REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 2015 Annual Report on the European Union’s development and external assistance policies and their implementation in 2014
Date: 2015-11-24
Institutions: Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development, European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, European neighbourhood policy, common foreign and security policy, development aid, distribution by sex, energy cooperation, environmental cooperation, human rights, humanitarian aid, poverty, sustainable development

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 24.11.2015  COM(2015) 578 final   REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 2015 Annual Report on the European Union’s development and external assistance policies and their implementation in 2014 {SWD(2015) 248 final}  
 
 
Millennium Development Goals and beyond – A Decent Life for All, Everywhere 
In 2014, the European Union (EU) and its Member States remained the world's largest development 
aid donor and promoted European core values of peace, security, sustainable development, poverty 
reduction and human rights worldwide. The EU continued to support priority areas of the ‘Agenda 
for  Change’1,  notably  human  rights,  democracy  and  other  key  elements  of  good  governance  and 
inclusive and sustainable growth. 

During  2014,  the  EU  developed  comprehensive  responses  to  address  major  crises  such  as  the 
conflict in Ukraine, the crises in the Central African Republic and South Sudan, the terror spread by 
Dae’sh in the Middle East and beyond, and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. 

The  Commission  Communication  'A  Decent  Life  for  all:  from  vision  to  collective  action'  of  June 
20142,  sets  out  the  EU  position  in  international  negotiations  on  Sustainable  Development  Goals 
(SDGs), as the follow-up to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), describing key principles and 
proposing priority areas and potential targets for the post-2015 development agenda and the SDGs. 
The Communication was endorsed by the Council on 16 December 20143. 

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals 
With the 2015 target deadline for the MDGs approaching, progress towards their achievement has 
been substantial. The first MDG of halving extreme poverty was successfully met five years ahead of 
schedule  in  2010.  The  MDG  to  halve  the  proportion  of  people  without  access  to  clean  drinking 
water was also reached then. 

The  target  of  halving  the  number  of  people  suffering  from  hunger  is  within  reach,  with  the 
proportion of undernourished people globally having decreased from 23.2 % in 1990-1992 to 14.9 % 
in 2010-2012. 

The  MDG  to  ensure  that  children  everywhere  in  the  world  complete  a  full  course  of  primary 
schooling  has  been  achieved  in  Latin  America  and  the  Caribbean,  East  Asia  and  the  Pacific,  and 
Europe and Central Asia. Great progress has been achieved on gender parity in primary education, 
with an enrolment ratio for boys to girls standing at 97 % for developing countries.  

Significant EU support has contributed to progress on the health-related MDGs. The mortality rate 
for  children  under  five  years  of  age  in  2012  was  almost  half  that  in  1990.  Similarly,  maternal 
mortality rate has decreased by 45 % between 1990 and 2013. New HIV infections declined by 44 % 
between 2001 and 2012. Incidence of tuberculosis and resulting deaths are falling and the target of 
halving  its  spread  is  within  reach.  The  target  on  Malaria  can  also  be  fully  met  with  a  decline  in 
malaria mortality rates of 42 % between 2010 and 2012.  

Working together for the future    
The  EU  and  its  Member  States  remain  the  world’s  largest  official  development  assistance  (ODA) 
donor.  EU collective ODA amounted to a total of EUR 58.2 billion in 2014, corresponding to 0.42 % 
of  combined  Gross  National  Income  (GNI).  The  total  ODA  of  the  EU  Member  States  alone  in  2014 
stood at EUR 56.1 billion, or 0.41 % of combined GNI. In 2014, the European Commission continued 

1 https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/policies/european-development-policy/agenda-change_en, COM(2011)637 
final, 13.10.2011  
2 COM(2014)335, 2.06.2014  
3 http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/workarea/downloadasset.aspx?id=40802190987  

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
its  political  and  financial  support  for  development  worldwide,  committing  over  EUR  9.9  billion  to 
external development assistance4 representing some 7 % of the general budget of the EU for 2014. 

Article  208  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  (TFEU)  stipulates  that  the  EU 
‘shall take account of the objectives of development cooperation in the policies that it implements 
which are likely to affect developing countries’. The inclusion of Policy Coherence for Development 
(PCD) in its primary law sets the EU apart on the international stage. With the inauguration of the 
Juncker  Commission  on  1  November  2014,  a  new  way  of  working  was  set  up  that  is  a  policy 
coherence tool in itself. Clusters of competency areas headed by Commission Vice-Presidents favour 
cross-cutting  policy  making  that  helps  to  ensure  a  comprehensive  approach  to  development 
objectives that increases the effectiveness of the EU’s development cooperation. 

In  2014,  the  Commission  continued  its  efforts  to  strengthen  PCD  at  all  levels.  At  the  beginning  of 
2014, Commission services and the European External Action Service (EEAS) jointly conducted a first 
reporting exercise from delegations on PCD. The 41 reports received covered 62 partner countries. 

The  new  Commission  also  brought  a  change  of  mandate  and  name.  In  response  to  the  evolving 
global development agenda, the Directorate-General for Development and Cooperation became the 
Directorate-General  for  International  Cooperation  and  Development  (DG  DEVCO).  Neven  Mimica 
was appointed European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development. 

The  Commissioners'  Group  on  External  Action  (CGEA)  chaired  by  the  High  Representative  of  the 
Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission (HRVP) Federica 
Mogherini,  started  meeting  regularly  in  November  2014.  The  members  of  the  CGEA  are  the 
Commissioners  for  International  Cooperation  and  Development,  the  Commissioner  for  European 
Neighbourhood  Policy  and  Enlargement  Negotiations,  the  Commissioner  for  Trade  and  the 
Commissioner  for  Humanitarian  Aid  and  Crisis  Management.  Other  Commissioners  are  invited  to 
join depending on the topics on the agenda of each meeting. 

The year 2014 also saw the creation of the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement 
Negotiations (DG NEAR), following the transfer of the Directorate for the European Neighbourhood 
from DG DEVCO to the former Directorate-General for Enlargement.  

Programming for future development cooperation 
2014 marked the first year of the multi-annual financial framework 2014 to 2020 and the adoption 
of a large number of multiannual indicative programming documents covering both bilateral country 
and regional cooperation and thematic programmes. The programming documents for cooperation 
with  partner  countries  followed  almost  exclusively  an  approach  in  which  separate, specific  EU 
country strategy documents were no longer drawn up, but where the programming referred directly 
to  the  partner  countries’  own  policies  and  strategies.  In  line  with  the  ‘Agenda  for  change’5,  the 
programming was characterised by a strong sector focus to enhance the impact and manageability 
of EU aid. 

At the Africa-EU Summit held in Brussels in April 2014, new impetus was given to the Joint Africa-EU 
Strategy6  and  along  with  political  guidance  to  take  the  EU-Africa  Partnership  forward.  The  new 
priorities  set  in  the  Joint  Roadmap  for  2014-2017  were  immediately  reflected  in  the  EU 

4 Commitments are legal promises to spend money on certain projects, contracts etc. either in the same year 
as the commitment or later. Payments refer to monies that are to be paid out in a given year 
5 COM(2011)637 final, 13.10.2011  
6 https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/regions/africa/continental-cooperation/joint-africa-eu-strategy_en  

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
programming  process,  in  particular  with  regard  to  the  African  Peace  Facility7  under  the  European 
Development Fund (EDF) and the newly created  Pan-African Programme8, the first continent-wide 
programme under the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI)9. 

In 2014, the Commission and Member States sustained their efforts towards Joint Programming of 
development cooperation. The process was taken forward in 18 partner countries and, in 14 partner 
countries10,  Joint  Programming  documents  were  finalised.  The  majority  of  joint  programming 
countries  are  either  in  the  least  developed  or  lower-middle  income  group,  with  more  than  half 
classified by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as fragile states. 

The  implementation  of  six  new  external  financing  instruments  –  the  Development  Cooperation 
Instrument, the European Neighbourhood Instrument11, the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance 
(IPA  II)12,    the  Instrument  contributing  to  Stability  and  Peace13,  the  European  Instrument  for 
Democracy and Human Rights14, and the Partnership Instrument15- funded by the EU budget started 
in  2014.  The  new  instruments  translate  into  operational  terms  the  priorities  of  the  Agenda  for 
Change.  Over  the  period  2014-2020,  the  total  amount  allocated  for  the  instruments  is  EUR  51.4 
billion. 

The  11th  European  Development  Fund  (EDF),  which  remains  outside  the  EU  budget,  entered  into 
force  in  March  2015  with  a  financial  volume  of  EUR  30.5  billion  for  cooperation  with  African, 
Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, as well as Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs)16. 

Implementing the Agenda for Change 
The  Global  Partnership  for  Effective  Development  Cooperation  (GPEDC),  a  voluntary  and  multi-
stakeholder forum, is a key framework for the aid and development effectiveness agenda. The first 
GPEDC High Level Meeting (HLM) took place in Mexico in April 2014 convening a genuinely diverse 
group of donors and partners to focus on important issues for developing countries, the mechanisms 
to monitor and measure progress, and the commitment to improve effectiveness on the ground. At 
the meeting in Mexico 39 voluntary initiatives were launched. 

The ‘EU  Aid  Explorer’17 was  launched  at  the  Mexican  meeting  and  is  part  of  EU  action  to  further 
increase transparency and improve accountability. EU citizens and partners can examine the use of 
donor funds; and donors themselves can improve coordination and effectiveness. 

The  Commission  adopted  on  13  May  2014  a  Communication  on  ‘A  Stronger  Role  of  the  Private 
Sector in Achieving Inclusive and Sustainable Growth in Developing Countries’18. This new strategy 
introduces private sector engagement as a new and vital dimension of EU development cooperation 

7 https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/regions/africa/continental-cooperation/african-peace-facility_en  
8 https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/regions/africa/continental-cooperation/pan-african-programme_en  
9 Regulation (EU) No 233/2014; OJ L 77, 15.3.2014, p. 44 
10 Burma/Myanmar, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Comoros, Ghana, Guatemala, Laos, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda, 
Senegal, South Sudan and Togo 
11 Regulation (EU) No 232/2014; OJ L 77, 15.3.2014, p. 27. 
12 Regulation (EU) No 231/2014; OJ L 77, 15.3.2014, p. 11. 
13 Regulation (EU) No 230/2014; OJ L 77, 15.3.2014, p. 1 
14 Regulation (EU) No 235/2014; OJ L 77, 15.3.2014, p. 85. 
15 Regulation (EU) No 234/2014; OJ L 77, 15.3.2014, p. 77 
16 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=URISERV:r12102  
17 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-434_en.htm?locale=en   
18 COM(2014)263 final, 13.5.2014 

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seeking  to  improve  the  business  environment  and  conditions  for  private  sector  development  in 
partner countries and encourage closer engagement of the private sector with development.  

The  Commission  recognises  ‘blending’,  i.e.  combining  EU  grants  with  loans  or  equity  from  other 
public  and  private  financiers,  as  an  important  vehicle  for  leveraging  additional  development 
resources. By the end of 2014, more than EUR 1.99 billion in grants from the EU budget, the EDF and 
Member States had financed 233 projects and leveraged approximately EUR 19 billion of loans from 
European finance institutions and regional development banks. By strategically combining EU grants 
with market financing, blending has helped to leverage investments of more than EUR 44 billion in 
EU partner countries.  

In 2014 a  total of EUR 419 million in EU grants leveraged an expected total investment volume of 
almost  EUR  7.7  billion.  The  Commission  is  committed  to  increase  the  share  of  EU  aid  through 
innovative  financial  instruments  and  has  identified  instruments,  key  areas  and  sectors  where 
blending can be used more19. 

Since  2011  November  and  the  launch  of  the  ‘New  Deal  for  Engagement  in  Fragile  States’20, 
substantial progress has been made to improve current development policy and practice at country 
level  and  through  reforms.  The  EU  is  playing  an  active  role  in  the  OECD  International  Network  on 
Conflict  and  Fragility  and  in  the  inter-governmental  International  Dialogue  on  Peace-building  and 
State-building.  

As  a  strong  promotor  of  Human  Rights,  the  EU  had  discussions  on  the  subject  with  37  partner 
countries  and  regional  groupings  in  2014.  The  EU’s  commitment  in  this  area  was  reflected  in  the 
development  and  deployment  of  ‘a  right  based  approach’  toolbox  encompassing  all  human  rights 
elements  in  EU  development  cooperation21.  In  May  2014,  Council  conclusions  welcomed  this 
significant step22.   

Building  on  EU  political  commitments  to  support  Non-State  Actors,  such  as  civil  society 
organisations (CSO) and local authorities23, the Civil Society Organisation-Local Authorities Thematic 
Programme  adopted  in  July  201424  under  the  DCI  aims  to  strengthen  these  actors  in  partner 
countries.  

In 2014, 56 countries benefitted from a country allocation of a total of EUR 152 million in support of 
country-level  initiatives  supporting  CSO  actions  for  strengthening  governance,  accountability  of 
public  institutions  and  inclusive  policy-making.  Likewise,  29  countries  benefitted  from  a  country 
allocation of a total of EUR 14.5 million for country-level initiatives supporting local authorities and 
national associations of local authorities. 

In 2014, the positive results of the 2011 policy on budget support and its new operational approach 
were  consolidated.  This  has  substantially  improved  consistency  and  reporting,  as  well  as  the 
management of risks and policy dialogue. By the end of 2014, 233 budget support programmes were 
being  implemented  in  84  countries  and  OCTs  for  a  total  amount  of  EUR  11.175  billion.  In  2014, 

19 COM(2014) 733 final, 15.12.2014 
20 http://www.newdeal4peace.org/  
21 SWD(2014) 152 final, 30.4.2014 
22 http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/foraff/142682.pdf  
23 COM(2012) 492 final on Civil Society, SWD(2012) 457 final on Development Education and Awareness 
Raising , COM(2013) final on Local Authorities  
24 C(2014) 4865 final, 15.7.2014 

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budget support disbursements amounted to over EUR 1.6 billion, representing 15.9 % of total ODA 
disbursements.  

The  EU  remains  committed  to  devoting  at  least  20  %  of  EU  aid  to  support  social  inclusion  and 
human development. Spending on human development currently represents 25 % of the allocated 
funds of the Global Public Goods and Challenges thematic programme under the DCI, in line with the 
commitments made to the European Parliament. Research and innovation can foster development 
by  enhancing  human  potential  and  infrastructures  as  well  as  designing  new  services  and  products 
through the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme. 

The  EU  is  also  firmly  committed  to  make  at  least  20  %  of  its  total  spending  climate-relevant. 
Mainstreaming  of  environment  and  climate  change  issues  in  development  cooperation  remains  a 
top  priority  with  at  least  20  %  of  the  budget  allocated  to  climate-relevant  actions.  Ensuring  that 
biodiversity financing is doubled by 2015 is another important policy goal.  The EU Biodiversity for 
Life  (B4Life) flagship  initiative25  was  launched  on  22  May  2014  to  help  the  poorest  countries  to 
protect ecosystems, combat wildlife crime and develop green economies. The initiative will have an 
estimated budget of up to EUR 800 million for 2014-2020. 

During  2014,  a  strategic  evaluation  of  the  EU’s  support  to  gender  equality  and  women’s 
empowerment in partner countries was launched.  

Inclusive and sustainable growth 
Around  the  world,  some  1.4  billion  people  have  no  access  to  electricity  and  almost  three  billion 
people rely on solid fuels (traditional biomass and coal) for cooking and heating. Energy is linked to 
eradicating  poverty,  access  to  clean  water,  economic  growth,  health,  education,  women’s 
empowerment and food security. 

In September 2014, in the margins of the UN Climate Summit in New York, the EU signed five Joint 
Declarations  with  African  countries  on  enhanced  energy  cooperation  to  reinforce  the  political  ties 
between  partner  countries’  political  commitments  in  the  field  of  energy  and  supporting  actions 
financed by the EU and other relevant donors.  

EUR 75 million was allocated to catalyse private sector investments in energy access. A proposal for 
a  new  rural  Electrification  Financing  Initiative  (ElectriFI)  was  put  forward  to  reinforce  further  the 
feasibility, sustainability and leverage of EU resources allocated to energy cooperation, in particular 
for rural electrification.  

Good governance 
In 2014, the EU continued to support democracy around the globe, from the EU's neighbourhood to 
Sub-Saharan  Africa,  Asia  and  Latin  America.  More  than  EUR  93  million  was  committed  to  support 
elections, strengthen parliaments and political parties, and to develop the media.  

In 2014 the EU continued to support the operationalisation of the African Governance Architecture 
by providing EUR 9.8 million to the African Union Commission to improve its capabilities to monitor 
elections, and to the Pan-African Parliament and the African Commission and Court on Human and 
Peoples' Rights.  

25 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-593_en.htm?locale=en  

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With an annual budget of around EUR 40 million from the European Instrument for Democracy and 
Human  Rights,  the  EU’s  Election  Observation  Missions  (EOMs)  continued  to  build  confidence  and 
enhance the reliability and transparency of democratic electoral processes.  

In  2014,  seven  EOMs  were  deployed  to  Egypt,  Guinea  Bissau,  Kosovo,  Malawi,  the  Maldives, 
Mozambique and Tunisia. An Election Assessment Team mission was deployed to Afghanistan, while 
nine  Election  Expert  Missions  were  deployed  to  Algeria,  Bolivia,  El  Salvador,  Fiji,  Iraq,  Libya, 
Mauritania, Nigeria and Thailand and two Election Follow-up Missions were deployed in Nigeria and 
the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  

Strengthening justice 
In 2014 justice and the rule of law continued to be at the core of EU objectives and operations. The 
EU  continued  to  be  engaged  in  rule  of  law,  security  and  justice  capacity  building  programmes  in 
more than 50 countries worldwide. By supporting third country efforts to reinforce justice systems 
the EU contributed to bridging the gap between the capacity of states and the International Criminal 
Court. 

Corruption is a major impediment to development. With the 2014 Communication 'A decent Life for 
all: from vision to collective action'26, the EU renewed its anti-corruption commitment by promoting 
the adoption and implementation of appropriate legal frameworks and national policies in the post-
2015 framework. In 2014, projects worth nearly EUR 77 million addressed anti-corruption at country 
level  through  advocacy,  awareness-raising  and  reporting  and  capacity  building  for  control  and 
oversight bodies and the judiciary. 

Peace and stability 
The  Instrument  contributing  to  Stability  and  Peace  (IcSP),  enables  the  EU  to  react  quickly  with 
targeted  actions  in  emerging  crisis  situations.  During  2014,  this  allowed  the  EU  to  provide  urgent, 
timely support to high-priority crises like Ukraine, Syria/Iraq, Central African Republic and the Ebola 
outbreak.  These  IcSP  actions  usually  constitute  the  initial  EU  action  towards  building  peaceful 
societies and eradicating poverty in fragile and conflict-affected countries - a top priority for the EU. 
In 2014, the EU continued to support the New Deal process27 to ensure that EU interventions have a 
positive impact on poverty reduction and conflict prevention.  

At the end of 2014, the EU had 16 Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) civilian and military 
missions or operations in place. Two civilian missions (EUCAP Sahel Mali28 and EUAM Ukraine29) and 
one military operation in the Central African Republic (EUFOR CAR30) were established in 2014. CSDP 
missions vary in size (from 10 to 1000 personnel) and mandate. One military mission was launched 
in Mali in 2013 (EUTM Mali31) and will last till 2016. 

Since  the  beginning  of  the  political  and  security  crisis,  the  EU  has  consistently  supported  Mali's 
territorial integrity, its return to constitutional order and the search for a political settlement of the 
crisis through dialogue. The EU has been involved in the Algiers peace process since June 2014 as a 
co-mediator. 

26 COM(2014)335, 2.06.2014 
27 http://www.newdeal4peace.org/  
28 EU Capacity Building Mission to Sahel Mali 
29 EU Advisory Mission to Ukraine 
30 EU (Military) Force in the Central African Republic 
31 EU Training Mission to Mali 

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During 2014, state-building contracts were signed with a number of fragile countries affected by the 
Ebola  epidemic,  including  Guinea,  Sierra  Leone,  and  Liberia,  to  provide  support  to  health  services, 
maintain macroeconomic stability and create fiscal space for measures related to the epidemic.   

In the Central African Republic the EU supported the regional effort for stabilisation. Since January 
2014,  a  new  transitional  government  has  been  in  place  and  in  September  the  African  Union  force 
MISCA was replaced by a UN Peace-Keeping Operation: MINUSCA.  

The EU is the primary ODA donor to the Central African Republic and on 15 July  2014 launched an 
innovative EU-managed multi-donor trust fund: "Bêkou"32. With contributions from the EDF, France, 
Germany  and  the  Netherlands  during  2014  this  new  trust  was  endowed  with  EUR  36  million.  In 
addition the fund has received EUR 27 million for health and education, EUR 20 million for electoral 
processes and EUR 33 million of budget support for fragile situations from a 'State Building Contract' 
that enabled basic state functions. 

In December 2013, the Joint Communication from the HRVP and the European Commission on the 
EU's  comprehensive  approach  to  external  conflict  and  crises33  presented  proposals  on  how  to 
strengthen  the  coherence,  comprehensiveness  and  effectiveness  of  EU  external  action,  with  a 
particular focus on conflict and crisis situations. 

Following  the  May  2014  Council  conclusions  on  the  EU’s  comprehensive  approach,  Commission 
services and the EEAS have worked in cooperation with EU Member States to develop an action plan 
that was adopted in 2015. 

In 2014, the EU continued to implement its Strategic Framework for the Horn of Africa34 in pursuit of 
a  comprehensive  approach  to  peace  and  stability  in  the  region.  At  the  country  level,  the  EU  has 
taken  the  role  as  lead  international  partner  in  Somalia  providing  political,  financial  and  security 
support.  The  EU  also  remains  the  biggest  financial  contributor  to  the  African  Union  Mission  in 
Somalia (AMISOM). During the course of 2014, EUR 89 million of support to Somalia was approved 
from the EDF. 

Bilateral  cooperation  with  the  Syrian  government  has  been  suspended  since  2011,  but  vital 
humanitarian  aid  (EUR  41  million)  was  provided  through  the  ENI  during  2014  to  support  the 
beleaguered  citizens  of  Syria.  These  funds  supported  actions  in  health,  education,  support  to 
livelihoods  and  civil  society  capacity  building.  Support  has  also  been  provided  in  neighbouring 
countries, notably Jordan and Lebanon, to help these countries cope with the consequences of the 
crisis. A total of EUR 213 million was committed in 2014 through the ENI to the three countries. In 
Jordan, the aid is primarily used to defray the cost of providing education for Syrian refugee children. 
In  Lebanon,  the  aid  is  used  to  deal  with  strains  on  the  country’s  infrastructure,  including  schools, 
primary health care and waste water treatment. EUR 20 million was committed to establish the EU 
Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis (Madad Fund) with a further EUR three million 
contribution from Italy as the initial co-funding partner. 

Strategic partnerships 
The  EU  has  a  strategic  interest  in  promoting  links  with  partners  playing  an  increasingly  important 
role in world affairs including those that are no longer eligible for bilateral development aid such as 

32 https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/trust-fund-bekou_en  
33 JOIN(2013) 30 final, 11.12.2013 
34 http://register.consilium.europa.eu/doc/srv?l=EN&f=ST%2016858%202011%20INIT  

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Brazil,  China,  India  and  Mexico.  In  addition,  the  EU  fosters  equitable  partnerships  with  emerging 
economies (i.e. South East Asia, Latin America). It is to respond to these needs that the Partnership 
Instrument (PI)35 was adopted in 2014. 

The  PI  supports  the  external  dimension  of  EU  internal  policies  ranging  from  competiveness  and 
migration  to  research  and  innovation,  and  addresses  major  global  challenges,  such  as  energy 
security,  climate  change  and  environmental  protection,  as  well  as  specific  aspects  of  the  EU’s 
economic diplomacy. The instrument also covers public diplomacy (including cultural diplomacy) and 
outreach activities to promote the EU’s values and interests. 

Solidarity and support 
In 2014, the EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Directorate-General (DG ECHO) provided over 
EUR 1.3 billion of assistance in response to natural disasters, armed conflicts and protracted crises.  

In  West  Africa,  the  key  challenge  in  2014  was  the  outbreak  of  Ebola,  which  killed  over  eleven 
thousand people. One of the first international donors to react, the Commission mobilised EUR 210 
million  in  development  and  early  recovery  assistance  for  delivery  in  2014  and  2015.  With  the 
addition of contributions for humanitarian aid and with EUR 138.4 million for research on treatment, 
diagnostics  and  vaccines,  the  European  Commission's  total  contribution  amounted  to  EUR  414 
million.  The  overall  funding  from  the  EU,  including  the  EU  budget's  and  Member  States’ 
contributions  was  more  than  EUR  1.2  billion.  In  addition  over  EUR  100  million  was  funded  by 
industry in the context of the Innovative Medicines Initiative.  

Significant Commission support to global health initiatives, such as the Global Alliance on Vaccines 
and Immunisation (GAVI), has contributed to progress on the MDGs, in particular in reducing under-
fives mortality. In 2014 GAVI received a new commitment of EUR 10 million to make pneumococcal 
vaccines more available in less developed ACP countries. The Parliament and the Council approved 
in June 2014 the EU’s participation in the second European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials 
Partnership programme with sub-Saharan Africa with an EU contribution of EUR 683 million. 

The EU's financial support to the Global Programme of Education has been instrumental in efforts to 
improve  MDG  targets  on  education.  In  June  2014,  the  Commission  hosted  the  second  education 
replenishment  pledging  conference  of  the  Global  Partnership  of  Education  in  Brussels.  The 
Conference raised an unprecedented commitment of EUR 26 billion in additional domestic funding 
for education. 

Gender equality remained a key challenge in 2014 with a comprehensive EU response strategy that 
included  both strong  gender mainstreaming activities  in virtually  all  major  aid programmes.  In  the 
newly  adopted programme, DCI  -  Global  Public  Goods  and  Challenges,  more than  EUR  100  million 
has  been  earmarked  during  2015-20  to  women  and  children’s  wellbeing,  with  special  attention  to 
harmful practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting, and child, early and forced marriage. 

Gender equality and women's empowerment are important cross-cutting elements of development 
activities. The key role women play across all development sectors in ACP countries was particularly 
evidenced by the study ‘ACP Women, Actors of Development’36. The publication illustrated the vital 
role  of  grassroots  organisations  in  the  realisation  of  women's  rights,  and  their  contribution  to 
sustainable development.  

35 http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/fpi/what-we-do/partnership_instrument_en.htm  
36 http://www.acp.int/sites/acpsec.waw.be/files/Final_BD%20-%20English.pdf  

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Ten years on from the devastating tsunami of 26 December 2004 the EU is still actively helping the 
region to recover. In total, over the past decade the European Commission has committed EUR 123 
million to tsunami victims across the region (Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, The Maldives and Thailand) 
through  humanitarian  assistance.  Reconstruction  efforts  for  Indonesia  alone  amounted  to  an 
additional EUR 200 million.  

Looking ahead 
The EU has declared 2015 as the  European Year for Development (EYD2015) with the motto ‘Our 
world, our dignity, our future’. EYD2015 is the first ever European Year for Development and aims to 
engage with EU citizens and other stakeholders to raise awareness of EU external action in the area 
of development. 

2015 is a pivotal year for international development and marks a transformation to an integrated 
approach  to  tackling  poverty  eradication  and  sustainable  development.  Three  high-level 
international meetings provide the opportunity to agree the new agenda including the setting of the 
2030  Agenda  for  Sustainable  Development  with  the  SDGs,  the  Third  International  Conference  on 
Financing  for  Development  in  Addis  Ababa  in  July  2015  and  the  United  Nations  (UN)  Sustainable 
Development Summit in New York in September. As important, the UNFCCC COP21 conference in 
Paris  in  December  2015  should  adopt  vital  targets  to  limit  climate  change,  which  has  a  significant 
impact on international development policies. 

The joint programming exercise will be further extended during 2015 and the first reporting on the 
basis  of  the  new  international  cooperation  and  development  results  framework  is  scheduled  for 
the last quarter of 2015. 

Migration,  and  in  particular  the  migratory  crisis  in  the  Mediterranean,  is  an  issue  of  growing 
importance for the whole European Union. The European Council decided therefore that a dedicated 
Summit with the African Union and key countries on this policy area will be convened in Malta on 11 
and 12 November 2015. 

During  2015,  several  Social  Science  and  Humanities  research  projects  will  be  funded  under  the 
Horizon  2020  work  programme  providing  new  analytical  toolkits  and  contributing  insights  to  help 
strengthen the EU’s role as a global actor37. 

Priorities  for  2015  include  supporting  the  responsible  management  of  global  supply  chains.  In 
particular,  the  EU  will  support  the  German  ‘Partnership  for  sustainable  textiles’38  initiative  to 
promote responsible business practices in developing countries to implement social, ecological and 
economic standards along the entire textiles value chain.  

The  biennial  report  on  PCD  covering  the  period  2013-2015  will  be  launched  in  the  second  half  of 
2015  and  will  include  a  survey  on  implementation  of  PCD  at  Member  State  level.  A  revised  EU 
Gender  Action  Plan  covering  the  2016-2020  period  will  also  be  published  as  a  Staff  Working 
Document in 2015. 

37 http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2014_2015/main/h2020-wp1415-
societies_en.pdf  
38 https://www.textilbuendnis.com/index.php/en/  

10