Latest updates on ACP-EU development policy compiled by ECDPM

ECDPM Weekly Compass -- Issue 111 -- 25 May 2012

cotonou_online — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:17:18 +0000

* European Report on Development 2012 out: 'Business as usual no longer an option' * Changes in the EU’s 'Agenda for Change'? * Post-2015: Monitoring financing for development and 'development friendliness' * EU-Africa trade agreement live, threat to end market access still looms * Aid for Trade and innovative financing * African Union response to Arab Spring an exception?

Macro-Financial Assistance to third countries. European Parliament Resolution. 24 May 2012.

cotonou_online — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:12:18 +0000

A new alliance for food security, or a two-track Africa? Institute of Development Studies. 24 May 2012.

cotonou_online — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:24:37 +0000

Leaders accross the globe are moving to speed up progress on combating hunger and malnutrition. In his latest blog, Ian Scoones asks: will these initiatives really deal with the underlying political economic conditions that keep people poor? Or will the alliance create a two-track Africa instead, dividing those able to benefit from private investment and neoliberal policy from those who lose out? Scoones argues that the alliance 'fails to address the wider political and institutional questions and the needs and priorities of many of the region's people'.

Hands on or hands off for budget support? Overseas Development Institute. 23 May 2012.

cotonou_online — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:21:55 +0000

Enthusiasm for budget support has waned. Last year four major bilateral budget support donors (the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden) signalled plans to slash their allocations for general budget support – a trend fuelled by dissatisfaction with its assessed impact. However, Friday’s Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) report on the ‘management of UK budget support operations’ paints a more optimistic picture.

A waymark reached. Is the finish line in sight? European Development Cooperation Strengthening Programme. 24 May 2012.

cotonou_online — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:14:15 +0000

Simon Maxwell and Mikaela Gavas analyse the Conclusions regarding the new EU development policy, ‘Agenda for Change’, published by the EU Foreign Affairs Council in October 2011. They ask what has been gained and lost in the process, and whether it is now possible to see what kind of settlement will be reached when the Multi-Annual Financial Framework for 2014-20 is agreed.

G8 pushes for private sector route to food security in Africa. ICTSD. 24 May 2012.

cotonou_online — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:11:52 +0000

Trade Policy Options for Enhancing Food Aid Effectiveness. ICTSD. 24 May 2012.

cotonou_online — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:10:19 +0000

This paper looks at how food aid could be made more effective, in the light of recent food price trends, and examines how different approaches could affect trade and development. The author argues in favour of establishing international rules that will provide a meaningful framework for ‘bona fide’ food aid.

New aid effectiveness indicators agreed at post-Busan meeting. guardian.co.uk. 23 May 2012.

cotonou_online — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:58:12 +0000

Follow-up to high-level forum identifies key areas including untied aid, but commitment of emerging Bric donors unclear

The African Union and the “Arab Spring”. An exception to new principles or return to old rules? South African Institute of International Affairs. May 2012.

cotonou_online — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:31:41 +0000

It is an apt time to reflect on whether the AU's response to events taking place in North Africa over the past year is an exception to the organisa-tion's track record of greater engagement in conflict resolution and political peer pressure among African leaders, or a sign that the old rules of the "dictators' club" of the 1970s and 80s still prevail? There are three explanations for the reform of the OAU, which are important to understanding whether and to what extent the new principles adopted by the AU have been consolidated since 2002: an overall increase in the number of African democracies; an active role played by "norm entrepreneurs" within the OAU secretariat and the AU commission; and strong leadership by key member states.

Establishing a Legitimate Development Co-operation Architecture in the Post-Busan Era. North-South Institute. 14 May 2012.

cotonou_online — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:14:32 +0000

This working paper examines the proposed changes to the post-Busan governance structure and provides an analytical framework to assess the merits and challenges for establishing a legitimate governance mechanism for the development cooperation architecture. We argue that the success of Busan in establishing a Global Partnership and making it truly global will depend on the extent to which stakeholders see the governing mechanism as legitimate in terms of its inclusivity, representativeness and effectiveness.