Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-04-19-Speech-4-632-000"
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"en.20120419.25.4-632-000"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the report I present to you concerns the impact of the devolution of the management of external assistance. This process has been ongoing for several years and involves the relocation of management from Brussels to EU delegations in countries benefiting from our development aid. The ultimate objective of the devolution of external assistance managed by the European Commission, is to enhance the speed and effectiveness of development actions and to improve the thoroughness of financial management procedures. This is one of the reasons why the Committee on Budgetary Control submitted its opinion on this report. A further objective is to increase the quality of aid in partner countries.
I am certain you will agree that a decentralised approach to the issue of development cooperation has many positive aspects.
it brings decision-making closer to delivery realities and closer to direct beneficiaries. It is more effective in operational terms as well as in terms of the coordination and harmonisation of the work of different donors. This approach also ensures local ownership. We should add that the devolution of management will not resolve all problems. In the report, I have tried to indicate additional goals, the achievement of which is essential to increasing the effectiveness of the aid provided.
The aid managed by individual delegations continues to cover a very wide range of areas that are unduly broad in scope. This is why it is so important to enhance coordination between the EU, Member States and partner countries as well as to improve the coordination of development activities and increase their efficiency and effectiveness. A good way of increasing effectiveness is through a more appropriate division of labour, focusing on the areas where the Union has a competitive advantage and a genuine ability to provide added value.
Devolution also lowers the transaction costs of delivering aid. This is good thing, but it is not the only way to reduce these costs. One such cost-reducing measure is budget support, since it places the focus more firmly on the quality of the aid, on partnerships and on the recipient countries’ needs.
In addition, I believe that attention should be drawn to a number of issues which are vital for increasing the effectiveness of the aid provided. In recent years, the composition of delegation staffing has shifted towards more political and trade-oriented functions. In the report, therefore, we call for an appropriate staffing balance to be struck between aid management and other functions undertaken by delegations. The high rate of staff turnover within the delegations is also cause for concern, as it weakens the functional continuity of the institution, the so-called institutional memory, and has a negative effect on the efficiency of operations.
In the report, we once again call for the appointment of Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) focal points in each delegation, the obvious objective of which is to monitor the impact of EU policy at partner-country level.
I am convinced that the Union’s financial instruments and also the European Development Fund (EDF) need to be more focused on combating poverty. The eradication of poverty in the long term is, after all, the main objective of the European development cooperation, as stated in Article 208 of the Treaty of Lisbon. In the draft report, we also emphasise that neither the European Commission nor the Member States should use the current financial crisis to justify a ‘doing more with less’ approach, as such an approach involves
a reduction in staffing levels in bilateral aid agencies.
I would like to ask you to support the report and I thank you for your attention."@en1
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