Improving ACP-EU Cooperation: Is 'Budgetising' the EDF the Answer?
The debate about whether to incorporate the European Development Fund (EDF) into the EU budget has resurfaced, this time in a new and fast-changing political context. The Convention on the Future of the European Union, the upcoming enlargement of the Union, negotiations on the next Financial Perspectives (2007–13) and the forthcoming possibility to amend the Cotonou Partnership Agreement are all events that open windows to look at ACP-EU cooperation in a new light. Yet though the political context may be changing, it is not long ago since the “Green Paper” debated the future of Lomé – probably the most far-reaching review of ACP-EU cooperation ever. The evolving political context means that ACP-EU cooperation has entered uncertain times, though equally it implies that any decision on budgetisation must be taken against a rapidly-changing backdrop.