European Development Days: Final day recap

On the second and final day of this year’s European Development Days, much of the debate in Brussels focused on global health, environmental sustainability and aid effectiveness. Aid financing and the controversial European External Action Service remained at the top of agenda.

Here are the key takeaways taken from some of Tuesday’s EDD sessions and interviews on the fringes of Europe’s largest gathering of foreign assistance officials:

1) Global health

International cooperation is imperative to improve global health, several speakers noted, but it should take the form of technical cooperation, not assistance. Some global health experts from Latin America criticized what they called a proliferation of uncoordinated assistance offered by a variety of public and private donors. The same speakers also noted that cooperation policies continue to be defined by donors.

A common theme: Development cooperation should focus on health systems, boosting South-South cooperation and rethinking the role of civil society and the private sector, as well as international agencies like the World Health Organization.

The European Commission, meanwhile, has indicated that high-impact actions as well as a better allocation of resources is needed. European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs stressed the role of sector-specific budget support and the need for world leaders to mobilize resources, mainly for projects supporting health systems.

2) New financing tools

New international development financing tools are needed. The European Commission has launched a public consultation that will help to draft legislative proposal on funding for external actions.

Brussels wants to review its financial instruments to boost the private-sector involvement, for instance by pushing blended financing, a high-level official with DG Development, the EU’s aid policy arm, told Devex.

3) EDD costs

Hosting the EDD costs the EU euro2 million annually. Is this money well-spent? asked some participants.

Very well spent, according to Piebalgs, who noted that the amount was small compared to the billions Europe invests in international development. To give people the opportunity to discuss is always a good thing, he said.

4) Aid effectiveness

Louis Michel, a member of the European Parliament and a predecessor of Piebalg’s, asked aloud how it was possible that euro50 billion spent by the EU on international cooperation have produced what he described as “so few” results.

The EU should better tailor its programs and projects to realities on the ground, especially in Africa and least-developed countries, he noted.

Further reforms are needed to boost aid effectiveness, said Jorge Balbis, director of the Asociación Latinoamericana de Organizaciones de Promoción. The “2010 Reality of Aid” report suggests that aid effectiveness has not been adequately measured, despite much rhetoric about accountability, Balbis argued.

5) Inclusive growth

Inclusive growth is a new EU buzzword. But policy implications remain unclear, according to Elise Ford, Oxfam head of EU advocacy, who said she worried that economic growth was being pushed at the price of health services and education, which Oxfam believes should remain at the hearth of actions to guarantee long-term prosperity around the globe.

6) EEAS and aid

The EEAS’s implementation could be very positive, Ford noted. But, she added, “we need coherence.”

A concern that appears to be widespread within the aid community is that EEAS chief Catherine Ashton will have too many priorities to focus on international development.

7) Energy

Africa – and other parts of the world – need access to energy. Money and knowledge-sharing is needed.

Want to know what the buzz was on Day 1 of this year’s European Development Days? Click here.