Policy Coherence and EU Development Policy

The principle of policy coherence has been the object of a contentious debate in the European Union’s external relations, though discussions have been mainly limited to its foreign policy and its ability to speak with one voice in the international arena. Despite being institutionalised in the Treaty of Maastricht, policy coherence for development (PCD), which implies taking into account the needs and interests of developing countries in non-aid policies, failed to make headway in the European Union, remaining the unheeded concern of some NGOs and a small group of Member States. A change of direction occurred in the early 2000s when the European Commission, taking advantage of a number of favourable conditions and using an astute strategy, managed to set an ambitious agenda for the European Union. This volume analyses the linkages between aid and various non-aid policies, namely trade, agriculture, fisheries, security, migration, and the social dimension of globalisation. Its aim is to shed new light on the EU’s policy-making process, by looking at the nexus between various policy sub-systems, and on the role that the EU wants to play in the international arena, by looking at the impact of its policies on international development.

1. Mission Impossible: The European Union and Policy Coherence for Development Maurizio Carbone 2. The EU and the Global Development Agenda Martin Holland 3. Imposed Coherence: Negotiating Economic Partnership Agreements Ole Elgström and Jess Pilegaard 4. The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy and Developing Countries: The Struggle for Coherence Alan Matthews 5. The European Union as a Sustainable Development Actor: The Case of External Fisheries Policy Charlotte Bretherton and John Vogler 6. Fusing Security and Development: Just Another Euro-Platitude? Richard Youngs 7. The Migration–Development Nexus in EU External Relations Sandra Lavenex and Rahel Kunz 8. The Social Dimension of Globalization and EU Development Policy: Promoting Core Labour Standards and Corporate Social Responsibility Jan Orbie and Olufemi Babarinde