The EU's Multi-Annual Financial Framework post-2013: Options for EU development cooperation

The European Commission (EC) is the largest single multilateral donor of official development assistance (ODA) in the world – bigger than the World Bank and, with an annual disbursement of some €10 billion per year, on a par with the whole of the United Nations. But as negotiations around Europe’s post-2013 multi- annual financial framework (MFF) begin, there are major questions around the comparative advantage of a Europe-wide approach, and the role of Europe in the future global aid architecture.

Hypothetically, if EU member states are to meet the pledges they have made for 2015 (0.7% of GNI for the EU-15, 0.33% for the EU-12), then aid will have to roughly double. Therefore, if the EC is to maintain its ‘market share‘, its aid would also need to double and continue increasing throughout the period of the MFF. But what is this aid for? How does European aid adapt to a development landscape that is going through such rapid change?

This paper reviews this landscape and proposes and analyses options on:

1. rethinking priorities and assistance towards MICs and emerging economies;

2. ensuring enough flexibility to respond to unforeseen needs

3. dealing with climate finance

4. ensuring adequate long-term funding to strengthen security and development linkages;

5. budgetising or maintaining a separate European Development Fund.