Ongoing Studies

This study focuses on the junction between foreign policy and development policy, with a particular focus on article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement.This article provides the legal basis for the suspension of cooperation in cases where one of the parties feels the agreement’s essentialelements are not being respected. The study will focus on how coordination and coherence were handled in the preparation and conduct of a number of article 96 consultation processes.

The EC and the Member States have devised numerous TradeCapacityBuilding programmes to assist developing countries in defining their trade strategies. The study focuses on how the EC and the MS have ensured the coordination and complementarity between these programmes. As not many studies have focused on this subject, it will result in valuable insights to development policy makers.  

This important study will be the first ever external evaluation of DG ECHO and will focus on the DG’s work between 2000 and 2005. The study will also focus on the implementation of the requirements of the 3C’s in the work of ECHO, and will for example focus on how the relief work by the EC completes the work which is done by individual EU Member States. Coordination in humanitarian assistance is also among the various important items which the study will address.

Over the past few years, both the Commission and the Member States have put into place a number of measures that are expected to have an impact on coherence. This study will evaluate whether these measures have enhanced the impact of coherence on development policy and their effectiveness. At a point were the first general Development Policy Statement of the EU has been agreed upon, there is a great demand for policy insights on this issue. 

The logic behind Country Strategy Papers is to allow partner countries to define their own development priorities. Yet, how do these mechanisms work in practice? The study will focus on coordination and complementarity and will provide a rich field for an in-depth look at the actual use of coordination mechanisms and task divisions in a field which is increasingly important to European policy makers.

This sixth and final study will look at the track record of EU coordination and complementarity in the programming development and strategy formulation for assistance to local development. Contrary to what is happening at the national level in developing countries, aid which is focused at the district level continues to be channelled in a far more fragmented and less coordinated fashion. This study will stimulate and contribute to a multi-actor learning process on this area.