Case: Policy coherence in general

27-04-2010 DEVE Submits Amendments on PCD Report

On the 26th of April the DEVE Committee came together to vote on the Amendments submitted by the different members of European Parliament (MEPs) to the Report on EU Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) and the 'Official Development Assistance plus (ODA+) Concept.' Although there were 120 amendments to the report that Franziska Keller drafted as rapporteur, most amendments concerned rephrasing and additional concrete examples of incoherence, making the report stronger. A long list of MEPs contributed to those improvement.

Franziska Keller and Isabella Lovin (Greens/EFA) submitted amendments concerning access to medicines and climate change. They raise their concern for the recent cases of custom authorities of different EU member states, seizing generic medicines in transit in European ports affecting the access to medicines. Furthermore they call for climate change risk assessments to be included in all policy planning and decisions including trade, agriculture, food security etc. in order to improve coherence for development.

Patrice Tirolien (S&D) in cooperation with Trautmann (S&D) focussed the majority of his amendments on the incoherencies of the Fisheries Partnership Agreements (FPAs). He criticizes the FPAs for not having "helped to consolidate fisheries policies of partner countries" (amendment 18). He recalls that "EU-access to fish stocks in third countries should not in any way be a condition for development assistance" to third countries (amendment 34). In addition to his concerns for FPAs, he also raises issues such as export subsidies effecting food security (with Vincent Peillon), and illicit financial flows escaping developing countries through tax evasion (with Michael Cashman and Liem Hoang Ngoc).

Although there were many additions to the report, there was one clear disagreement. Almost all parties opposed the idea of an Ombudsman and the Commission working together in order to ensure the availability of an effective complaint mechanism against incoherencies. Both the EPP and S&D political groups submitted amendments to have that clause deleted, and all were adopted. Instead the DEVE Committee supports the idea of a mandatory biennial report from the Parliament on PCD and underline the importance of inter committee cooperation.

For all their efforts to make the report on PCD stronger and EU policies more coherent, the Fair politics team acknowledges Keller, Lovin, Tirolien, Trautmann, Cashman, Hoang Ngoc and Peillon as Fair Politicians.

Monitor fair:S&D(5), Greens/EFA(2)

Find Draft Report on EU Policy Coherence for Development and the Official Development Assistance Plus Concept here.

Find Amendments to the Draft Report here.

Find INTA Opinion for the DEVE Committee on the Report on EU Policy Coherence for Development an the Official Development Assistance Plus Concept here.

Update: 18-05-2010 Motion for a resolution on PCD adopted in plenary!