With the support of the European Union
This website has been produced with thefinancial support of the European UnionOnly CONCORD and its members are responsible for the content of this website and does not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union.
Spring Alliance
Civil Society Contact Group
The EU Civil Society Contact Group brings together seven large rights and value based NGO sectors – environment, social, development, women, culture, human rights and public health.
Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness
Fair Politics - Make Development Work
EU Policies that contradict or oppose its development commitments and objectives must end. This programme identifies incoherent EU policies and brings them to the attention of the European policymakers and suggest remedies.
TRIALOG - Strengthening development NGOs in the enlarged EU
TRIALOG is in charge of raising awareness of development issues in the enlarged EU and to strengthen dialogue and partnerships between development NGOs in accession countries, EU countries and developing countries.
DEEEP - Development Education Exchange in Europe Project
DEEEP's aim is to increase the capacity of European NGOs to deliver grassroots Development Education via methodological exchange, training, improved networking, elaboration of common policies and common projects.
Euforic - Europe's Forum on International Cooperation
Euforic is dedicated to development cooperation and humanitarian aid from the civil society prospective, offering: thematic and geographic information, actors, resources, directories, projects, jobs, agendas, forum, etc.
Global Call Against Poverty (GCAP)
The Global Call to Action against Poverty is a worldwide alliance committed to making world leaders live up to their promises, and to making a breakthrough on poverty.
It is an alliance around the common cause of ending poverty: existing coalitions, community groups, trade unions, individuals, religious and faith groups, campaigners and more.
With the support of the European Union
This website has been produced with thefinancial support of the European UnionOnly CONCORD and its members are responsible for the content of this website and does not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union.
The European Union has committed to strengthen civil society’s role in development through several important policy agreements and statements; such as the Cotonou Agreement and the 2006 European Consensus on Development. However, in practice, EU decision-making on development policy and aid programming often leave civil society actors feeling excluded and deny them their role as main interlocutors between governments and citizens, both in developing countries and in Europe.
CONCORD's recommendations can help changing the situation. Read them here.
The European Development Education Monitoring Report "DE Watch" on Development Education, provides a detailed overview of development education (DE) policies, practices and funding in the 27 EU Member States and Norway. It analyses DE concepts, policies and practices of national development ministries and related agencies, the formal education sector as well as the approaches of civil society organisations and local or regional authorities.
Activists staging an MDGs football action warned that the EU cannot afford to go empty-handed to the United Nations’ MDG summit in September in New York. With only 5 years remaining, Member States must stop blocking progress towards the MDGs and show that they are willing to step forward and score the goals that they agreed back in 2000. Click here and discover which Member States is scoring and which one is blocking the European efforts.
The Council's conclusions contain too many calls from the European Union to others with little commitment or action from the EU side. It is indeed necessary that all partners show strong political commitments in order to achieve the Millenium Development Goals, however, the EU needs to set the example as the world’s largest donor, especially on issues such as ODA and Policy Coherence for Development. The conclusions favour an action-oriented approach without proposing an action or breakthrough plan on the EU side. But CONCORD have much more to say: click here to find out.
European Member States are missing their official development aid targets and jeopardising global efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals, reveals a new CONCORD report called 'Penalty against Poverty: More and Better EU aid can score Millennium Development Goals’.
The press release makes clear that three is a shortfall of €11bn in funding with some of the EU’s biggest economies – Italy (€4.5bn), Germany (€2.6bn) and France (€800m) – amongst the worst offenders.
From July to December 2010, Belgium is chairing the European Union. This is a complex task in a period marked by change. The Presidency of the EU, however, is an opportunity for the Belgian government to more directly influence European policies.
Therefore, the Belgian Platform of CONCORD is addressing a memorandum to the federal government to expose its claims and its program of actions about the forthcoming presidency.
5 years ahead of the deadline set by the UN to reduce poverty by half, this program will focus on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and more specifically on the following four topics: Financing for Development, decent work, food sovereignty and climate. Discover what the Belgian NGOs expect from their presidency
From 1 January 2010 to 30 June 2011 Spain, Belgium and Hungary will hold the rotating Trio-Presidency of the European Union. This presidency comes at a time when the world finds itself faced with the challenges of multiple global crises: the food crisis, the financial and economic crisis and the crisis of climate change. As national coalitions of developing, relief and North-South solidarity organisations, the Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian platforms of CONCORD will work together to ensure that the EU will take up its responsibilities towards the South and hold them to account on their commitments.
Click here to read an overview of the priorities of the platform trio
According to legal advice from a UK based law firm the current European External Action Service (EEAS) proposal is inconsistent with the Lisbon treaty. A coalition of European development organisations says it could trigger legal action against the proposal by EU High-Representative (HR) Catherine Ashton.
CONCORD has been one of the 3 official speakers representing NGOs at the International Donor Conference on Haiti in New York. At the table were also sitting high-level representatives, including Bill Clinton, Commissioner Georgieva and Commissioner Piebalgs.
A joint international NGO statement has been delivered. The issue of CSO/NGO effectiveness and the coordination with other national and international stake-holders present in Haiti are at its core.
Many other demands have been done. Click here to read the full position paper
Following the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty EU Member States together with the European Parliament are discussing the implementation of the Treaty, including the creation of the new European External Action Service (EEAS).
CONCORD has identified a number of safeguards that should be put in place while deciding on the new institutional structures. Read CONCORD position.
CONCORD believes that the current economic and political climate should prompt the European Union and its Member States to adopt mechanisms to tax financial transactions.
EU leaders must push for significant improvements of the Europe 2020 Strategy if it is to really lead towards a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy, said the Spring Alliance, a network of four leading civil society organisations including CONCORD.
While the Strategy focuses on the EU economy, the Spring Alliance insisted that it should be coherent with other EU policies and look at its impact outside of Europe. Read the press release. Look at the Spring Alliance recommendations.
During a meeting on 11 February, Commissioner Piebalgs encouraged CONCORD to pursue its work, notably to continue to remind him and the European Commission about keeping poverty eradication at the core of development policies and to encourage Members States to meet their aid commitments. The political commitment to development is still there, but finding money for to meet these commitments is going to be a struggle - and therefore he is interested in innovative financing for development.
To put the world back on track towards reaching the MDGs the European Union – as provider of 60% of global aid flows and a major trading partner for some of the world’s poorest nations - should take the lead towards a UN summit in September to halve poverty by 2015. Click here and discover why CONCORD is concerned. Read CONCORD's recommendations to the European Union for each goal.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) decided to reform its Committee on World Food Security (CFS). Discover CONCORD position on this.
Figures released on 17 February by the OECD show that the EU will not meet its 2010 aid targets. The 2010 aid forecast notes the EU is well off track and will miss its collective target of 0.56% of GNI, agreed in 2005 as an interim benchmark towards achieving the UN goal of 0.7% of GNI by 2015 to finance the Millennium Development Goals.Click here to read the full press release
The non-eligibility of taxes effectively means that grant beneficiaries unable to negotiate full tax exemptions in the concerned country are faced with taxes being considered ineligible. This constitutes a financial risk for grant beneficiaries: 7.1% on average of total project costs for EC funded actions. Financial risk is also reflected in other ways: increase in the co-financing percentage and reduction in the level of administrative costs.
CONCORD has serious concerns on the content of the revision of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, but also on the lack of transparency of the process.
A better involvement of the civil society in the EU and in the ACP countries in the process would not only enhance transparency and democratic participation and legitimacy, but also enable citizens to hold their governments to account.
Read the position of CONCORD on the Review of the Cotonou Agreement
In order to implement its strategic plan 2009-2014, CONCORD will in 2010:
- hold EU to account on progress towards 2015 aid commitment target and its Millennium Development Goals commitments.
- monitor the extent to which the EU has contributed to the crucial targets on Aid effectiveness.
- lobby to ensure that poverty eradication is at the core of the European Commission’s development policy.
- pay a special attention on the shaping of the European External Action Service and the work of the new European Commission and Council.
- monitor and accompany the second review of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement.
- promote policy coherence for development during the key European high level meetings
- support its members in participation in major events, i.e. the Palermo II process.
- renew its communication strategy and reinforce members' capacity building on lobby, advocacy, gender and human rights-based approach.
- engage thoughtful alliances with other Civil Society organisations.
CONCORD members work together to ensure that:
- The EU and member states are fully committed to comprehensive policies and practice that promote sustainable economic, social and human development, aim to address the causes of poverty, and are based on human rights, gender equality, justice and democracy;
- The rights and responsibilities of citizens and organised civil society, to influence those representing them in governments and EU institutions, are promoted and respected.
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