EU 2013 report on policy coherence for development

The Committee on Development unanimously adopted the report by Charles GOERENS (ADLE, LU) on the EU 2013 Report on Policy Coherence for Development.

Firstly, Members recalled that only a European vision based on solidarity – which did not assume there to be any incompatibility between the objectives of tackling poverty inside and outside theEU– could overcome conflicts of interest among the various policies of the Union and reconcile them with the imperatives of development.  PCD was now recognised as an obligation and regarded as a tool of a comprehensive policy to incorporate the multiple dimensions of development.

Attainment of PCD: Members proposed that an arbitration system be established, to be operated by the President of the Commission, to bring about PCD, and that in the event of divergences among the various policies of the Union, the President of the Commission should fully shoulder his political responsibility for the overall approach on the basis of the commitments accepted by the Union with regard to PCD. The committee called on the European Union, Member States and their partner institutions to ensure that the new ‘post-2015’ framework included a PCD objective which made it possible to develop reliable indicators to measure the progress of donors and partner countries.

Members called on the Commission to:

• maintain its commitment to the field of development and human rights, recalling the role of the latter in imparting impetus to the Union’s policies and coordinating them;
• actively promote a coherent and modern vision of human development in order to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and honour the commitments given;
• contract regular independent ex-post assessments of the development impact of key policies,
• provide specific training on PCD and development impact to staff in non-development services.

Members confirmed the need to appoint a permanent rapporteur on the development agenda for the period after 2015, who should also ensure that due account is taken of PCD. They stressed the important role which the European Parliament could play in the process of promoting PCD by assigning it priority in Parliament’s agendas, by increasing the number of meetings between committees and between parliaments relating to PCD, by promoting dialogue on PCD with partner countries and by fostering exchanges of views with civil society.

Priority areas of action: PCD should apply to the following policy areas:

·        migration flow management;

·        trade policy;

·        social and environmental responsibility on the part of the private sector;

·        environmental and climate change policies;

·        tax policy;

The report called upon the Commission to also include in the annual report on the implementation of the Raw Materials Initiative information on the impact of new agreements, programmes and initiatives on resource-rich developing countries.

Lastly, it stressed that fisheries agreements between the Union and third countries, particularly developing countries, must primarily be tools geared to bolstering the Union’s partnership with developing countries and must be designed to promote sustainable fishing which will help those countries to develop their own economies.