesses is that 
it teaches us how to reduce the distance 
between doctor and patient,’ stresses 
Polina Slugina, a paediatrician working in 
the Osakarov district.

The millennium development goals of 
reducing child mortality and improving 
maternal health have yet to be reached in 
Kazakhstan.

DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION SECTORAL DISTRIBUTION OF EU AID TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, 2012

Commitments 2012 in million €

Disbursements 2012 in million €

15
0.1 %

997
8 %

1 736
14 %

562
4 %

1 550
12 %

5 202
40 %

676
7 %

3 534
37 %

1 356
14 %

15
0.1 %

1 037
11 %

904
10 %

1 593
12 %

1 275
10 %

693
7 %

1 320
14 %

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● 

●

●

●

●

●
●

Social infrastructures: education, 
health, water, government 
and civil society, other

Economic infrastructures 
and services: transport, 
communications, energy, 
other services

Production: agriculture, 
forestry and ﬁshing, industry, 
mining and construction, 
trade and tourism

Multisector/cross-cutting: 
environment, other

Budget support, food aid, 
food security
Action relating to debt

Humanitarian aid: emergency 
response, reconstruction relief 
and rehabilitation, disaster 
prevention and preparedness

●

Other/unallocated: 
admin. costs, unspeciﬁed 

Microfinance for Africa: small loans, big impact

Microfinance makes it easier for the poor 
to gain access to finance. To reach their full 
potential as an economic development tool 
for Africa, microfinance institutions need to 
upgrade their standards of risk 
management and transparency. The EU 
provided support to the Smartrac capacity-
building programme to help African 
microfinance institutions improve their 
skills for managing and monitoring risks.

Smartrac stands for sustainability, 
management, accountability, risk, 
transparency, assurance and compliance. 
The programme aimed to improve access 
to credits by strengthening local 
microfinance services providers through 
the transfer of know-how. Risk 
management tools were made available to 
microfinance institutions and local service 
providers.

This undertaking was hugely successful. 
Around 700 000 low-income clients 
benefited from the services of the 12 
supported microfinance institutions. The 
growth rate for the service providers which 
had received help ranged between 4 % and 
160 %. 

The project covered Angola, the Gambia, 
Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda 
and Tanzania. The EU contributed 
€348 000 between 2006 and 2009. 
Cooperation between the European Union 
and ACP countries in the field of 
microfinance is currently covered by the 
‘ACP/EU microfinance’ programme (2010–
14). The partners work to develop inclusive 
financial systems adapted to the needs of 
the poor to foster growth and a better 
distribution of wealth. 

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
 
 
 
15

Outlook

Living up to our ambitions

Over the years, EU development aid has been steadily 
increased and made more efficient. As the crisis takes 
its toll on economies around the world, it is more 
important than ever to raise both the efficiency and the 
level of ambition. Increasing aid levels is not just an 
expression of sustained solidarity, but also a long-term 
investment. 

The EU is pushing for greater efforts by EU countries 
to achieve the agreed target for official development 
assistance to 0.7 % of gross national income by 2015.

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The ‘Agenda for change’ identified concrete measures 
to move towards greater efficiency such as the focus 
on countries most in need, fragile states, growth-
oriented sectors, better division of labour and improved 
governance. The implementation of this agenda is a key 
step down the road to a fairer world.

The discussions on the role of development policy after 
the 2015 deadline for the millennium development 
goals are a chance to refine global cooperation. Based 
on the Commission policy proposal, ‘A decent life for 
all’, an EU position was agreed in June 2013 stressing 
that development policy after 2015 should reinforce 
the international community’s commitment to poverty 
eradication and sustainable development. 

A field worker in Kenya benefits from an EU-funded scheme 
set up to sustain and develop the fruit and vegetable sector.

In order to achieve that, a new framework should 
provide for basic living standards, promote inclusive 
and sustainable growth, contribute to the sustainable 
management of our natural resources, ensure justice, 
equity and equality and take account of the special 
situation of countries in conflict and fragility — key 
concerns which also came out strongly from the 
European Development Days 2013, which covered the 
post-2015 process. The EU will remain engaged in 
advocating for an ambitious post-2015 framework and 
will ensure that EU priorities are reflected in all relevant 
forums.

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Rural development is among 
the priorities of EU 
cooperation with the Gambia, 
one of the poorest countries 
in the world.

DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION  
 
 
 
 
16

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Find out more

 X Development and cooperation — EuropeAid: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/index_en.htm
 X Capacity4dev.eu — connecting the development community: http://capacity4dev.ec.europa.eu
 X European External Action Service: http://eeas.europa.eu/index_en.htm
 X Humanitarian aid and civil protection: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm
 X Questions about the European Union? Europe Direct can help: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 —  

http://europedirect.europa.eu

ISBN 978-92-79-24205-2
doi:10.2775/56933

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED