EU Development Cooperation

EU Development Policy
Development is at the heart of the EU’s external action, along with its foreign, security and trade policies. With the New European Consensus on Development (2017) the EU Member States, the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission have agreed on a common EU vision for development.

The New Consensus aligns EU development policy with the '2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development' integrating the Agenda for Change (2011) which sets out a strategic EU approach to reduce poverty, including a more targeted allocation of funding.

EU Division of Labour
The EU Code of Conduct on Division of Labour in Development Policy (2007) presents a set of concrete measures to enhance complementarity and division of labour amongst EU donors. EU Toolkit for the Implementation of Complementarity and Division of Labour in Development Policy (2009) provides guidance on elements common to Member States and the Commission. It aims to facilitate the complementarity and division of labour process with a view to complying with international commitments and the general principles in the EU Code of Conduct.

EU Budget Support
Budget support is an important instrument in the EU's comprehensive development policy towards partner countries. EU policy on adapting budget support to the changing environment and to improve its impact and value for money to achieve development results is described in the The Future Approach to EU Budget Support to Third Countries.