A lively debate took place during the first roundtable at an EU Member State, hosted in The Hague by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After an introduction to the Whither EC Aid (WECA) project, the nine participants engaged in discussions on a number of fundamental issues: how to realise the EC’s potential strengths in EU development cooperation? If we could design the EC’s aid architecture ‘from scratch’, what would it look like? Should the Commission be a coordinator or an implementer of EU aid? What is our long-term vision on European development cooperation, and what type of reforms would be needed to support such a vision?
The discussions clearly showed that The Netherlands, similar to other EU Member States and the European Commission, is grappling with the practical implications of the many changes that will affect European development cooperation in the near future. The participants identified the Code of Conduct (pdf) and the institutional reforms following the Lisbon Treaty (e.g. the EU Common External Action Service) as the key drivers of change. Eager to help shape the debate at the EU level, they appreciated WECA as a platform for exchanging viewpoints with other key stakeholders in EC aid.
Roundtable report – .doc | .pdf
List of participants – .doc | .pdf
Video statements of participants in the roundtable
Maarten Brouwer, Effectiveness & Quality Director of the Directorate General for International Cooperation at the MFA of the Netherlands emphasises ownership
Marchel Gerrmann, coordinator of ODA, Financial and Economic Affairs Unit at the MFA of the Netherlands comments on the Code of Conduct
Bram van Ojik, Director of the Evaluation Department of the MFA of the Netherlands talks about Harmonisation and Division of Labour
Filed under: Roundtables
