Conference call: Programming the next 7 years of EU development cooperation

BRUSSELS — Following July’s deal between national leaders on the size of the European Union’s 2021-2027 budget, attention for the global development community now turns to how development assistance will be allocated. The European Commission will soon begin its programming process with delegations around the world, though it has been discussing the new Neighborhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument with member states and the European Parliament for months. Koen Doens, director-general of the commission’s development department, said that the main political issues still on the table are the spending targets on themes such as human development and climate action; how to tackle migration; and the role of parliament and member states. During the call, Doens also answered questions on what changes to expect to the commission’s national and regional indicative programs, the documents that set out focal areas for the bloc’s work. The aim is to select policies that “mutually reinforce each other,” he said. “If you want to do sustainable agriculture you need energy, you need energy for the water. Can we build the links between such priorities? There I think we have [a] margin of improvement.” Highlights from this conference call include: • The status of inter-institutional negotiations on the NDICI. • How the European Commission wants to improve its regional and country programming. • The eligibility of U.K. NGOs for funding under the commission’s new development instrument. • What the new ‘Team Europe’ approach means in practice. • The logic behind the commission’s use of budget guarantees. Speaker: Koen Doens, director-general, DEVCO Moderator: Vince Chadwick, Brussels correspondent, Devex Have follow-up questions? Send them to webinars@devex.com