Monthly Highlights from ECDPM’s Weekly Compass Update, Great Insights, Volume 3, Issue 9 (October/November 2014)
What does the new HRVP mean for development cooperation? | Africa 2030 – Realising the Possibilities, Weekly Compass, 10 October 2014
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/European Commission Vice-President (HRVP)-designate Federica Mogherini’s vision, laid out in her European Parliament hearing, is to ensure a common, long-term vision to prevent crisis and to manage post-crisis situations and beyond. Mogherini intends to ensure more effective external action by increasing European ownership of the Common Foreign Policy, improving institutional relations and ensuring coordination and coherence among all Commissioner portfolios. This will be quite some challenge with inter-institutional coordination difficult enough, and getting full member-state buy-in even harder. Mogherini’s mission letter, written responses to the European Parliament and the parliamentary hearing give us insight into the EU’s foreign policy on a number of issues. We focus on three areas of particular interest to ECDPM’s stakeholders: EU-Africa relations, development, and policy coherence & the comprehensive approach. Ultimately Mogherini gave a confident performance on a wide-ranging dossier. Yet, she will need all the help she can get to deliver a more coherent and effective role for the EU in the world.
Future of EU International Cooperation and Development | Malmström’s Trade Policy, Weekly Compass, 3 October 2014
It’s a dangerous thing trying to predict the future – including the EU’s international development priorities. The Agenda for Change, the EU’s guiding development policy since 2011, was almost good to go when the Arab Spring was suddenly in full swing, requiring a hasty rewrite that re-emphasised governance and human rights. So what are the recurring themes likely to be the focus of new Commission for 2014 – 2019?
Moment of Truth for EU External Climate Action? | Post-2015 Means of Implementation | Financing Development, Weekly Compass, 25 September 2014
EU leaders arrived at this week’s UN Climate Summit with a weakened negotiating position. Despite ambitious funding targets and a range of foreign policy tools to push the climate change agenda, EU leaders are struggling to find common ground on binding targets for renewable energy, greenhouse gas emissions cuts and energy efficiency for 2030.
