Post 2015: Global Action for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future

towards the achievement of the mDGs and has
itself made some progress in this area. Since 2007,
policy coherence for Development, for instance,
is reported on biennially, and pcD became a legal
obligation in the 2009 lisbon treaty. achieving
pcD remains a challenge for the Eu, as does the
need to improve coordination between the Eu
and member States’ development policies and
operations, an area that is also difficult for non-Eu
donors (com, 2012a; oEcD, 2012).
3.1 The place of the MDGs in EU
development cooperation
Efforts to make the mDGs a focal point for
development policy across Europe are reflected
in several high-profile Eu policy statements and
publications. In addition to the 2005 European
Consensus, which applies both to the member
States and to the Eu institutions, its approach to
the mDGs is detailed in the 2007 Code of Conduct
on Division of Labour, the 2008 Communication
on progress towards the MDGs, the commission’s
brochure published before the 2010 mDG Summit,
and its 2010 12-point plan for getting the mDGs
on track. In placing an emphasis on the mDGs,
these documents also stress that member States
should adhere to their international development
commitments, particularly regarding the
monterrey and mDG8 commitments to
increase oDa. the European commissioner for
Development has observed that progress towards
meeting the mDGs remains unsatisfactory and
that the Eu overall must do more (piebalgs, 2012).
Despite the importance attached to the
mDGs, they have not been the sole focus of Eu
development cooperation since 2000. For example,
the Eu is also committed to other wider aspects of
development, including issues that are not covered
in the mDGs, as well as to supporting countries
whose priorities may not necessarily focus on the
mDGs. this is well reflected in the broad objectives
outlined in the cotonou partnership agreement
(cpa), which stresses its openness to engaging in a
wide dialogue with partners (articles 1 and 8). It is
also evident from the relatively high proportion of
oDa the Eu spends in middle-income countries
(mIcs), particularly in its neighbouring states
(e.g. Georgia or ukraine). a recent internal
study conducted for the European commission
(forthcoming) confirms the importance of the
mDGs to the Eu in terms of development policy
at a global level. However, it also notes that policy
is formulated in a holistic fashion to allow for
partner country priorities and more variations are
visible at the regional.
on the financial side, the consensus on
international development priorities encapsulated
in the millennium Declaration seems to have
encouraged European governments to increase
oDa. total European oDa grew every year
(Figure 3.1) following the millennium Declaration
dipping as the global financial crisis of 2008–2009
hit European economies. thus while the Eu had
made a major effort to meet the 0.7% target,
the crisis has seriously affected the ability and
willingness of most European governments to
continue increasing oDa, making it very unlikely
that the Eu as a whole will reach the target by 2015.
It is impossible to identify how much of the oDa
increase since 2000 was focused on achieving
the mDGs. the commission’s figures show
(Figure 3.2) that the total amount of oDa from
the European Development Fund (EDF) and the
Eu budget spent on mDG-related sectors has
risen steadily from 2001 to 2011, with important
variations in relative levels between 2004 and
2008. but this finding indicates a trend rather than
revealing the amount dedicated to achieving the
mDGs.
a more substantive indication is given in the
internal study (forthcoming) undertaken for
the commission, which estimates that between
poSt-2015: Global actIon For an IncluSIvE anD SuStaInablE FuturE
Total European
ODA grew every
year following
the Millennium
Declaration,
but the crisis has
seriously affected
the ability and
willingness of
most European
governments
to continue
increasing
ODA.
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