The European Parliament adopted by 326 votes 19 with 23 abstentions, a resolution on the EU 2013 Report on Policy Coherence for Development.
Parliament began by recalling 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 the EU– 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.
Parliament considered that the Union must take on a strong leadership role in promoting PCD, and noted that as much as EUR 800 million could be saved annually from cutting transaction costs if the EU and its Member States concentrated their aid efforts on fewer countries and activities.
Attainment of PCD: Parliament 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. Parliament 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.
The resolution called on the Commission to:
Parliament 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.
On trade policy, Parliament stressed that trade and development did not always accord perfectly. It considered that developing countries should selectively open up their markets and that social and environmental conditions such as ILO standards should not be forgotten. It recalled the need to include references to them in WTO agreements in order to avoid social and environmental dumping.
Parliament welcomed the fact that the relevance of smallholder farming in combating hunger was recognised by the EU and called for systematic assessment of the impact of European agricultural, trade and energy policies, including EU biofuel policy, which are likely to have adverse effects on developing countries.
The resolution 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, they recognised the high level of responsibility borne by the EU in ensuring that its fisheries are based on the same standards in terms of ecological and social sustainability both inside and outside Union waters. Such coherence required coordination both within the Commission itself and between the Commission and the governments of the individual Member States.
Lastly, Parliament recognised the high level of responsibility borne by the EU in ensuring that its fisheries are based on the same standards in terms of ecological and social sustainability both inside and outside Union waters. Such coherence required coordination both within the Commission itself and between the Commission and the governments of the individual Member States.