Reprogramming EU Development Cooperation for 2014-2020: Key Moments for Partner Countries, EU Delegations, Member States and Headquarters in 2012

Two years into the Lisbon Treaty and two years until the new financial regulations for external action (2014-2020) will enter into force, the EU has launched the programming process for the use of a
57.57 billion euros budget for development cooperation that has been proposed for this seven years period. This process is of keen interest for developing countries, as it will determine on what ODA resources are spent at the country level.

Ever since the new EU post-Lisbon services responsible for developing countries were set up in 2011,observers have been left in doubt as to what the priority for development cooperation in the Lisbon Treaty means in practice. The Lisbon Treaty and the 2010 European External Action Service (EEAS) Decision (Council of the EU: 2010) left some room for interpretation about how to combine the strategic planning responsibility of the EEAS with the responsibility of DG Development and Cooperation (DEVCO) over the money to spend. In preparation for the first step of the planning and budget cycle, i.e. the ‘programming’ process that spells out how and where the EU allocates and plans its external programmes, more detailed responsibilities have now been agreed amongst EU stakeholders.

Read Discussion Paper 129