EU institutions

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s  Development Assistance Committee (DAC) recently changed its aid reporting from the European Union (EU) away from exclusive reporting by the European Commission (EC) to aid being reported by European institutions. These institutions comprise the EC development budget, the European Development Fund (the main instrument for providing community aid for development cooperation in the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific states and overseas countries and territories) and the European Investment Bank (the EU’s financing institution, which supports projects that will deliver sustainable social, economic and environmental benefits). The European Commission remains the key aid stakeholder of the EU institutions.

The EU institutions are collectively a unique humanitarian donor due to a status not only as a major donor of aid but also as a major multilateral recipient, receiving funding from the member states of the EU. The EU institutions have together been the second largest aid donor every year since 2003, contributing US$13.8 billion in 2009. In terms of humanitarian aid, they have consistently been the second largest donor every year between 2000 and 2009, giving a total of US$14.9 billion in this period, peaking at US$2.0 billion in 2008.

The European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Office (ECHO) administers most of the EU institutions’ humanitarian aid, with some funds also originating from the EuropeAid Development and Cooperation Division (DEVCO). Through ECHO, the EU institutions are jointly a significant actor in the humanitarian system, not only in terms of funding, but also being heavily involved in policy debates and developments in humanitarian financing and implementation, as well as being one of the few donors to have significant humanitarian representation in the field.

In December 2006, the EC launched a wide-ranging consultation of EU member states and humanitarian organisations on a proposed European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid that would deal with the main issues facing donor and implementing organisations. The Consensus document was approved by the European Parliament on 29 November 2007. The EU institutions’ humanitarian aid strategy for 2012 will focus on the following core policies: linking relief, rehabilitation and development; building resilience; disaster risk reduction and climate change; civil-military coordination; international humanitarian law; food assistance and nutrition; health; and water and sanitation. In 2011 the EU institutions announced in the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014–2020 an end to bilateral aid to 17 upper middle-income countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Thailand, Venezuela and Uruguay) as well as two large lower-income countries whose gross domestic product (GDP) is larger than 1% of global GDP (India and Indonesia). Countries such as China, Brazil and India will be seen more as “EU partners for addressing global challenges”.

In 2012 the EU was peer reviewed by the OECD DAC.