Earlier this month, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and development commissioner Neven Mimica announced the full entry into force of the 11th European Development Fund -— the EU’s main aid instrument for African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
Amounting to 30.5 billion euros ($32.3 billion), the current EDF spans until 2020. Last week, Devex reported that despite representing only a modest increase compared with the 10th EDF, EU aid to ACP countries in the next six years seems on course to meet the policies and priorities set out by the Agenda for Change.
A closer look at the aid programming of the top five recipients of the 11th EDF confirms such trends. With the notable exception of Ethiopia, EU development assistance in all five countries prioritizes good governance and sustainable growth — two overarching objectives put forward by the 2011 policy document. Further, EU funding is concentrated on a maximum of three sectors per country, except for fragile contexts such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali.