Modification of priorities of European Development Fund
9.12.2009
WRITTEN QUESTION E-6348/09
by João Ferreira (GUE/NGL)
to the Commission
The mid‑term review of the Tenth European Development Fund (EDF) has taken on increased importance in the context of the deepening impact of the economic and social crisis in the countries of the third world.
A number of criticisms have been made of the EDF's programming processes, regarding both the insufficient involvement in the debates of the relevant bodies — national authorities and parliaments and NGOs — and its established priorities.
More than two-thirds of the EDF's total resources are currently allocated to reinforcing regional integration: this includes the implementation of the ‘Economic Partnership Agreements’ (EPAs), while only a comparatively small proportion goes to areas as important as agriculture.
In West Africa, for example, out of a total of approximately EUR 600 million, 70 % of EDF funds are allocated to regional integration and competitiveness, 20 % to regional stability and good governance, and only 10 % to ‘other’ sectors (including the environment and agriculture).
The final declaration of the Fourth Regional Meeting of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly, held in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso´) at the end of October, affirmed the need for a shift in the EU's priorities, with more resources being allocated to areas such as agriculture and the environment.
In view of the above, can the Commission state:
- 1.how it intends to respond to the calls from various bodies for a shift in the EDF's priorities;
- 2.how it will remedy the recognised shortcomings in terms of participation of the interested parties in the talks on the programming of the EDF?
OJ C 10 E, 14/01/2011