Brussels, 15/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - This Tuesday the European Commission will define, in Strasbourg, the details of the radical reform it is proposing to introduce to the management of European Union external aid, so as to increase the efficiency of aid to third countries and strengthen the political role devolved to the Commission in terms of external relations. Based on the initiative of the four relevant Commissioners, Chris Patten (external relations), Poul Nielson (development and humanitarian aid), Pascal Lamy (trade), and Pedro Solbes (economic and financial affairs), the details of this reform will be submitted for the College's approval in the form of a communication to the Council and Parliament. Chris Patten will then present it to the Parliament in plenary as a key element of the present institutional reform.
To significantly improve the quality and speed of execution of the projects, guarantee a solid and pertinent financial management system to its services to tackle the challenge that the direct management of a significant share of the EU budget (EUR 9.6 billion in 2000) represents, the Commission will propose:
- a complete revision of the programming of external assistance, through a strengthening of the multiannual aid programs, so as to ensure uniformity and conformity with the EU's policy objectives and priorities. The follow-up of the quality of this programming will be ensured by an interservice quality support group under the responsibility of the group of relevant Commissioners for external relations;
- the creation, in the first place, of a single entity for project management (that could be called "EU aid office" to succeed the external relations joint service (SCR) - instance whose creation in 1998 already allowed for greater coherency in the management of programmes, but did not resolve all the problems, notably due to insufficient administrative resources compared to the volume of aid managed. The options for a final solution remain open, the Commission is waiting to study the most effective solution to replace, in the longer-term, the technical assistance offices (TAO) who is the present distributor. The adoption of a new regulatory framework for externalisation should, with regard to this, open new prospects;
- significant decentralisation of the management of projects to the benefit of the Commission delegations in (the delegation network and the Commission offices manage Community aid 128 countries throughout the world);
- the development of a joint administrative culture by the external relations services.
During the press conference, Commissioner Poul Nielson welcomed the opportunity for such a reform that, according to him, arrives at a point chosen to guarantee the success of the new guidelines for co-operation and development policy, in favour of a focusing of its activities. "We want top allow the DG External relations and Development to concentrate more on policies and the defining of programmes by ensuring their coherence with this new policy," he explained. While adding "the secretariat of this entity will act as a clearing house, as a monitoring body over the pertinence and coherence of what we have formulated."