Blog from Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs
Posted on 12 December 2011
First of all, thanks to Concord for asking me to contribute to their blog. I’ve been reading their comments on the EU over the past few weeks, so was really pleased to be able to get chance to respond for myself here!
Commissioner Andris Piebalgs speaking in Busan
The level of expectation ahead of the Busan High Level Forum on aid effectiveness last week could not have been higher amongst the development community. Following up on previous aid effectiveness summits at Accra and Paris, Busan has long been viewed as as a crucial moment for development. With just over three years to go until the deadline for meeting the Millennium Development Goals, it was seen by many as the last chance to achieve a global deal on aid before it was too late.
Ahead of the forum, ‘Sherpas’, or negotiators, from the European Union had been meeting with partner countries and other development partners – including emerging economies and civil society – to pave the way for on an outcome document that would be agreed at Busan. Clearly, then, going into the summit, the stakes were high.
One week on, now we’re all back home and the dust has settled, it’s good for us to reconsider exactly what we achieved – did Busan provide the deal that we were all hoping for?
First of all, I completely agree with Concord’s previous blog entry, that the new partnership agreed to in Busan is groundbreaking in that it is the first time that civil society (along with the private sector, and, crucially, emerging economies like China, India and Brazil) has been fully involved and included in negotiations throughout. Indeed, this high level forum on aid effectiveness felt different precisely because of this inclusiveness, and I consider this a huge step forward for aid and development effectiveness.
However, I refute the accusation (also made in the blog entries here!) that that the EU could have done more in Busan. We have kept to our ambitions and been a leader on this agenda throughout – especially in helping to bring together and build consensus amongst all stakeholders, culminating in the forum in Busan. In fact, whilst there we announced two new initiatives – the EU Transparency Guarantee and Joint Programming – which will help to make EU aid both more transparent and more efficient.
Taking account of the whole process, I believe the final outcome document is something that we can all be proud of – it is ambitious and balanced and we have managed to include more development partners than ever before.
Despite the situation looking tense at times, the forum has ultimately been seen as a success from the EU’s point of view. The months of negotiations and preparations have paid off and we are now looking forward to the next step – taking the partnership forward over the next few years and making more effective aid a reality!
