BRUSSELS — Ahead of the European Development Days in Brussels this week, Stefano Manservisi, director-general of the European Commission’s development department, walked Devex through the latest on the European Union’s 2021-27 budget negotiations, as the commission pushes for the bloc’s overseas spending to be streamlined into a single funding instrument — with potential consequences for U.K.-EU development cooperation after Brexit.
He also talked about the fate of the EU Trust Fund for Africa, and his own plans to leave the commission after 36 years to “think, write, and be critical.”
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.