Brussels, 24/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - The EU27 agreement on the amount of the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), which will finance development cooperation with ACP countries (Africa/Caribbean/Pacific) for the period 2014-2020 under the Cotonou Agreement, is the main decision expected from the Foreign Affairs Council when it meets on Tuesday 28 May in its development formation, under the chairmanship of Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The development ministers will nonetheless hold politically important debates - for example, on the overall framework for development objectives after 2015 - as their debates will set the tone for many years hence, EU senior officials commented on Friday.
EDF: Ministers will mark their agreement on the amount of €31.5 billion over seven years for the 11th EDF financial allocation, i.e. €29 billion financed by member states and €2.5 billion by the European Investment Bank in the form of soft loans. It will be up to the joint ACP-EU Council of Ministers on 7 June to finalise the agreement on this autonomous financial protocol as the EDF, managed by the Commission, is still not a part of the EU budget. The internal EU27 agreement on the arrangements and the new key for breakdown of contributions, which should now be in line with the national contributions to the EU budget, should be signed by member state representatives by the end of June.
Development aid. The Council will note the annual progress report on the EU's official development aid (ODA) objectives. The 2012 report - the third of its kind - notes the slight fall in aid to €55.2 billion in 2012 (compared to €56.2 billion in 2011).
Post-2015 objectives: Ministers will hold a debate among themselves and with Jan Eliasson, the United Nations deputy secretary general, on the future comprehensive framework of objectives that will take over from the Millennium Development Goals. The conclusions to be endorsed will place emphasis on the inextricable links between eradication of poverty, environmental and economic sustainability, and the need for the future framework to promote democratic governance, human rights, peace and security. The endorsement of the environment ministers will be required during the June Council, before the Foreign Affairs Council formally adopts its conclusions on 25 June.
Food safety and nutritional safety. The Council will adopt conclusions that will require greater effort in order to attain the Millennium Development Goals aimed at reducing the number of people suffering from hunger in the world by half by 2015. Rates of malnutrition among children are still causing concern.
Mali. Like their foreign affairs colleagues, ministers will be briefed on the results of the donors' conference held on 15 May (see other article) and will hold a brief exchange of views with Andris Piebalgs, European Development Commissioner. (AN/transl.jl)