Informal Senior Officials Meeting – The implications of a possible ratification of the Lisbon Treaty for EU development policy

Report for the Informal EU Senior Officials Meeting: The implications of a possible ratification of the Lisbon Treaty for EU development policy (Maastricht, 16 September 2009).

The purpose of the meeting was to provide high-level officials with a platform for jointly thinking through the implications for development cooperation of the Lisbon Treaty, if ratified. A number of technical implementation decisions will have to be taken very quickly after a potential ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. These decisions will be the outcome of highly political negotiations with a multitude of stakeholders. Thus, development policy makers will need to go into these negotiations with a clear vision of the future role for development cooperation in the evolving global and EU context and a set of principles and criteria that will allow them to chose among the various institutional options.