The European Parliament wants to see a more effective implementation of policy coherence for development (PCD), a legal obligation of the EU which, in its view, needs to be adapted to the global geopolitical context marked by multiple crises - Covid-19, climate, wars.
By adopting on Tuesday 14 March the own-initiative report by Janina Ochojska (EPP, Polish) (545 votes in favour, 26 against, 32 abstentions), it endorsed the recommendations addressed to the European institutions to prevent the EU, which provides 43% of official development assistance, from taking back with one hand what it gives with the other (see EUROPE 13139/20).
The Parliament suggests the publication of an annual report on the accountability of the EU and its Member States with regard to PCD, be it trade policy, migration policy, agricultural policy, etc.
It recommends that the European Commission publish, by 1 July 2024 at the latest, a communication on the implementation of PCD, containing a programme of action and a methodology, together with qualitative and quantitative indicators that could be used to assess the success of PCD implementation.
It also wants to improve the flow of information from the EU delegations in the partner countries.
“Policy coherence for development is about analysing different policies and creating synergies between different policy areas so that helping does not hurt”, Ochojska said in the debate before the vote.
She gave the example of “irresponsible practices of textile companies that use cheap labour, severely restrict workers’ rights and damage the environment, or funding that goes to security-related areas, to the detriment of other important objectives such as poverty reduction”.
The MEPs who spoke all called for greater coordination, as did Catherine Chabaud (Renew Europe, French)
See the resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/5ro (Original version in French by Aminata Niang )