Brussels 15/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - The annual report of the European Commission on the development and external aid policies of the European Union in 2012 shows considerable growth granted to the policy coherence for development (PCD), which was welcomed by the Council of the EU on Monday 15 October. The unanimous conclusions, which were adopted without debate by the Council, stressed the need to do better still and called on the Commission to take account, in future, of the efforts made by giving more room for the factual data and systematic inclusion of PCD in regular dialogue with the development countries which are partners of the EU. The Council calls upon the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to describe the measures needed to reinforce coordination to draft a joint analysis of the national development strategies of the partner countries, and a common response to these strategies.
The Commission and the EEAS are also called upon to report on how they contribute to the consolidation of sustainable reforms in the societies in transition - countries undertaking major political, social and economic reforms - taking account of lessons learned from the Arab Spring.
Welcoming the efforts made to create more detailed reports on the actions carried out by the EU to promote these reforms and the reinforcement of democratic governance, it calls upon the Commission and the EEAS to report back on progress made to set in place an approach to development cooperation which is based on the respect for rights, particularly human rights and gender equality. The implementation of the commitments made to achieve the millennium development goals (MDG) and the work to prepare for the development programme 2015 should also be the subject of regular reports, the Council stresses.
In its report 2013, the Commission is also called upon to detail the way in which the EU implements the programme for change which defines the framework for the development policy post-2013 and new budgetary support policy. The Council states that it is particularly important to show how the EU's support can help to reduce poverty and promote human rights. (AN/transl.fl)