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2005 discharge: 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th European Development Funds EDF

2006/2169(DEC)

In a technical annex to COM(2006)0405 (please refer to the COM document), the Commission outlines the technical and financial aspects of the annual report on the financial management of the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th European Development Funds (EDFs) in 2005.

To recall, the European Development Fund (EDF) finances community  cooperation in:

  • sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) financed under the ACP-EC Partnership (Cotonou Agreement);
  • the 20 Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked constitutionally to Member States;
  • European Investment Bank (EIB) programmes in ACP states, under the Investment Facility and Own Resources.

The Commission manages the European Development Fund separately from the EC general budget. EU Member States who joined the Union before 2004 fund the EDF from direct contributions agreed between them. The ten EU Member States who joined in 2004 will contribute for the first time to the next EDF, the 10th, which should enter into force in 2008.

The 9th EDF took effect on 1st April 2003, once all EU and ACP Member States had ratified the Cotonou Agreement. The Commission transferred outstanding balances from previous EDFs to the 9th EDF. These had funded previous EU-ACP agreements. The 9th EDF will expire in December 2007.