What direction for european development policy ?

The need to reform European development policy

Since it was first launched in the wake of World War II, international development cooperation has undergone many changes and witnessed myriad alternating paradigms, in very different geopolitical settings. Following a post-Cold War spate of aid fatigue, the paradigm of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) today serves as the road map for the entire international community. The fact that these goals lay prime emphasis on human capital has made them a powerful driving force for action.

After ten years of efforts geared to achieving the MDGs, reports show that progress has been very uneven across regions and across sectors. At the same time, in less than twenty years, the world has experienced a quantum shift that gives good reason for setting this paradigm on a new footing and, more generally, rethinking our cooperation policies. By drawing up its Framework Document for development cooperation, France seeks to take account of a new world marked by global interdependence, and to contribute to the reflection on how to foster global policies that can offer a response to the world’s main issues and challenges.

France has largely contributed to affirming European development policy at each new stage of its evolution. Today, it wishes to participate, together with its partners, in the crucial step of adapting this policy to the present, at a time when the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon offers numerous opportunities and Europe’s Member States are preparing to negotiate the next Financial Perspectives.

What direction for european development policy ? (May 2011) - (PDF, 668.4 ko)