The management of external aid, rather effective, says the Court of Auditors
(BRUSSELS2) The latest report from the Court of Auditors on external aid is rather positive on the mechanism aimed at giving more autonomy to the European Commission delegations (now European Union delegations). It's rare enough not to be reported...
Aid deployment speed increased
Decided on in 2000, the reform of the management of external aid ("devolution") was implemented in 111 delegations of partner countries between 2002 and 2004. In 2009, 80% of European aid (8,44 billion euros) was thus distributed in a decentralized manner. This deconcentrationcontributed to improving interventions" is estimated at the Court of Auditors. "The speed of aid deployment has increased and financial management procedures are more efficient. Moreover, there are indications that the quality of aid is now better, even if the systems used by the Commission to measure this aspect are not sufficiently developed to allow informed conclusions to be drawn.."
Difficulty recruiting, vacant positions, high turnover... complicate the task
Among the weak points, the auditors note above all a problem of human resources. Around 1 post in 6 (14%) was vacant at the end of 2009, a fact due to the "difficulty in recruiting contract staff with the right skills, especially to work in countries with difficult situations"Another concern is the high staff turnover at DG EuropAid - which can be explained by a high rate of contract workers (40%) hired on a non-renewable 3-year contract -"does not provide effective central support, and compromises historical records and operational efficiencyFinally, the delegations' workload has increased, due to the number of sectors in which they are involved. And the redeployment of posts decided since 2005 to give greater priority to the development of political and commercial functions does not facilitate management aid, a trend that is not about to stop, on the contrary, it should increase with the rise in power of the diplomatic service (SEAE).