Social Watch Report 2010

The Treaty of Lisbon and the new perspectives for EUdevelopment policyThe Treaty of Lisbon contains provisions designed to tackle poverty and social exclusion within the EU, something particularlysignificant at a time when 2010 has been declared the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion, and whencurrently 16% of its population are poor. European resources for development cooperation have continued to increase inrecent years. However, contributions to social sectors in developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, have beensignificantly reduced. The drastic decrease in the European Commission contribution to education and health in developingcountries is unacceptable and must be redressed.Mirjam van ReisenEEPASimon StockerEurostepThe Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force on 1December 2009, was hoped to provide the EuropeanUnion (EU) with “modern institutions and optimizedworking methods” to tackle the challenges of today’sworld both efficiently and effectively. 1 This simplificationof working methods – something clearly neededin the EU – has been realized by the Treaty along withthe need for transparency and the establishment ofnew democratic rules. In terms of external policy, politicalgoals and the need to create new instrumentsfor foreign affairs have been underlined in order toface the issues of our rapidly changing world andpromote the EU as a global actor.Following the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbonby all EU member-states, the European developmentcooperation policy goal has been clearly defined.The Treaty stipulates that all policy efforts should begeared towards “the reduction, and, in the long term,the eradication of poverty” (Article 208).The Treaty also contains specific provisions fortackling poverty and social exclusion within the EU.According to Article 9, “In defining and implementingits policies and activities, the Union shall takeinto account requirements linked to the promotionof a high level of employment, the guarantee ofadequate social protection, the fight against socialexclusion, and a high level of education, trainingand protection of human health.” Moreover, Article3 clearly stipulates that the Union should “combatsocial exclusion and discrimination, and shall promotesocial justice and protection.” 2 The year 2010has been declared the European Year for CombatingPoverty and Social Exclusion. This is especiallyrelevant in 2010, as Europe is identifying how it willrespond to the challenge of the financial stability ofthe Euro, which has challenged the EU as a whole.1 Full text available from: .2 Consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Unionand the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.Available from: .The European Parliament has been given newpowers to adopt trade agreements; a trade committeeis now in place in the European Parliament toensure greater checks and balances are in place formonitoring EU trade relations with third countries.In addition, the European Parliament has negotiateda greater role with regard to foreign affairs,and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs andSecurity Policy of the EU, Baroness Catherine Ashton,has agreed to report regularly to the EuropeanParliament.EU relations with developing countriesThe EU’s relations with developing countries arebased on the principle of non-discrimination, anda leading objective in these relations is the eradicationof poverty. The Treaty also identifies the fourCs – coherence, consistency, complementarity andcoordination – as key elements. The “coherence”principle is of primary importance for achievingdevelopment cooperation policy goals, as it statesthat “the Union shall take account of the objectivesof development cooperation in the policies that itimplements which are likely to affect developingcountries” (Treaty of Lisbon, Article 208). This objectiveis applicable to all EU institutions, includingthe European External Action Service (EEAS). TheCourt of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issueda judgment in November 2008 whereby EuropeanInvestment Bank (EIB) operations in developingcountries must prioritize development over anyeconomic or political objective.The implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon allowsfor the establishment of the EEAS, whose remitshave been widely debated. The implementation of theEEAS is a significant change within the current Europeandevelopment policy framework. Its primarygoal consists of providing a single diplomatic servicefor the EU, which will support Baroness Ashton. Asa legal opinion drafted for Eurostep by Daniel R. Mekonnenpointed out: “The EU needs a system of developmentaid and cooperation that has these checksand balances in place. As a partner that manifeststhe criteria of good governance in its relationshipswith others, especially with weaker counterparts,the EU will be better positioned if it can advocategood governance not only in principle but also inpractice.” 3 There is a broad consensus that the EEASmust promote policy coherence for development, asthe Treaty of Lisbon applies to its remit, which setsthe eradication of poverty as a central objective forEU relations with developing countries.The EC position paper on “Policy Coherence forDevelopment: accelerating progress towards attainingthe Millennium Development Goals,” stressedthe fact that aid alone is not sufficient to achieve theMDGs. 4 Covering 12 main areas: trade, environment,climate change, security, agriculture, bilateralfisheries agreements, social policies (employment),migration, research/ innovation, information technologies,transport and energy. The policy coherencedocument notes that trade and agriculture are the twomain areas in which improvement of the GeneralizedSystem of Preferences of the EU and its current agriculturalproduction pattern needs to be realized.Missing from this list of priorities is climatechange, which is surprising given the concern thatEuropean citizens have about this issue. Accordingto Eurobarometer, the EU polling mechanism,63% of citizens consider climate change as a veryserious problem and 24% a fairly serious problem.Most Europeans (62%) believe climate change isnot inevitable; only 10% consider it is not a seriousproblem and 3% do not know. Furthermore, 47%of respondents consider climate change to be oneof the two most serious problems facing the worldtoday. Interestingly, only poverty scores higher, beingplaced in the top two by 69% of those polled.This makes a joint approach to environment protection/climatechange and poverty especially attractiveand relevant. While sustainable development is wellaccepted as a crucial component of poverty eradication,there is an urgent need for a binding visionbetween the EU and developing countries, includinggood examples and opportunities that show howprinciples can be put into action.Following the EC communication, in May 2010the European Parliament adopted a resolution on3 Daniel R Mekonnen, “The draft council decision on theestablishment of the European External Action Service and itscompliance with the Lisbon Treaty–Legal Opinion Drafted forEuropean Solidarity Towards Equal Participation of People,”Eurostep, May 2010. Available from: .4 Available from: .Social Watch33The Treaty of Lisbon and the new perspectives for EU development policy