Policy (in) coherence in European Union support to developing countries: a three country case study

What is the impact of a range of EU policies on poor people in Bangladesh, Brazil and Kenya? This paper examines key policy areas (including trade, aid, agricultural policies and support to Foreign Direct Investment) to assess the coherence of EU policy in supporting development. It finds that competing priorities co-exist at an EU level and between the EU’s policies and those of the Member States, which are an obstacle to effective policy design and implementation.Country-specific findings include:In Bangladesh weak analysis of the causes of poverty by donors limits the impact that they can have in general. EU reform of its Rules of Origin would enhance significantly the benefits of the Everything But Arms concession and provide opportunities for Bangladesh once the Multi Fibre Agreement expires in 2005. Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures currently block opportunities for potential exporters.In Kenya, development support is being undermined by food safety and other standards that the EU has put in place and interpreted in an inflexible way. Horticulture and fisheries both face challenges over market access to the EU due to constraints to compliance and verification of compliance with SPS and food safety standards. Lack of capacity to comply will lead to loss of employment. The EU's trade policy is also eroding the value of trade preferences that the country previously enjoyed. The loss of non-reciprocal trade preferences and their replacement with the proposed economic partnership agreements (EPAs) will affect Kenya considerably, including exposing its relatively weak manufacturing sector to tough EU competition.In Brazil bilateral cooperation agreements between Latin American countries and the EU which include sustainable development as one of their aims, do not sit comfortably alongside the Common Agricultural Policy the impact of which is felt by thousands of small rural producers and which has contributed to the rise in poverty in rural regions. This is without taking into account the additional fact that European multinationals also contribute to rural poverty through the prices and work conditions they impose on small producers.The policy concludes with a number of general recommendations to improve EU policy formulation and implementation, including:the Inter-Governmental Conference should clarify the role of development in the EU’s external strategy and ensure beyond any doubt that the fight against poverty is not compromised by other EU policies such as trade and securitythe European Commission, responsible for implementing EU policy, should elaborate a uniform process for developing country strategy papers across all geographical regions ensuring that all Commission services whose activities impact on development are involved in the initial planning stages. This should include representatives from Directorates General Agriculture, Fisheries, Public Health and Consumer Protection. A record of these discussions should be attached to the draft country strategy for subsequent discussions in the Commission and among Member Statesthe European Commission should apply the same coherence criteria to all developing countries regardless of whether the geographical desks are located in Directorate General Development or External Relations