European Parliament resolution on the Annual Report 2001 from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the EC development policy and the implementation of the external assistance (COM(2002) 490 – 2002/2246(INI))
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Commission report (COM(2002) 490 - C5-0607/2002),
– having regard to the European Community's cooperation policies,
– having regard to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States on the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, on the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000(1), and which entered into effect on 1 April 2003 following completion of ratification procedures,
– having regard to the OECD Development Assistance Committee's 2002 Peer Review of European Community assistance,
– having regard to Rules 47(2) and 163 of its Rules of Procedure,
– having regard to the report of the Committee on Development and Cooperation and the opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy and the Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities (A5&nbhy;0209/2003),
A. whereas 2001 is the second year for which EuropeAid has published an annual report,
B. whereas in 2001 external Official Development Assistance (ODA) to developing countries financed by the General Budget and the European Development Fund (EDF) amounted to EUR 5994 million in commitments and EUR 5892 million in payments, and ODA and official assistance to countries and territories in transition in 2001 amounted to EUR 9729 million in commitments and EUR 7700 million in payments,
C. whereas, according to the Development Assistance Committee peer review, European Community external assistance for 2001 increased by 21.1% in real terms over the previous year, mainly through increased assistance to accession candidate countries,
D. whereas aid to candidate countries exceeds aid to developing countries,
E. whereas the European Community is the leading international donor of development aid and the Member States committed themselves at the Barcelona European Council to reach, within their respective budgetary processes, at least 0.33% of ODA/GNI by 2006,
1. Welcomes the publication of the EuropeAid Annual Report for 2001, the second of its kind, which constitutes a useful compendium of data and analysis that is not otherwise available in readily consultable form, and which consequently contributes to the transparency of the EU's development cooperation activities;
2. Understands that this EuropeAid Report is, to a certain extent, experimental in nature, and that it refers to a period in which external aid policies, and particularly development cooperation policies, were in a phase of transition and consolidation; recognises the interest and merit of the document and hopes that a more substantial evaluation will be made in the 2002 Report, when a more realistic assessment can be undertaken;
3. Notes with satisfaction that the Commission, in accordance with the frequently expressed views of the European Parliament, has attempted to assess progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals which were adopted in September 2000;
4. Emphasises that the promotion of gender equality and women's rights is an essential component in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, and consequently requests the Commission to include in future annual reports data on gender balance, notably in the education and health sectors, as well as on actions to combat violence against women;
5. Welcomes the emphasis placed by the Commission on poverty reduction and the concentration of development assistance (except for the candidate countries) on the poorest states, in particular the least developed countries; calls on all low-income countries to produce poverty reduction strategy papers as a matter of urgency so that actions to combat poverty can be properly targeted; asks that account be taken, in this respect, not only of the poorest states but also of middle-income developing countries with very high levels of poverty and social inequality;
6. Welcomes the fact that the Commission has accorded priority to the development and strengthening of regional and sub-regional political, economic and commercial integration processes in those regions that are to receive EC cooperation, and calls for a stronger commitment to regional and sub-regional integration and association models as a global strategy to meet the challenges posed by development in the 21st Century;
7. Sees the need for reliable mechanisms to measure the effectiveness of European development actions, notably in poverty alleviation and trade promotion; accordingly, urges the Commission, including Eurostat, to assist developing countries' administrations so as to develop statistical services that can provide accurate data on economic growth and on economic and social progress;
8. Notes that the reorganisation of the Commission's services and the setting up of the EuropeAid Cooperation Office has improved the efficiency of European aid management; regrets, however, the continuing lack of sufficient manpower to manage the volume of money involved; calls for the provision of increased staff to manage the Community's external assistance, including extra staff in overseas delegations, to meet the challenges of deconcentration;
9. Reiterates its previous criticisms regarding the lengthy programming of European aid; notes that the Commission is aware of these problems, and thus calls for still lighter and less cumbersome administrative procedures;
10. Expresses serious reserves regarding the use of European funding for macro-economic budgetary support which amounted to EUR 263 million in 2001 for the ACP countries alone, notes that much of this money went to countries which have been criticised for poor governance;
11. Calls on the Commission to define comprehensive, rigorous and transparent control and reporting mechanisms to monitor macro-economic support in order to ensure that this funding is used for the purposes for which it was intended; urges the Commission to consult with other donors with a view to harmonising reporting requirements, thereby facilitating administrative procedures for recipient developing countries;
12. Welcomes the setting up of the Inter-Service Quality Support group, and believes that this will continue to positively influence the quality and coherence of EU development strategy and its complementarity with programmes carried out by other donors, notably the EU Member States, the UN Agencies and the Bretton Woods Institutions;
13. Regrets the Commission's failure to meet the output targets for cooperation with Asian and Latin American countries, notably with regard to social infrastructure and services, added as remarks to the 2001 General Budget by the European Parliament;
14. Calls on the negotiating parties to forge ahead with the negotiations on an EU-Mercosur association agreement, and with the political dialogue and cooperation agreements between the EU and the Community of Andean Nations and the EU and Central America, so that results might be available in time for the forthcoming Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean, to be held in Mexico in 2004, in line with the consolidation of the strategic bi-regional association between the two regions;
15. Calls on the Commission to increase the resources and specific actions designed to protect indigenous peoples and develop their own capacities, and for adequate attention to be paid to the needs of indigenous peoples in horizontal and regional programmes;
16. Calls on the Commission to analyse, in the Annual Report for 2002, the effectiveness of assistance provided for private sector development and to devise yardsticks for measuring the success of such assistance, including measures specifically designed to promote women's participation in business;
17. Is particularly concerned by the continuing high level of committed appropriations that have not yet been paid, the "reste à liquider" (RAL); points out that at the end of 2001, under the General Budget there were 1482 totally dormant commitments in the accounting system, representing an outstanding amount of EUR 1319 million; calls on the Commission to apply itself diligently to reducing the level of RAL, either through activating projects or programmes for which funds have been committed, or through "decommitment" whenever it is clear that there would be no point in maintaining commitments;
18. Nevertheless welcomes the fact that, according to the Commission's figures, in 2001 RAL for appropriations under the General Budget decreased by 60% from EUR 1092.34 million to EUR 329.7 million;
19. Deplores the Commission's failure to include in the 2001 Annual Report data concerning unused EDF commitments which, contrary to budget RAL, were not reduced in 2001; calls for more vigorous action in respect of EDF RAL, and expects this to be analysed in detail in the 2002 Annual Report;
20. Notes that a disproportionately high share of this RAL relates to budget chapter B7-4 (Mediterranean), and also deplores the low level of payment on budget lines for the environment and tropical forests;
21. Sees the need for a common reliable computerised information system covering all aspects of the project cycle, and reiterates its call for greater human resources to manage the growing number of projects;
22. Stresses that it is as important to execute existing programmes successfully, as it is to launch new programmes; deplores the fact that new programmes and actions were on occasions launched without the provision of sufficient staff to ensure their correct implementation;
23. Calls for the rapid budgetisation of the EDF, which would simplify procedures and facilitate the decommitment of dormant and old RAL, while insisting that EDF budgetisation must, under no circumstances, lead to any reduction, in real terms, in the value of the fund or in the volume of resources available to the ACP countries;
24. Requests the Commission, in its 2002 Annual Report, to take account of the decisions taken at the Monterrey and Johannesburg summits, and to analyse its initial response to meeting the commitments resulting therefrom;
25. Notes with approval that the Commission has devoted a section to the policy of mainstreaming gender equality; requests the Commission to include in future annual reports a more detailed analysis of the state of implementation and the effectiveness of policies and programmes aimed at improving the situation of women;
26. Requests the Commission, in its 2002 Annual Report, to produce more statistical annexes permitting detailed comparison between use of appropriations for different sectors and regions, as well as an executive summary;
27. Suggests that, in its future annual report, the Commission clearly distinguishes between actions and resources in favour of development cooperation with the countries of the South, and its activities in favour of the development of northern countries, including candidates for EU membership and neighbouring countries such as those in the Balkans;
28. Stresses the need for EuropeAid Annual Reports to pay special attention to the effectiveness of the EU's actions to promote efficient, transparent and accountable public institutions in developing nations, adapted to the particular circumstances of each country;
29. Hopes that future EuropeAid Annual Reports will accord due attention to the cross-border dimension of certain development policies, notably INTERREG, MEDA and TACIS and other policies aimed at stimulating the development of regions close to the external borders of the enlarged Union;
30. Notes that the 2001 Report contains certain imperfections such as discontinuity of editorial style between chapters; urges that these be remedied in the 2002 Report so as to avoid its appearing as a juxtaposition of disparate elements;
31. Recommends that the Commission print sufficient copies of the 2001 Report, in the necessary languages, to enable its widest possible distribution in the developing countries, in the Member States, and, in particular, among the NGOs which are frequently most useful partners in the implementation of EU cooperation policies;
32. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the ACP-EU Council of Ministers, the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the Council and the Commission.