EuropeAid. An office not really exterior
(B2 archive *) Created in early 2001, the EuropeAid cooperation office must gradually manage all European aid to the rest of the world. Neither external nor really internal, this organization risks combining the disadvantages of both.
A new acronym in the Brussels Landerneau
A new acronym has appeared, since January 1, 2001, in the small European world. EuropeAid was, in fact, created on December 21 by the European Commission to manage most of the Community's external aid. A necessity for the commissioner in charge of humanitarian aid, the Dane Poul Nielson: " We must at all costs increase the effectiveness of our development cooperation on a global scale."
The European budget = 1/10th of the global development aid budget
The European Commission now provides more than 10% of all public development aid in the world, ie 9,6 billion euros (more than 60 billion francs). This represents a total greater than the loans granted by the World Bank on preferential terms. We therefore need, says the commissioner, " increase the capacity of our administration to work in a more coherent manner ».
The appearance of an external agency
This new organization thus strangely resembles an external agency. EuropeAid is in fact an administrative structure, external to the administration of the European Commission, which has vertical competence over a defined policy. It can control the entire development project cycle, from identifying projects to monitoring their implementation and evaluating them. European aid now covers a wide variety of areas: post-conflict reconstruction, strengthening democratic institutions, macro-economic aid, monitoring the proper functioning of elections, mine clearance and human rights. men who require continuity in action.
Important, technical and financial tasks
Gradually, EuropeAid will thus become responsible for the technical and financial aspects of most of the European Union's external assistance programmes, such as TACIS (republics of the former USSR) and MEDA (Mediterranean) or the European development which covers most African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP group) countries. Only the programs intended for other European countries (Phare for Central Europe, Cara for the Balkans) continue to be managed directly by the European Commission.
... but not really an independent agency
EuropeAid is however not really an agency as it operates directly under the authority of the European Commission. Its Board of Directors is chaired by the Commissioner responsible for external relations, the Englishman Chris Patten, and its general administrator is none other than Commissioner Poul Nielson, Commissioners Gunter Verheugen (enlargement), Pascal Lamy (trade) and Pedro Solbes Mira (economy) being also members of this board. And, to fulfill these missions, EuropeAid should have a total staff of 2001 people by the end of 1, mainly from the external relations service (former DG I and DG VIII), about half of whom will work in the delegations .
Objective: deconcentrate, decentralize
The fact remains that one of the main characteristics of this structure is the deconcentration, even the decentralization of important responsibilities. " Everything that can be better managed and decided on the spot should not be managed or decided in Brussels “, we estimate at the Prodi cabinet. This transfer takes place in two directions. On the one hand, the 128 delegations that make up the European Commission around the world will be given new responsibilities (budgetary powers, technical expertise and the necessary personnel) in a process known as "deconcentration". On the other hand, the beneficiary States will manage certain programs.
Financial control requirements
These changes respond to the requirements of the Court of Auditors “, we estimate at Chris Patten. The budgetary surveillance body has, in fact, on several occasions, in numerous reports, criticized both the slowness and the extreme centralization of European aid, particularly in developing countries and in European countries from the east. It remains to be seen whether this reform could remedy these remarks. And above all, if it does not risk attracting new remonstrances, particularly from the point of view of financial monitoring and control.
(*° article published in La Tribune April 2001