Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum to meet in November

Source: EU News, issue 5, July 2009.

In its Communication of December 2008 on the Eastern partnership, the Commission proposed “to support the further development of Civil Society Organisations” (CSOs) and, in particular, “to establish an Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum to promote contacts among CSOs and facilitate their dialogue with public authorities”.

To ensure transparency of the process leading to the establishment of the Civil Society Forum, all interested parties were invited to provide their opinion. The consultation process started on 25 March and was closed on 25 April. Some 40 contributions were received, mainly from civil society organisations based in the Eastern Partner countries but also from several EU-based organisations. A reasoned analysis of the contributions received can be found under Results of the consultations with CSOs and NGOs.

In the Eastern Partnership joint Prague Declaration, from 7 May 2009, “the participants of the Prague Summit invited the European Commission to develop and propose modalities for the establishment of a Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership”. The Commission proposed the following Concept-paper.

On June 29 the Commission invited all interested parties, i.e. grass roots organisations, trade unions, employers' organisations, professional associations, NGOs, think-tanks, non-profit foundations, national and international CSOs/networks and other relevant Civil Society actors, to submit their Expressions of interest to participate in the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, using the following form. Note that information and the form are also available in Russian here.

The deadline for submission of expressions of interest is set at 31 August 2009.

The European Commission, together with the EU Presidency and the European Economic and Social Committee, will organise the launch of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum in mid-November 2009 in Brussels.

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on EU neighbourhood and civil society

CSO Development effectiveness: the key event of the Czech Presidency

Source: Concord Flash 62, June 2009

What are the key principles of development effectiveness? What is the specific role of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in development that could best contribute to their full potential? How is effectiveness influenced by external conditions and how to turn these conditions into advantages? These are the questions that were debated on 23-24 June by 170 representatives from civil society organisations (CSOs), donors and governments from nearly 50 countries from around the world that gathered in Prague.

Organised by the Czech NGDO platform “FoRS” (in collaboration with CONCORD) this conference was the closing event of the FoRS programme under the Czech Presidency of the European Union. Participants discussed the principles guiding their development effectiveness, the roles of CSOs in development and the framework provided by donors and governments for CSO work.

The opening sessions presented different perspectives on CSO development effectiveness, including from Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness. Additional workshops explored more details topics such as: sustainable technologies; migration and development; inclusive development; gender; democratic governance, agriculture and food security. The conference concluded with a lively discussion on the conference statement which sets out principles of CSO development effectiveness. Participants committed to deepen discussions of these principles within the Open Forum for CSO effectiveness.

Just 2 days before this conference, this Open Forum held a meeting to discuss how to organise their political dialogue with donors and government, funding issues, and how international CSO processes linked to the development effectiveness agenda (Open Forum and Better Aid) could be sufficiently funded.

Political dialogue: One of the key objectives of the Open Forum is to advocate for an enabling environment for CSOs as development actors. This should be achieved through a multi-level political dialogue that also includes those governments and donors that have so far remained reluctant to engage with civil society. To facilitate this dialogue, a group of supportive governments including Austria, Sweden, Canada and the UK, have mobilised their peers to create a multi-stakeholder working group linked to the OECD DAC Working Party on Aid Effectiveness. This working group will reach out to donors and governments and work on some CSO-specific provisions in the Accra Agenda for Action in the run-up to the next High-Level Forum in 2011.

Funding: A management group has been established. It will work closely with donors and with CONCORD for the Open Forum and IBON for Better Aid. Tentative commitments have been made by some donors, and it is expected that these will translate into concrete pledges in the weeks to come.

For further information contact Franz Josef Berger or visit www.cso-effectiveness.org and www.fors.cz/en/eu_presidency/seminars_conferences

Also check out Euforic's newsfeeds on Concord, aid effectiveness, and on the EU Presidency

Lancering Wereldstemwijzer: Kandidaat Europarlementariërs in debat

Met medewerking van het Europees Parlement Bureau Nederland, organiseren de NCDO, de EEN-campagne en Partos een debat rond de lancering van de Wereldstemwijzer voor de komende Europese Parlementsverkiezingen op 4 juni 2009. Wij nodigen u bij deze van harte uit aanwezig te zijn.

Wie: Ruud van Eijle (Christen Unie), Judith Sargentini (Groen Links), Barry Madlener (PVV) ovb Jan Mulder (VVD) ovb, Sophie in’t Veld (D66) ovb, Maria Martens (CDA) ovb. Debatleidster: Evelijne Bruning, hoofdredacteur Vice Versa.

Waar: Bureau Europees Parlement Nederland, Korte Vijverberg 6, Den Haag.

Wanneer: woensdag 13 mei van 15:00-17:00 uur (met een borrel na afloop).

Waarom: In Nederland is momenteel een fel debat gaande over de effectiviteit van ontwikkelingssamenwerking. Maar onze internationale rol en die van Europa strekt verder dan alleen ontwikkelingssamenwerking. De huidige financiële crisis, voedselcrisis en klimaatcrisis vragen om een internationale aanpak. Wat is de rol van ons 'kleine' Nederland hierin en wat kan of moet 'Europa' doen? Welke effecten hebben onze beslissingen hier, in Nederland en Europa, op landen buiten Europa? Daar zijn de meningen over verdeeld.

Om bekend te maken hoe de Nederlandse deelnemende partijen denken over mondiale vraagstukken zoals ontwikkelingshulp, wereldhandel en het landbouwbeleid hebben de NCDO, Partos en de EEN-campagne de Wereldstemwijzer laten ontwikkelen. De Wereldstemwijzer is uw eerste hulp bij stemmen in aanloop naar de Europese verkiezingen van 4 juni aanstaande. U zult een stemadvies ontvangen met een accent op de rol van Europa in de Wereld. Moet de Europese Unie stoppen met het werven van kennismigranten? Mag Europa alleen in eigen wateren vissen? Slechts voorbeelden van de stellingen die zullen worden gebruikt als basis van dit debat. Het debat zal tevens de officiële lancering zijn van de Wereldstemwijzer.

Aanmeldingen via info@partos.nl. Toegang is gratis, maximaal 60 mensen, dus meldt u snel aan!

Voor meer informatie zie de Euforic RSS feed over de Europese verkiezingen 2009

Aid from international NGOs: Blind spots on the aid allocation map?

Do international NGOs target poor countries when allocating aid? And do they focus on countries where governments fail? They don't, according to the PhD research of Dirk-Jan Koch, civil servant at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. NGOs spend more resources per poor person in lower middle income countries than in the poorest countries. For example, per poor person, more aid is allocated to Costa Rica and Chile than to Cote d'Ivoire. Tanzania (11 million people below the poverty line) receives 61 times more NGO aid than the Central African Republic (4 million people below the poverty line).

In his research, Koch uses a variety of quantitative and qualitative research techniques and data sets on aid allocations for 61 internationally operating NGOs from Europe, Canada, USA and Australia, to investigate a series of hypothesis about the behavior of NGOs.

He found that the policy choices of donors have an important influence on the countries chosen by NGOs to work in. They are less important when it comes to how active an NGO is in a country. His analysis shows, Koch claims, that NGOs follow governments and not the other way around. He also found that the quality of governance in a country does not seem to be a significant factor in any of this.

Not only do they all work in the same countries, within countries, NGOs also cluster and Koch analyses whether the factors that influenced the emergence of Silicon Valley play a similar role for Tanzania in "Serengeti Valley". He compares NGO aid and donor practices in Germany, Norway and the USA to test various hypothesis regarding the pattern of clustering. Is it risk aversion because of “marketization”? Or the degree of dependence on back donor? Does the emphasis on results lead to safe choices? A panel of Dutch researchers questioned Koch extensively on 26 February 2009 when he defended his PhD research. Questions remain but all panelists agreed that "this study is an important contribution to the debate."

Click To Play

by Rosien Herweijer

Links to articles (also in French) published on Koch’s research can be found at http://en.scientificcommons.org/dirk-jan_koch

See also the Euforic newsfeeds on civil society and cooperation policy

German NGOs criticize military engagement in reconstructing Afghanistan

Venro, the German Association of NGDOs, criticize (pdf in German) the so called 'Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Afghanistan under German command.

The teams, which usually consist of 250-300 soldiers plus some civil experts, aim to promote security and stability in the Afghan provinces and actively engage in reconstruction and humanitarian assistance, security sector reform and political dialogue with the Afghan population. According to Venro, these measures are meant to enhance the acceptance of the military thus increase force protection.

The German NGOs claim that the overlap of military and civil activities spoils the neutrality of NGOs thus worsening their security situation. While development actors are strictly guided by a humanitarian imperative, the German military which is increasingly engaging in combat missions follows clear political interests thus is part of the conflict environment.

The authors quote a statement by the International Red Cross: “The distinction between humanitarian, political and military action becomes blurred when armed forces are perceived as being humanitarian actors, when civilians are embedded into military structures, and when the impression is created that humanitarian organizations and their personnel are merely tools within integrated approaches to conflict management. "

The report demands that the German military concentrates on stabilizing and security activities which should primarily serve the Afghan population and leave humanitarian aid, reconstruction and development assistance to civil actors.

The report further argues that the advantages for force protection due to reconstruction activities of the military are hardly evident and are clearly outweighed by the risks for civil personnel. Additionally Venro demands a military exit strategy which would increase the credibility by showing that the international community is striving to bring peace and security to Afghanistan and does not only look for its own strategic interests.

by Martin Behrens

See the Euforic news alert and dossier for more on peace and security.

See also Euforic's dossier and news alert on German's international cooperation activities.

How to improve the relations between NGOs & the Council of the European Union?

Source: Concord Flash, nr. 56, November/December 2008

On Monday 15 December, 30 NGO representatives coming from all eight sectors forming the EU Civil Society Contact Group
(CSCG) met for a lunch debate to discuss the relations between NGOs and the Council. The debate was the opportunity to present the outcomes of a CSCG survey on the issue and draft recommendations. CONCORD, the Social Platform and the European Peace Building Liaison Office (EPLO), a member of the Human Rights and Democracy Network, presented their
experience in working with the Council. Main features of their experiences are:

♦ all three sectors used one specific opportunity as a door opener with the Council and to set a precedence;

♦ it is crucial to explain the representativeness of the network and make use of the complementarities with the activities of the national members;

♦ it is important to anticipate the work at least one year in advance and negotiate with the future presidencies on priorities in order to have an influence on the agenda.

Find the draft survey report including the recommendations here. Find notes of the lunch debate here. Find the invitation including the program of the event here.

For further information: Regula Heggli from the CSCG

Interested in the CSCG? click here for its strategic plan, work program 2009 and its “Mission, Vision and Governance”.

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on EU cooperation, and on Concord

Africa-Europe Partnership portal becomes interactive

The official website of the Africa- Europe Partnership, lunched earlier this year, is becoming more interactive. The portal aims to document the progress of the EU-Africa cooperation and strives to bring civil society organizations, experts and decision-makers together in order to create a forum for debate about the future of the strategic partnership.

Comments are invited on a blog from the partnership - the current posting is about the involvement of civil society actors in the implementation process of the partnership.

See also Euforic's Europe-Africa newsfeed and dossier ; also the europafrica portal hosted by ECDPM.

NGOs: how can you communicate better with your members?

Source: Concord Flash, nr. 55, October 2008

Second seminar for CONCORD’s Communication Group since it was set up in 2007. On
the menu, two main courses:

• How can we communicate better with our members?
• Full steam ahead for the EU elections in 2009.

While the link between the two topics may not be obvious, in fact one is a starter course coming before the other.

It is actually crucial for a national platform or a European network to be able to mobilise its members to campaign on raising public awareness and to take on candidates and politicians for the EU elections in 2009.

The recipe for success? Exchanges of experience mixed with more academic reflection, seasoned with training and served with web 2.0 sauce presented by Euforic. Judge for yourself by visiting the blog started by the seminar participants. Photos, a video, comments and mini-articles will bring these two days to life for you. And to see all the photos, be sure to visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/concordeurope.

For dessert, we’ll have to wait until February 2009 and the third communication seminar, which will focus on “How we can communicate better with the press”, with a view to mobilising the media on the EU elections. This will be a chance for CONCORD members to compare their intentions as regards these elections.

For further information contact Agnès Philippart

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on information and communication, and on Concord

European NGOs welcome support to Southern farmers

Concord press release - 11 September 2008: European NGOs welcome the 1 billion Euros fund for farmers but ask for long term measures

An innovative proposal of the European Union (EU) to redirect 1 billion Euros of unspent Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funds to help millions of farmers across the developing world was applauded yesterday by senior leaders of the World Bank, Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and United Nations (UN).

CONCORD, the European confederation of relief and development NGOs, whose members represent over 1600 NGOs, welcomes this proposal and urges for strong, long term actions. “This is a clear opportunity for the European Union to demonstrate leadership and solidarity with farmers across the developing world”, says Tom Arnold of the CONCORD Working Group on Food Security issues.

In developing countries, small farmers are at the heart of the food chain as they provide most of the basic food. They know best how to meet the needs of their local community. As explained Ndiogou Fall, a Senegalese farmer and President of ROPPA, the network of farmer and agricultural producer organizations of West Africa, who spoke yesterday at an European Parliament hearing: “Such fund should ensure transparency, participation and empowerment of small scale family farmers and their organisations.”

European NGOs support this position and believe that EU Development aid needs to be invested in improving farmers’ production capacities through a plurality of farming methods, in farmers’ access to land and local markets and in the optimisation of farmers’ knowledge of biodiversity.

Sustainability is key. The European Union and its partners ought to look at a long term strategy. Olivier Consolo, CONCORD Director, adds: “Through this initiative of creating a fund, the European Union strives to contribute to bring a much needed short term response to the food crisis. In a longer term, a systemic answer to the crisis is needed. That is why European NGOs will continue advocating for EU policies which are more coherent with sustainable development.”

The world is facing a genuine global food crisis. Across the developing world increasing numbers of vulnerable people can no longer afford to feed themselves. Since 2000, the wheat price in the international markets has tripled, and corn has more than doubled in price.

Trade, agriculture, environment, energy and other policies have an impact on sustainable development. The European Union should make the 1 billion € available quickly, while reconsidering the impact of its policies on developing countries. CONCORD hopes that the discussions on the Common Agricultural Policy will be the occasion to reflect upon long term measures which improve European and International food security.

For more information contact An Van Goey, CONCORD policy officer

See the Euforic newsfeed on agriculture and the Concord newsfeed

CONCORD: Manifesto for the 2009 European Parliament Elections

In June 2009, European citizens will elect their representatives to the European Parliament for the 2009-2014 term.

In a recent Manifesto, Concord calls on the future parliamentarians to take close regard to essential EU development policy objectives namely 1) sustainable development, 2) more and better aid and 3) democratic accountability.

1) In reference to the objective of sustainable development CONCORD urges the Parliament to push forward key targets of climate justice, which means to effectively slow down climate change while also helping developing countries to cover cost of adaptation. Furthermore commitments regarding gender equality need to be implemented and covered financially. Other issues broad to attention are a responsible Economic and Trade Policy, a responsible Food and Agricultural Policy, a Decent Work Agenda, sustainable Finance for Development, issues regarding migration as well as social and human development.

2) Concerning the target of more and better aid CONCORD urges the MEPs to ensure that EU aid targets are met (see Concords Aid Report: "No time to waste"). Furthermore commitments to democratic ownership, accountability and transparency should be strengthened as well as the respect for human and social rights which are absent in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

3) In the light of the policy goal of democratic accountability EU Parliamentarians should ensure the close participation of civil society in EU decision-making. Additionally CONCORD calls on the Parliament to issue a report on Development Education which is seen as essential to a strong, informed and actively engaged citizenry. Regarding future institutional reforms, as enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty, Parliamentarians should ensure that the post of an Commissioner for Development will not be sacrificed and remains an crucial voice in the College of the EU Commission.

See the Euforic newsfeed on Civil Society; and the Concord newsfeed

What French NGOs will be doing during the French Presidency of the EU

Source: Concord Flash 52, May 2008

France takes the lead in Europe on 1st July. This French presidency of the EU comes in a particular context, marked by the French rejection of the European Constitutional Treaty in 2006 and the recent No from Ireland. Moreover, the EU elections and the eventual entry into force of the amended treaty will closely follow the French EU presidency. The future of Europe will be a central issue in debates.

To highlight the importance of development cooperation, the French national association, Coordination SUD, has planned several activities, both at national level and, with CONCORD, at European level. Its presidency programme focuses on the EU's relationships with countries from the South and, more widely, the EU's role in globalisation. The future of Europe will be the cross-cutting theme tackled from different angles.

Advocacy work aimed at French and EU decision-makers and communication and awareness-raising activities will be carried out to ensure that civil society’s main concerns are included in the official EU agenda. A manifesto for the French EU presidency, drafted by Coordination SUD, sets out NGOs' analysis and their demands for the future of the EU and the EU's relations with countries from the South.

For each theme, a European seminar will be organised:

• Development financing (1 July): in the context of the international summits, on aid effectiveness in Accra and on development financing in Doha in December.
  
• Agriculture and development (16 September): in the context of the review of the EU budget and the re-assessment of the Common Agricultural Policy.
  
• Climate change and development (25 September): the impact of global warming on development in the South.
  
• International conferences on the role of national platforms (27-28 October) and on the EU as seen by the rest of the world (29-30 October, co-organised with CONCORD) with 80 representatives from all over the world sharing their opinions on different aspects of the EU's external policies, and its role.
  
• Citizens, the EU and international solidarity (18-19 November): the role of citizens in the elaboration of the EU project and particularly with regard to development and solidarity.
  
• Europe-Africa relations (5 December): with the joint EU-Africa strategy having been adopted at the end of 2007, there is a need to carry on with the analysis and advocacy work on this subject that was undertaken under the preceding presidencies. The aim is to have proposals for a balanced and mutually enriching relationship between the two continents.

For further information contact Florence McBain

Also check the Euforic newsfeed on the French EU Presidency

African churches take position on aid effectiveness

Source: EU News no. 4, May 2008

Under the umbrella of AACC (All Africa Conference of Churches) and SECAM (Symposium of Episcopal Conference in Africa and Madagascar) and with the support of their European NGO partners, the African churches gathered in Nairobi from 21 to 23 May to share knowledge, exchange views and adopt a joint statement on Aid Effectiveness in view of the Accra HLF where they intend to be present in number.

The statement was forwarded to AFRODAD that makes the link between African CSOs and the official Accra HLF organising secretariat.

The African Church recognizes development as horizontal and bottom up rather than top down. The African Church views "aid effectiveness should be measured in its contribution to sustained reduction of poverty and inequalities; and its support of human rights, democracy, environmental sustainability and gender equality". It must be a transformational development that is based on the theological affirmation that all persons are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27) with the potential to live just, humane and dignified lives in sustainable communities.

The full statement is available on request from Karine Sohet

See also CIDSE’s "Views on the Paris Declaration and Recommendations for Positive Changes in Accra" (May 2008). (French version)

Check also the Euforic newsfeed and dossier on aid effectiveness

New Austrian umbrella organisation for development and humanitarian aid

Since April 2008, the 'Austrian Platform for Development and Humanitarian Aid' is the successor of the 'Austrian Working Group for Development Cooperation' (AGEZ) and the Austrian EU-Platform.

At its first press conference (in German) the organization called for an increase in the national aid budget. It aims to become the stakeholder of Austrian NGOs engaged in development policy, humanitarian aid and sustainable global economic, social and ecological development.

The emergence the new organization is not without question. According to an article (in German), the Austrian NGOs scene is wasting away and the new organization is not going to make a difference. The author complains that while German or Swiss NGOs participate in new development campaigns nearly every day, Austrian NGOs are conspicuous by their absence.

Furthermore the author criticizes the Catholic orientation of the new umbrella organization. It seems that Protestant NGOs which were members of the former AGEZ are not participating in the new platform. Additionally he doubts that the mixture of environmental, fair-trade, developmental and humanitarian aid organizations can lead to effective advocacy.

by Martin Behrens

See Euforic newsfeed on Austrian development cooperation.

Slovenia gives a stronger voice to civil society in the EU's neighbourhood

Source: Concord Flash 51, April 2008

Both the EU’s neighbourhood policy and its enlargement policy underline the role of civil society in democratisation and in further integration into the EU. This is also a priority for the Slovenian government.

It is therefore not surprising that an international conference was organised by the non-profit sector in cooperation with the Slovenian government on "Giving a stronger voice to civil society in the EU neighbourhood: Development of civil dialogue and partnership relations between civil society, national governments and EU institutions" on 2 April 2008 in Slovenia.

This conference provided an excellent opportunity for civil society to send a political message to the European Union on the need to develop a coherent and coordinated strategy for the sustainable development of civil society beyond EU borders. Called the Ljubljana Declaration, the policy recommendations drawn up by the participants advise:

1. Listening to civil society
   
2. Developing a long-term strategy for a sustainable civil society
   
3. Putting the partnership principle into practice, and thereby overcoming problems the EU is currently facing
   
4. Implementing the legal framework
   
5. Strengthening the capacity of small organisations
   
6. Focusing on creating a supportive environment for ensuring the sustainability of civil society organisations

Civil society organisations are willing to work with European institutions and national governments in order to establish structured, transparent mechanisms for cooperation, adapted to the particular situation of each country.

Another opportunity will be offered during the Slovenian Presidency by the seminar entitled “The new relationship with our neighbours: A practical guide to the European Neighbourhood Policy” which will be held by the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) from 11 to 13 June. Officials from government ministries and/or other authorities of the EU member states, as well as officials from the neighbourhood countries, civil society representatives and people working in private companies dealing with neighbourhood policies, will gather to discuss the issue.

For more information contact Anja Mešič

Read more...

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on CONCORD, the EU Neighbourhood Policy, and on the EU Presidency

CONCORD and the aid effectiveness of civil society organisations

Source: Concord Flash 51, April 2008

The aid effectiveness of organisations from civil society (CSOs) is a growing concern for CONCORD and its members. How can we improve the process? How can we implement an efficient and respectful governance process in the field? What quality standards should we adopt?

To find out, CONCORD has circulated a set of “Questions & Answers” on CSO effectiveness to gather preliminary responses to these kinds of questions in the context of the concept note entitled “Framing and Promoting the Effectiveness of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) as Development Actors”. This concept note proposes a global process, owned and driven by CSOs, to improve their effectiveness as development actors.

This global process to improve the effectiveness of CSOs’ work will have the benefit of many existing initiatives, at the local and national levels and also within individual CSOs and CSO networks/platforms. It is expected to yield principles of development effectiveness suitable for guiding CSOs in their efforts to improve their effectiveness as agents of development. These principles should go beyond those laid down in the Paris Declaration which was signed in 2005 by official donors and governments with a view to improving the effectiveness of official development assistance.

With the support of other CSOs and CSO platforms/networks, CONCORD is currently preparing the ground for a successful start to this process. On 29 and 30 June 2008, in Paris, there will be an exploratory meeting on CSO effectiveness which will set the course for the process. This meeting is being organised by CONCORD in close collaboration with Coordination SUD, the French national platform.

For more information contact Franz Josef Berger, CSO Effectiveness assistant

Read more...

See also Euforic's newsfeed on CONCORD, aid effectiveness, and civil society

Scandalous lack of progress in the European Union’s development aid

Source: Concord Flash 51, April 2008

EU aid fell by 1.7 billion euros in 2007, according to OECD figures released in early April. CONCORD and the Global Call to Action Against Poverty have warned European governments that their failure will cost lives. The press took up the warning, with no less than 73 media organs publishing information from NGO sources.

As Olivier Consolo, CONCORD’s Director, explained: “Seventeen of the 27 European member states have not increased their official development assistance at all in the last year, and of these, 11 have actually allowed it to fall. The gap between promises and reality must be closed.” According to the OECD, EU aid fell from 0.41% to 0.38% of gross national income (GNI) in 2007. European governments are getting further from, not closer to, their 2010 commitments of 0.56% GNI for ODA, and have yet to set out how they will meet their aid targets.

Since 2005 there has been a serious lack of progress on genuine aid, in sharp contrast to the promises made by EU governments. Last year’s poor performance was largely due to the timing of debt relief deals, which have been counted as ODA in the past, thereby inflating aid figures and disguising the poor performance of European governments. This lack of progress on aid will impact hard on developing countries, which were counting on this money reaching the levels set in the Millennium Development Goals.

Most European donors inflate their official aid figures by counting debt relief, and funding to foreign students and refugees in European countries, as aid. In 2006, CONCORD found that EU governments had inflated European aid figures by nearly 30%. In 2006, 13.6 billion euros of reported ODA was in fact debt cancellation, primarily for Iraq and Nigeria, for educating foreign students in Europe and for housing refugees in Europe. CONCORD considers that this cannot be counted as genuine aid.

"A failure on the part of the European Union to meet its aid promises directly condemns the poor and marginalized in developing countries to a life of poverty. Already, in many poor countries, the verdict is that the Millennium Development Goals will not be met. This is a scenario the world can ill afford, and we demand action," said Marivic Raquiza, GCAP Asia Co-Convenor.

CONCORD and GCAP are calling on European governments to set transparent, binding timetables showing how they will meet their commitments to give more aid. Governments from the European Union should also take a lead at the High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra in September, and must set more ambitious targets to make their aid more effective. In particular, European aid must be more predictable, transparent and accountable.

“European donors are often less than transparent about the decisions that they take which affect the lives of real people in poor countries. They need to be more accountable for the effectiveness of their aid,” said Hussaini Abdu, African Governance Coordinator with ActionAid.

On 22 May CONCORD has launched an in-depth report analysing the quality and quantity of aid from EU member states to the developing world.

For more information contact Jasmine Burnley, Aid Watch coordinator

Read more...

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on CONCORD and aid effectiveness

"Missing: 75 billion for the world’s poor" say campaigners

Source: Concord press release, 22 May 2008

European governments’ aid efforts are continuing to fail the poor to the tune of 75 billion euros, a new report by NGOs campaigners across Europe reveals.

"No Time to Waste", a report published today by CONCORD, the European confederation of relief and development NGOs whose members represent over 1600 NGOs supported by millions of citizens across Europe, reveals that on current trends the European Union (EU) will have given 75 billion less in aid by 2010 than it promised, threatening progress on the UN Millennium Development Goals set for 2015. If the recent record of slow progress continues, Europe will find it harder to meet its target with every year that passes.

"A hundred thousand estimated dead in Burma, food prices rocketing and a woman dying every minute in pregnancy or childbirth. Now, more than ever, European governments must deliver the aid they promised to the world’s poor" says Justin Kilcullen, President of CONCORD.

The official statistics, released by the OECD in April, showed that European aid fell sharply in 2007, with Belgium, France and the UK recording falls of 10-30%. According to the OECD: "most donors are not on track to meet their stated commitments to scale up aid and will need to make unprecedented increases to meet the targets they have set."

CONCORD’s report has found that European governments continue to "inflate" their aid statistics with debt relief and refugee costs. The report finds that the 15 older Member States provided only 0.33% of their gross national income as genuine aid in 2007 – continuing to miss the target set for 2006 of 0.39% of GNI.

Each year of slow progress means billions less in aid for the world’s poorest people: "Broken promises cost lives. If you live in Senegal where one in eight children dies before reaching his or her fifth birthday, aid means services and services mean the difference between life and death," said Moussa Faye, Chief Executive of ActionAid Senegal.

The report says the EU must also roll up its sleeves on the quality of its aid, making it accountable and transparent. The EU has committed to make aid work better by making it more predictable, better coordinated, and aimed at promoting gender equality and women’s’ empowerment, but NGOs are concerned that these targets are not being met and that more ambitious commitments are needed.

2008 is a crucial year for aid, testing the credibility of European governments. At the High Level Ministerial Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana this coming September, the EU will review its progress against crucial commitments made in 2005 in Paris. "Europe has a responsibility to take the lead at this crucial event by delivering more and better aid" says Marivic Raquiza of GCAP South-East, North and Central Asia (GCAP-SENCA).

European NGOs join the OECD and the European Commission in calling on European governments to honour their promises and commit to clear, measurable, binding timetables setting out the year-on-year aid increases in aid that are necessary for the MDGs to be met.

For more information contact Jasmine Burnley

Check Euforic's newsfeeds on Concord and on aid effectiveness

Civil society and aid effectiveness

On June 5, 2008 ICCO, in collaboration with Cordaid, Hivos, Oxfam Novib, SNV and Partos, will organise in The Hague the conference "The Missing Link: on the role of civil society in the Paris Declaration on Aid effectiveness".

In the run up to the High Level Meeting on the review of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (Accra 2-4 September) civil society organisations want to stimulate the debate on aid effectiveness. The Paris Declaration is more than a technical instrument, for better aid delivery political issues as ownership, accountability and participation have to be tackled.

CSOs have criticised the Paris Declaration for neglecting political problems. The conference will discuss the main CSO criticism on the Paris Declaration and formulate recommendations towards politicians and policy makers on strengthening aid effectiveness by integrating civil society in designing, delivering and monitoring poverty reduction policies.

This expert meeting is aimed at policy makers, politicians, academics and interested audience from the development sector. The recommendations will contribute to the preparation of the High Level Forum and the Accra Action Agenda. One of the recommendations will focus on the improvement of civil societies’ own aid effectiveness.

Download the Agenda / For more information and registration contact Wil van Dalen via e-mail

Check Euforic's newsfeed on aid effectiveness

Civil society's contribution to EU budget review

Source: Concord Flash 50, March 2008

The European Commission’s budget review is a hot topic in 2008. Like all the other sectors, NGOs are interested in this review which will set the future amounts and headings in the budget for the long term, to help the European Union cope with the effects of globalisation. After the conference on the EU budget for the future it organised in December 2007, the Civil Society Contact Group, which CONCORD belongs to, submitted its contribution to the consultation on the EU budget review. This sets out a list of fundamental principles that the budget of the European Union needs to follow:

• EU money is public money and it must serve European public interest
  
• EU funds must respect the principle of solidarity
  
• Sustainable development must be the overarching goal of a new EU budget
  
• Public budgeting and spending must be transparent, accountable processes
  
• The process of public budgeting needs to allow for meaningful participation by public-interest organisations
  
• EU funds must be allocated in a way that reflects European policy priorities and that supports coherence within and between policies
  
• There must be an immediate end to all perverse subsidies
  
• EU spending should be subject to regular evaluation
  

The Civil Society Contact Group has also written to Commissioner Grybauskaité underlining the importance of a transparent, balanced process after the consultation and asking for NGOs to be involved in the planned conference (the Commission intends to hold a conference on the results of the consultation). This was scheduled for 27 May but is likely to be postponed until the second half of 2008. The next Commission document concerning the consultation is due early in 2009. Let’s keep an eye on this...

For more information contact Regula Heggli

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Are we on the right track? Paradigm review by CSO's as development actors

Concord members and partners have developed many successful advocacy actions on the European level and increased their impact on policy making with regards to development and aid policies.

However the organisations need to cope with the changing world around them:

"Southern Civil Society is voicing up strongly; China, India and Brazil are emerging as regional and economic powers; donors change their funding patterns; new issues are coming into the development debate.

The European Union is evolving as well: after two phases of enlargement, the 27 member states will strengthen their common foreign policies to increase their impact at global level. The enlargement and the Lisbon Treaty have a direct impact on development policies and NGO's work."

Before defining CONCORD's next Strategic Plan the organisation wishes to reflect on and challange individual and collective approaches to development cooperation. Furthermore CONCORD and its partners what to create space for understanding in which way NGOs coming from the 'New Member States' can enrich these approaches. With this objectives in mind, together with TRIALOG, the Czech NGO Platform (FORS) and the Ecumenical Academy Prague Concord organises the Conference 'Are we on the right track? Paradigm Review by CSOs as Development Actors', to be held in Prague, 14-16 May 2008.

More information about the event and the terms of registration can be found on the Trialog website.


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