By Filip Kaczmarek MEP - 7th December 2011
This year’s development days in Poland will focus on democracy and development. As the birth place of the Solidarity movement which accelerated the transformation process in eastern and central Europe, Poland stands as a guiding light for the newly de
Filip Kaczmarek MEP
Democracy and governance are the cornerstones of the EU’s development agenda and can provide support to the world’s transitional countries, says Filip Kaczmarek.
The EU proclaims democracy as the principle and objective for its external action. Thus, development policy plays a substantial role in helping strengthen democracy in poorer countries.
Under the Polish presidency, the EU placed a stronger focus on democracy and governance in its aid programmes, through the agenda for change – a new development policy.
Commitment to the fundamental values of human rights, democracy, and rule of law is the cornerstone of any partnership and cooperation between the EU and third countries.
Thus, the agenda for change expresses the will to reward countries with a good track record. A large part of EU aid is delivered in the form of general budget support – funds that are transferred directly into the national treasury of recipient governments.
General budget support is seen as an implicit recognition that the partner country’s overall policy stance and political governance is on track. In 2010, budget support represented 24 per cent of all commitments from the EU budget.
Accountable participatory governance is a key enabler of development. Parliament is very supportive of this approach since this policy should eliminate corruption, improve financial management, enhance transparency, and ensure the protection of human rights.
Development aid used as an incentive for political reform must place democracy and human rights at the centre in order to guarantee sustainable and lasting development. Recent movements in north Africa have demonstrated that the objectives of democracy, development, good governance and human rights are linked.
The European institutions have been working on the establishment of a European endowment for democracy (EED) which will be an additional instrument giving the EU a more flexible tool for supporting democratic change.
The EED will be a non-partisan instrument to make grants to local democratic movements, support NGOs, and support the transition to democracy in countries like Burma, Belarus, and Zimbabwe.
With regard to the upcoming Busan high level meeting, parliament underlines the importance of a bottom-up approach for ownership.
Also emphasising local knowledge and concentrated contributions to achieving development goals on the ground, and setting up strong, effective and independent follow-up enforcement mechanism which involves parliaments and civil society at both national and international level.
Promoting and respecting the principles of democratic ownership, which means that development strategies must be driven by the countries themselves and reflect national stakeholdercommitment, will be key for high impact aid.
International donors have been increasing their activities to support accountability in developing countries, especially those which receive budget support.
Also, external donors need better knowledge of these institutions to effectively support accountability in developing countries. Partnerships based on dialogue and consultation enhance ownership of democracy-building processes and elements of democratic governance.
This year’s development days in Poland will focus on democracy and development. As the birth place of the Solidarity movement which accelerated the transformation process in eastern and central Europe, Poland stands as a guiding light for the newly democratising countries in north Africa.
The EU has established a tradition of supporting those countries that experience transition from dictator regimes to democracy and the current transitions will be no exception.
Filip Kaczmarek is parliament's rapporteur on the draft report on increasing the impact of EU development policy
