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

Czech Presidency will face a challenging environment for development

Source: EU News, Issue 8, November/December 2008

A number of initiatives and discussions to assess and address the impact of the financial and economic crisis on people living in poverty in Europe and outside Europe will take place during the Czech Presidency of the EU, said the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU to Caritas Europa as they met on 15 December. Following up to the Doha Conference on Financing for Development and ahead of the G20 meeting in London in April, the Czech Presidency will guide the preparation of a statement on the financial crisis impact on developing countries which could consist of a political chapeau to the traditional “April package” of reports on aid effectiveness, financing for development and the MDGs.

Linking to broader EU debates on energy security and recent increases in global energy prices, the Czech Presidency hopes to bring forward what could be an interesting debate on Southern access to local and sustainable energy sources. This issue will be on the agenda of the informal meeting of of Development Ministers in Prague on 29-30 January, with the view to lead to a Staff Paper. The Czechs plan to place the emphasis on development cooperation with countries in Southeastern and Eastern Europe, which appears to raise divergent views in DG DEV and DG RELEX. A debate on the development impact of the EU’s financial instruments targeted towards these regions could be held at the January informal ministerial meeting.

The Czech Presidency will be responsible for ensuring that Member States put forward clear plans for implementation of the Accra Agenda for Action on aid effectiveness, in the lead-up to the 18-19 May meeting of Development Ministers in the Council. The future of EU relations with African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries will also be front and center, with the kick-off of negotiations on the second revision to the 2000-2020 Cotonou Partnership Agreement (see article below). In parallel, the process for the mid-term review of the EU’s country strategies for development will begin, with the transparency of the process and ability of civil society to influence the orientation of the strategies towards a meaningful impact for the most vulnerable populations at stake.

A promising element of the Presidency is the attention to be given to democratic governance, with a focus on democracy and human rights, including national accountability and the roles of Parliaments and civil society. A conference should be organised in March/April jointly with the civil society. As part of it, one roundtable should be dedicated to governance and development cooperation. The Czech Permanent Representation to the EU highlighted their good ongoing communication with FORS, the Czech Platform of Development NGOs and confirmed that CONCORD would be invited to some CODEV meetings during the course of their Presidency, as it already happened in the past.

The first half of 2009 also portends major changes in the EU institutions. Still to be resolved is the thorny question of the Irish no to the Lisbon Treaty, while elections will go forward in June for the new European Parliament, bringing with it a new Commission of the same political stripes as the Parliament’s majority. This will raise again larger questions about the place of development in the EU: both in terms of its coherence and autonomy vis-à-vis other external policies, as well as its financial means, with the parallel early review of priorities for the 2007-13 EU budget.

See the EU Presidency Outlook for Development including a review of the French presidency, World Economy & Development in brief, 9 Dec 2008.

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on the EU Presidency, CIDSE and APRODEV