Delivering the EU's development policy: policy evolution and administrative reform

Abstract

This paper traces the evolution of the EU's development policy since the mid-1990s in response to the changing international political environment and the EU's priorities. These changes are reflected both in broader policy statements such as the Statement on Development Policy (2000) and the European Development Consensus (2005), but also in a serious of accompanying administrative reforms. The paper reviews the Commission's pursuit of ‘co-ordination’ and ‘complementarity’ across both its own and the member states' aid programmes and then turns to the important issue of ‘policy coherence for development’. Finally the paper considers the remaining policy, organisational and administrative issues that remain to be addressed.