A deep dive into the EDF budget

The European Development Fund is the main instrument used by the European Union to provide aid to Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific, and other low- and middle-income countries. Funded by voluntary donations made by EU member states, the 11th EDF for 2014-2020 has financial resources totaling €30.5 billion ($33.3 billion). The European Commission’s financial transparency system provides insight into €6.6 billion worth of funds from this budget, committed through the commission between 2014-2018. These funds supported 4,456 projects and were awarded to 1,781 beneficiaries originating from 130 countries. Devex has collated and analyzed this data as part of a new tableau visualization. New insights are available on the EDF budget: how funds are disbursed, regions that benefit, and beneficiaries that support the work of EDF. Profiling 2017 commitments 2017 has seen the largest commitments of funds during the 11th EDF. A total of €2 billion was committed through 890 projects. A total of 554 beneficiaries from 89 countries and regions shared in the funds. Sixty-three percent of the €2 billion was directed to budget support. Burkina Faso received €341 million in budget support through four projects for the year followed by Tanzania (€200 million), Benin (€115 million), Cameroon (€90 million), and Uganda (€60 million). West African nations were the largest recipient, receiving 60% of the total budget support commitments in 2017. These trends identified in 2017 were replicated in 2018, which had a focus on budget support for West African nations. Profiling 2015 commitments The financial transparency system shows just €282 million committed by EDF in 2015. In comparison to 2017, budget commitments for this year appear less about delivering budget support and more about setting the groundwork for the delivery of the 11th EDF. Budget support only contributed to 11% of the 2015 commitments, with grants being the focus (55%) followed by public procurements (34%). And in establishing the groundwork, the focus was on gaining support from Europe. In 2015, 58% of commitments were awarded to beneficiaries based in Western Europe followed by Eastern Africa (18%) and West Africa (17%). Focusing specifically on procurements, European based companies were beneficiaries of some of the largest contracts. Based in Spain, Eptisa Engineering Services received €5 million for a state building contract for Haiti. Italy-based consulting company Eurecna was the largest contract winner for the country, awarded a €4.6 million contract to provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Devolution and Planning in Kenya. Sogea Satom, an engineering company based in France, was awarded three contracts under EDF, valued at €6 million for work supporting road infrastructure projects in Madagascar. Madagascan engineering company Sara et Compagnie was the largest locally awarded contract recipient, receiving three contracts worth €4.6 million for road infrastructure projects. The awarding of grants similarly saw an advantage to organizations based in high-income countries for 2015. The United Nations Capital Development Fund, based in the United States, was the leading beneficiary, awarded €19.2 million for two grants supporting work in Somalia. It was followed Save the Children Denmark, granted €13 million for education and energy projects, and Save the Children UK, granted €9 million for education and refugee initiatives. Is there European favoritism? The dramatic shift seen between these years raises the question of whether there is favoritism toward Europe-based organizations for some funding methods through EDF. Overwhelmingly, the budget favors LMICs as the commitments are made directly to governments. But for other commitments that see competitive processes in awarding — grants, public procurements, and external experts — companies based in Western Europe received the bulk of funds, according to the financial transparency system. Between 2014-2018, procurement processes saw €636 million in commitments made with 76% awarded to organizations based in Western Europe. Grants delivered €2 billion worth of commitments, with 70% awarded to organizations based in Western Europe. And 92% of the €19.6 committed to external experts was for expertise from Western Europe. For these funding methods, being based in Europe appears to create a competitive edge. But this also creates challenges in building capacity and sustainable solutions for LMICs. Making decisions from Europe or with a European lens could mean a reduced involvement of local leaders in their own decision-making process — and the development and humanitarian solutions implemented could be ineffective in targeting local needs. While the financial transparency system provides insight into a limited amount of the overall resources available to EDF between 2014-2020, the data does raise important questions about how to support LMICs — and whether localization is at the top of the agenda. The Devex interactive on the current EU budget framework provides insights into the EU budget by year, funding type, responsible department, beneficiaries, and beneficiary countries. Engage with the data and share your insights with Devex.