The role of the European Union in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals MDGs

PURPOSE: to present a Commission communication on accelerating progress towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals – policy coherence for development.

CONTENT: this Communication presents the Commission proposals on the subject of policy coherence. These are set out as follows:

Trade: the EU is strongly committed to ensuring a development-friendly and sustainable outcome of the Doha Development Agenda and EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The EU will further improve its Generalised System of Preferences, with a view to effectively enhancing developing countries’ exports to the EU. The EU will continue to work towards integrating trade into development strategies and will assist developing countries in carrying out domestic reforms where necessary.

Environment: the EU will lead global efforts to curb unsustainable consumption and production patterns. The EU will assist developing countries in implementing the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), and will work to ensure that the capacities of developing countries are taken into account during MEA negotiations. The EU will continue to promote pro-poor environment-related initiatives and policies.

Security: the EU will treat security and development as complementary agendas, with the common aim of creating a secure environment and of breaking the vicious circle of poverty, war, environmental degradation and failing economic, social and political structures. The EU will enhance its policies in support of good and effective governance and the prevention of state fragility and conflict, including by strengthening its response to difficult partnerships/failing states. The EU will strengthen the control of its arms exports, with the aim of avoiding that EU-manufactured weaponry be used against civilian populations or aggravate existing tensions or conflicts in developing countries. The EU will promote cooperation in fighting corruption, organised crime and terrorism.

Agriculture: the EU will continue its efforts to minimise the level of trade distortion related to its support measures to the agricultural sector, and to facilitate developing countries’ agricultural development.

Fisheries: the EC will continue to pay particular attention to the development objectives of the countries with which the Community will engage into bilateral fisheries agreements. Within the context of the new EC policy on fisheries partnership agreements with third countries which is being implemented since 2003, the EC will continue to encourage the conclusion of fisheries agreements in order to contribute towards rational and sustainable exploitation of the surplus of coastal States’ marine resources to the mutual benefit of both parties.

Social dimension of globalisation, employment and decent work: the EU will contribute to strengthening the Social Dimension of Globalisation with a view to ensure maximum benefits for all, both men and women. The EU will promote employment and decent work for all as a global goal. Migration: the EU will promote the synergies between migration and development, to make migration a positive factor for development.

Research and innovation: the EU will promote the integration of development objectives, where appropriate, into its RTD and Innovation policies, and will continue to assist developing countries in enhancing their domestic capacities in this area.

Information society: the EU will address the digital divide by exploiting the potential of Information and Communication Technologies as a development tool and as a significant resource for attaining the MDGs.

Transport: the EU will address the special needs of both land-locked and coastal developing countries by promoting the intermodality issues for achieving network interconnectivity as well as security and safety issues.

Energy: the EU is strongly committed to contribute to the special needs of developing countries by promoting access to sustainable energy sources and by supporting establishing interconnection of energy infrastructures and networks.

To a considerable extent the above coherence commitments already steer EU policies. A lot of action has already been undertaken, and many new actions have already been planned.

What provides the raison d’etre for this Communication is that these commitments and actions are assessed within the framework of global efforts to achieve the MDGs. By recognizing that these policy objectives should be considered as Coherence for Development Commitments in the context of the MDGs, the EU reconfirms and strengthens its engagement to effectively deliver on these orientations, against the background of the given MDG timeframe between now and 2015.

Lastly, to further enhance EU policy coherence in the specific context of supporting the MDGs, the Commission will compile a mid-term EU Policy Coherence for Development Report, between now and the next international MDG Review, where progress on the coherence commitments proposed in this Communication will be reviewed.