Brussels, 27/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is next week to move on to an introductory assessment of the initial results of the public consultation on the future of the partnership between the EU and ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) countries once the Cotonou Agreement expires in 2020 (see EUROPE 11465 and 11463).
This announcement was made by European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica to the European Parliament's development committee on Monday 25 January.
In response to Maria Heubuch (Greens/EFA, Germany), who observed that the public consultation came to an end in December 2015 and who asked what the approaches to be considered were, Mimica said that an impact study on the different scenarios possible would begin by the summer. “I hope that at the end of the year, or at the start of 2017, clear proposals will be made at the EU level to talk to the ACP countries before 2018 - the first year of the post-Cotonou reflection as part of the Horizon 2030 global sustainable development programme and the revised consensus on development”, he said.
Mimica stated that the review of the European consensus on development had “the member states' support”, as the ministers of the 28 EU countries had said at the informal Development Council in December.
Like Joachim Zeller (EPP, Germany), several MEPs believed the European Development Fund (EDF) should be integrated into the EU budget, as the Parliament has been calling for years in order to strengthen its democratic control over the programming and use of the aid (see other article). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)
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