Reform of the European Commission's External Cooperation
- Issue 16 Issue 16: Angola’s war, disaster myths and more
- 1 Échange Humanitaire No.16 la politique de l'action humanitaire, les économies de guerre, les réformes structurelles et les défis politiques pour la Commission européenne (CE), les catastrophes naturelles et la question des partenariats sur le terrain
- 2 Diamonds: A Guerilla's Best Friend¹
- 3 Natural Resources and Corporate Responsibility: The Case of Angola’s War
- 4 Stop Propagating Disaster Myths
- 5 Central America 15 Months On: Reconstruction but No Transformation
- 6 WFP Response to Hurricane Mitch: A New Approach
- 7 Turkey's Response to Crisis
- 8 Disaster Management in the Digital Age: The Case of Latin America
- 9 Does Voice Matter? Using Information to Make Relief Accountable in Gujarat
- 10 East Timor: Humanitarianism Displaced?
- 11 Reform of the European Commission's External Cooperation
- 12 EU Coherence in Trade, Conflict Management and Common Foreign and Security Policy
- 13 Recent Developments in European Humanitarian Assistance
- 14 Assessment and Future of Community Humanitarian Activities: Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament
- 15 Oil…and Water: Political and Humanitarian Intervention in the Serbian Energy Sector
- 16 Canada's Human Security Agenda
- 17 Humanitarianism: Imperatives and Principles in Southern Sudan
- 18 The Kosovo Refugee Crisis: An Independent Evaluation of UNHCR's Emergency Preparedness and Response
- 19 Training For Peace in Southern Africa
- 20 Partnerships in Crisis: Collaboration Between International and Local Organisations in Disrupted Societies
- 21 PARinAC 2000 and Beyond
- 22 The Structure of Austrian Humanitarian Aid
Financial scandal in 1999 forced the executive leadership of the European Commission (EC) to step down. The new executive has initiated a programme of structural reforms, the outlines of which are now becoming clear. Particularly relevant for the RRN readership are the changes affecting the external relations of the EC. In essence these changes consist of a restructuring and reallocation of responsibilities between the Directorate-Generals (DG), with each having:
- its own commissioner;
- a stronger geographical dimension in the management structure;
- the designation of geographical desks as the core instrument for coordination;
- a stronger emphasis on the common foreign and security policy (CFSP).
The reforms are not yet complete, and further changes may take place in the future.
DG External Relations (Commissioner: Chris Patten):
The external relations portfolio includes responsibility for the majority of countries, except ACP states and applicants for membership to the European Union (EU). This also includes analyses and policy planning, priorities and programming, information for the delegations, human rights and democratisation, and the common foreign and security policy. The External Relations Commissioner will coordinate the external relations activities of the EC, and be the interlocutor for the newly appointed High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana (former NATO Secretary-General) at the level of the Council of Europe, not the Commission. Alberto Navarro, former director of ECHO, has become chef du cabinet of Javier Solana. Patten is also responsible for the Common Service for External Relations which is responsible for the technical, legal and financial aspects of implementing the ECs aid and cooperation programmes.
Enlargement Service (Commissioner: Günter Verheugen):
This now combines the previous Task Force for Accession Negotiations and responsibility for the relations with applicant countries, notably Cyprus, Malta and Turkey and central and east European countries.
DG for Trade (Commissioner: Marcel Lamy):
The creation of a trade portfolio gives stronger focus and higher profile to this thematic issue. The DG will be responsible for bilateral trade issues and for the formulation of trade policy, and will closely relate to the geographical desks in other external relations DGs.
DG for Development (Commissioner: Paul Nielson):
This portfolio combines responsibility for development and humanitarian aid. Its geographical focus for development will be the ACP countries and the major development cooperation framework of the Lomé Convention. Its responsibilities also include some budget lines which are of benefit to all developing countries, such as NGO co-financing and non-emergency food aid. It will also have responsibility for relations with international organisations and for the integration of sectoral policies.
Coherence policy
The geographical dimension of the new management structure is clear in the allocation of responsibilities between the DG for External Relations, Development, and Enlargement. As a consequence, the geographical desks become the primary locus for strategy development and internal coordination of EC policies. Trade and development, as thematic issues, will have to link with the appropriate geographical desks.
ECHO
For the time being ECHO continues as a separate entity though it has lost its separate commissioner and now comes under Paul Nielson who is also responsible for Development. Reportedly, there remains discussion about whether to retain a separate structure for humanitarian aid or integrate it (again) with the geographical desks. It is not inconceivable that, for some time, this will lead to administrative confusion and delays. Nielson is keen on a stricter interpretation of ECHOs mandate, and has already ordered ECHOs exit from Bosnia, Cambodia and Cuba. The question remains: is there an effective entry strategy for the other aid instruments, with a timely handover?
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