Europaudvalget 2015-16
Rådsmøde 3391 - udenrigsanliggender
Offentligt
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Council of the
European Union
9240/15
(OR. en)
EN
PRESSE 36
PR CO 28
OUTCOME OF THE COUNCIL MEETING
3391st Council meeting
Foreign Affairs
Development
Brussels, 26 May 2015
President
Federica Mogherini
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy
PRESS
Rue de la Loi 175 B – 1048 BRUSSELS Tel.: +32 (0)2 281 6319 Fax: +32 (0)2 281 8026
[email protected] http://www.consilium.europa.eu/press
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CONTENTS
1
ITEMS DEBATED
Post-2015/Financing for Development ................................................................................................ 3
Gender in development ........................................................................................................................ 3
Migration and development ................................................................................................................. 4
OTHER ITEMS APPROVED
DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
–
–
–
–
–
–
Annual report on EU development aid targets......................................................................................................... 5
EU food and nutrition security policy ..................................................................................................................... 5
EU support after earthquake in Haiti - Council conclusions on Court of Auditors' report ...................................... 8
Financial cooperation with third countries ............................................................................................................ 10
EuropeAid’s evaluation and monitoring systems .................................................................................................. 13
Report on EuropeAid's evaluation and results-oriented monitoring systems ........................................................ 13
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
–
–
Restrictive measures in view of the situation in Libya .......................................................................................... 14
Security of information agreement between the EU and Moldova ........................................................................ 14
ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
–
EU-Switzerland tax agreement - Automatic exchange of information .................................................................. 14
1

Where declarations, conclusions or resolutions have been formally adopted by the Council, this is indicated
in the heading for the item concerned and the text is placed between quotation marks.
 
Documents for which references are given in the text are available on the Council's Internet site
(http://www.consilium.europa.eu).
 
Acts adopted with statements for the Council minutes which may be released to the public are indicated by
an asterisk; these statements are available on the Council's Internet site or may be obtained from the Press
Office.
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ITEMS DEBATED
Post-2015/Financing for Development
The Council adopted conclusions on a
new global partnership for poverty eradication and
sustainable development after 2015.
Gender in development
The Council adopted
conclusions on gender in development.
Ministers reaffirmed that women's and
girls’ rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls remain a policy priority for
the EU's external action and development cooperation. The Council stressed the need for an
ambitious and transformative approach to address the root causes and risk factors of gender
inequality, discrimination and violence against women and girls.
The discussion and the conclusions will feed into the preparation of the new EU action plan on
gender equality and women's empowerment in development for 2016-2020.
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Migration and development
The Council exchanged views on how development cooperation can most effectively address the
migration challenges faced by Europe and its partner countries.
The EU's comprehensive approach includes working on root causes of irregular migration. The EU
is committed to enhancing work on the links between migration and development. By addressing
political, economic and social instability, development cooperation can contribute to ensuring that
migration is a choice rather than a necessity.
Ministers also recognised the positive impact of migration on the development of partner countries,
notably the role of remittances and of diaspora engagement.
The Council encouraged the Commission and the European External Action Service to work on
concrete measures to implement previously agreed Council conclusions on migration and
development, in particular to strengthen the migration dialogues with partner countries and regions
and to improve the operational approach in order to maximise the impact of EU humanitarian and
development support for refugees and internally displaced persons.
The forthcoming Summit with the African Union and key partners countries, to be held in Malta,
will be an opportunity to further advance work in this area.
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OTHER ITEMS APPROVED
DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
Annual report on EU development aid targets
The Council approved its
Annual Report 2015 to the European Council on EU Development Aid
Targets.
It analyses the trends with regard to the Official Development Assistance (ODA)
commitments, both by the EU and its individual member states. The Council reaffirms its political
leadership and commitment to EU development aid, which is a key priority for the EU, especially in
the context of the post-2015 agenda.
EU food and nutrition security policy
The Council adopted the following conclusions on the first biennial report on implementing EU
food and nutrition security policy commitments:
"1.
The Council recalls its Conclusions of 28 May 2013 on “Food and Nutrition Security in
external assistance”
1
which endorsed the Commission Staff Working Document on
“Boosting Food and Nutrition Security through EU Action: Implementing our
Commitments” (Implementation Plan)
2
and invited “the Commission to coordinate, in
close collaboration with Member States, a consolidated EU biennial progress report and to
publish the first such report in 2014”.
The Council also recalls its Conclusions of 10 May 2010 on “An EU policy framework to
assist developing countries in addressing food security challenges”
3
and on “Humanitarian
Food Assistance”
4
, its Conclusions of 28 May 2013 on “The EU Approach to Resilience”
5
,
as well as its Conclusions of 12 December 2014 on “The Action Plan on Nutrition”
6
.
The Council welcomes the findings of the implementation report
7
, which also provides the
baseline for subsequent reports. The Council welcomes the joint effort that the EU donors
have made to produce a consolidated report on assessing performance in implementing EU
Food and Nutrition Security policy commitments. The Council recognises the importance
of this accountability tool for strengthening aid effectiveness, transparency and mutual
accountability as well as for enhancing policy coherence, coordination and synergies,
thereby contributing to EU visibility and leadership.
2.
3.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
9328/13
8107/13
9653/10
9654/10
9325/13
16857/14
16855/14
5
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4.
The Council recognises that global food and nutrition security challenges are inherently
complex issues that require increased EU attention and need to be addressed in a
sustainable way. The Council further stresses the importance of ensuring proper linkages
between further work on food and nutrition security and key intergovernmental
negotiations, notably on the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the 2015 UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process, as well as with other relevant fora
such as the Committee on World Food Security, and with the Sendai Framework for
Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. The Milan Expo 2015 will also provide a good
opportunity to sustain engagement on key food and nutrition security policy issues.
The Council welcomes the collective EU response to food insecurity and crises since 2010
as discussed in the implementation report. It encourages the EU and its Member States to
continue improving effectiveness, through greater alignment, transparency,
complementarity, coordination, and division of labour at country level and as far as
possible under partner countries’ leadership.
The Council stresses that the EU and its Member States, as appropriate, should strengthen
Joint Programming in the area of food and nutrition security, building upon lessons learned
from past experiences. In-country coordination, harmonisation, joint analysis, and division
of labour should be strengthened and monitored, including in the field, in particular in
relation to their impact on food and nutrition security. Progress with regard to these efforts
should be reported in the next biennial report.
The Council reiterates the need to reinforce all levels of food and nutrition security
governance and urges the EU and its Member States to further strengthen multi-
stakeholder dialogue and the involvement of civil society, the private sector and farmer
organisations, with a focus on small holders, in partner countries, in particular regarding
national programme formulation and implementation.
The Council welcomes the findings of the report on the increasing leadership that the EU
and its Member States are showing on critical topics such as the fight against malnutrition,
research, resilience building, and land governance, including equitable access to land. The
Council encourages the EU and its Member States to continue working on these issues and
to build upon these successes in addressing emerging challenges such as sustainable and
climate sensitive agriculture and resilient food systems, efficient management of water,
nutrition sensitive agriculture and rural transformation, including youth employment.
Particular focus should be put on gender-sensitive interventions and policies.
5.
6.
7.
8.
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9.
The Council also emphasises the need to focus collectively on improving food and
nutrition security through a long-term perspective and a holistic approach, and to promote
the multiplier role of the agricultural sector. In particular, the Council emphasises the need
to i) develop and link local, regional and international value chains for agricultural
products, ii) increase responsible public and private investments in sustainable agriculture
and food systems, iii) create an enabling environment for socio-economic development of
rural areas by ensuring coherence between urban and rural development policies, iv)
improve nutrition integration in relevant programmes and strategies, v) strengthen
education for food and nutrition security, as well as to vi) strengthen social safety nets and
enhance coordination between humanitarian and development action.
The Council urges the EU and its Member States to step up their support for pro-poor,
demand-led and high-quality agricultural research and effective and evidence-based
extension and innovation, both in terms of increased investments and focus on emerging
priorities, and to ensure the translation of results into action on the ground to maximise
impact.
The Council recalls the importance of developing and harmonising measures to track
progress on food and nutrition security commitments and of supporting national
monitoring systems. The Council recognises the need to refine and simplify the reporting
format and methodology in view of the next EU joint biennial report on implementing EU
food and nutrition security policy commitments. In particular, the Council suggests
focusing on selected policy priorities, and putting more emphasis on results and impact
assessment, ensuring consistency with the overall approach of the EU Development and
Cooperation Results Framework which is being developed, as noted in the Council
Conclusions of 19 May 2014. The Council notes the need to improve the quality of data
reported and stresses the importance of alignment with national plans of partner countries.
The Council urges the EU and its Member States to step up efforts to communicate the
joint achievements, both at European level and in partner countries, and invites the
Commission to coordinate, in close collaboration with all Member States, the next
consolidated report with a view to its publication in the first semester of 2016."
10.
11.
12.
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EU support after earthquake in Haiti - Council conclusions on Court of Auditors' report
The Council adopted the following conclusions on the Court of Auditors' special report entitled "EU
support for rehabilitation following the earthquake in Haiti" (6490/15):"
1.
The Council welcomes the European Court of Auditors’ Special Report No 13/2014 on the
"EU Support for rehabilitation following the earthquake in Haiti."
1
The Council notes that the Court, among its findings, recommends that, in post-disaster
and fragile situations, the Commission and the EEAS should:
Improve risk management, notably by paying due attention to operational, political,
fiduciary and other risks to the achievement of programmes’ objectives and by establishing
measures to prevent or mitigate such risks;
Ensure better and more effective linkages and synergies between relief, rehabilitation and
development measures – in particular through the adoption of a common strategy between
Commission services;
Continue to focus on key public financial management functions and reforms when using
budget support modalities and to adopt, where necessary, short term measures to safeguard
EU funds;
Develop business continuity procedures, notably by including provisions for emergency
personnel redeployment in EU Delegations and by ensuring sufficient resources for
monitoring purposes.
The Council recognises that Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development (LRRD), in
all EU areas of intervention, requires a common strategy. The Council encourages the
Commission, the EEAS and the EU Member States, where appropriate with other donors,
to enhance coordination in the design and implementation of humanitarian and
development projects and programmes, including through joint programming where
appropriate, to ensure effective linkages and synergies.
2.
–
–
–
–
3.
1
OJ C 334, 25.9.2014, p. 7.
8
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4.
The Council reiterates that efforts to promote LRRD remain key to building resilience
1
and
to achieving sustainable human development, including poverty reduction
2
. The Council
welcomes the full and systematic integration of the LRRD approach in the 2014-2020
funding cycle, in particular in the National Indicative Programme for Haiti.
The Council underlines that assistance to post-disaster and fragile States, including through
budget support, is an essential but challenging component of EU external relations policy,
noting that the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States is based on mutual trust and
accountability and on country-led and country-owned transition processes, with associated
risks that must be managed but cannot be completely eliminated. In this regard,
coordination with other donors on risk adaptation and mitigation strategies for
development cooperation with Haiti should be strengthened, with full respect for the
modus operandi of humanitarian aid.
The Council reiterates that EU budget support must be designed and implemented to
effectively support poverty reduction and sustainable development, and to reflect the
specific goals, benefits and risks, as well as feasibility in the partner country. The Council
welcomes the efforts of the Commission and notes in this respect the ongoing State
Building Contract under the budget support aid modality designed for fragile states, as well
as the inclusion in the 2014-2020 National Indicative Programme of the focal sector "State
reform and modernisation of public administration". The Council reiterates that providing
budget support in the form of State Building Contracts with partner countries in fragile
situations should be based on a case-by-case approach and an assessment of potential
benefits and risks, an analysis of alternative aid modalities as well as of the cost of
inaction. Such support, including expenditures, should be monitored closely.
3
The Council calls on the Commission and the EEAS to underline the importance of public
financial management (PFM) reforms in their dialogue with the Haitian government and to
provide adequate capacity-building support and focus to key PFM functions.
The Council recalls the swift response to the 12 January 2010 Haiti earthquake by the EU
and by Member States in rapidly providing humanitarian emergency assistance and
deploying humanitarian and civil protection experts from the Commission and the Member
States, as well as efforts by Member States in the area of consular cooperation. The
Council welcomes the establishment of business continuity procedures, under the
responsibility of the EEAS, and provisions for emergency personnel redeployment for all
EU Delegations since the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
5.
6.
7.
8.
1
2
3
9325/13:
"Council Conclusions on EU approach to resilience". Also Commission Staff
Working Document "Action Plan for Resilience in Crisis Prone Countries 2013-2020".
9369/12:
"Council Conclusions on Increasing the Impact of EU Development Policy: an
Agenda for Change".
9371/12:
"Council Conclusions on The Future Approach to EU Budget Support to Third
Countries".
9
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9.
The Council calls on the Commission and the EEAS together and in coordination with EU
Member States, as well as with other donors, and in full respect of the humanitarian
principles, while recognising the central role of the UN in providing leadership and
coordination of international humanitarian engagement, to keep working towards a joint
analysis of humanitarian and development issues, a joint identification of solutions and
burden-sharing, including in the context of joint programming where appropriate, to help
build the resilience of the most vulnerable populations in Haiti.
The Council finally underlines that supporting Haiti in its transition from rehabilitation to
development requires both medium and long term engagement. The Council underlines
that this support remains a priority of EU cooperation."
10.
Financial cooperation with third countries
The Council adopted the following conclusions on the European Court of Auditors' special report
on the effectiveness of blending regional investment facility grants with financial institution loans
to support EU external policies:
"1.
The Council welcomes the European Court of Auditors’ Special Report No 16/2014 on
"The effectiveness of blending regional investment facility grants with financial institution
loans to support EU external policies".
The Council reiterates its support for the principles outlined in the Council Conclusions on
an Agenda for Change
1
with regard to the promotion of new financial tools, including the
blending of grants and loans, to leverage additional resources and increase the EU’s impact
on poverty eradication and sustainable development. The Council also recalls its
Conclusions of December 2013 on Financing poverty eradication and sustainable
development beyond 20152 underlining the need for blended finance to fully take into
account debt sustainability and accountability and to avoid market disturbances and
budgetary risks.
The Council stresses the importance of innovative mechanisms to mobilise additional
resources for sustainable development, poverty eradication and climate action. It is also
expected that these issues will form an important component of the third International
Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa in July 2015. The Council
further recognises the potential of blending to finance projects that would not otherwise
attract funding and private investors due to their high risk profile and/or their low
profitability. In this context, the Council calls for emphasis to be placed on diversifying
finance unlocked by blending, from both the public and the private sector.
2
3.
1
2
9369/12
17553/13
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4.
The Council recalls its Conclusions of December 2014
1
outlining the principles and criteria
for successful partnerships with the private sector, recognising that blending is an
important tool to boost economic growth, innovation and job creation, and looking forward
to the efforts of the Commission, Member States and European Financing Institutions in
the EU Platform for Blending in External Cooperation (EUBEC) to improve effectiveness
by increasing donor coordination and participation, promoting division of labour and
reducing transaction costs for partners, and to enhance the developmental impact of
blending operations, including on the basis of the lessons learnt.
The Council notes that the Court, in its Special Report, concludes that the regional
investment facilities were well set up and that the blending of regional investment facility
grants with loans from financial institutions to support EU external policies has been
generally effective. The Report also indicates that significant additional resources have
been leveraged, mainly by European Financial institutions.
The Council welcomes the conclusions of the Court regarding the demonstrated relevance
of all audited projects to the development needs of the regions or countries concerned, the
enhanced coordination between development partners, the reduction of transaction costs
for beneficiaries as well as the funding of projects otherwise too large to be financed by a
single institution. At the same time, the Council acknowledges the conclusion of the Court
that potential benefits of blending were not fully realised due to management shortcomings
and that, for half of the examined projects, there was no convincing analysis to show that a
grant was necessary for the financial institution to contract the loans.
The Council welcomes the recommendations of the Court that, in the context of blending
regional investment facility grants with loans from financial institutions, the Commission
should:
ensure that the allocation of EU grants is based on a documented assessment of the added
value resulting from the grants in terms of achieving EU development, neighbourhood and
enlargement objectives, notably by adopting and implementing guidelines to steer the
Commission’s involvement at all stages of the approval and follow-up process, and by
taking a more proactive role in the identification and selection of projects, in particular at
EU Delegation level;
disburse funding only when the funds are actually needed by the beneficiary;
5.
6.
7.
–
–
1
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–
improve its monitoring of the EU grant implementation, notably through a results
measurement framework that includes indicators for following up the impact of EU grants,
clear instructions to EU Delegations regarding their monitoring role and an adapted Results
Oriented Monitoring methodology;
increase its efforts to ensure appropriate visibility of EU funding.
The Council underlines the need to preserve the role of financial institutions and the
bottom-up approach which are crucial for the success of blending operations. The Council
stresses the importance for the Commission to limit funding disbursement to what is
necessary to catalyse the investment while also taking into account the operational needs of
the project subject to a blending operation. The Council further calls upon the Commission
to fully capitalise on the potential of blending operations for a wider impact on sector
policy.
The Council takes note and encourages the work initiated by EUBEC and completed so far
by the Commission in reforming regional investment facilities and improving the
effectiveness of blending operations. Measures initiated take into account major
recommendations of the Court. They notably concern the assessment of the added value of
the grant and of the actual disbursement needs, improved monitoring, instructions and
guidelines for EU staff, including a greater involvement of EU Delegations, as well as
communication and EU visibility, both at the level of blending facilities and of individual
projects.
The Council welcomes the recent Report of the Commission on the activities of the EU
Platform for Blending in External Cooperation (EUBEC) since its establishment until end
July 2014
1
and acknowledges the measures taken to enhance the functioning of the EU’s
blending facilities. The Council, furthermore, welcomes the roll out of the new governance
structure to enable an enhanced involvement of all Member States in blending facilities.
The Council stresses that ownership and alignment with national and/or regional
development strategies should be ensured in all blending operations. In that sense strategic
discussions with relevant national and/or regional authorities should be fostered. The
Council recalls the EU commitment to integrate the fight against climate change in
development cooperation and underlines the important role that blending can play in
supporting EU climate action. The Council also recalls the EU commitment to mainstream
gender equality and women’s empowerment in all EU development policies and
programmes, including blending operations.
–
8.
9.
10.
11.
1
17001/14
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12.
The Council calls upon the Commission to ensure appropriate follow-up and
implementation as well as effective monitoring of the recommendations of the Special
Report, and to continue improving the management of blending facilities and
demonstrating the added value of the grant element, including in financial terms, and
avoiding market distortions in blending operations. The Council underlines the importance
of comprehensive and evidence based reporting on all blending operations in EU external
cooperation in the context of the Commission's annual reporting obligations.
The Council looks forward to the evaluation, recently launched by the Commission, of
blending as an aid modality and underlines the need to pay particular attention to assessing
the development impact of blending operations. As this is expected to complement the
Court’s report, the evaluation should provide an important additional element in assessing
the overall value of blending. Timely implementation of the results framework and
reporting on the results of blending operations will be crucial in order to ensure impact and
effectiveness of blending as a development instrument."
13.
EuropeAid’s evaluation and monitoring systems
The Council adopted conclusions on the special report by the European Court of Auditors on
EuropeAid’s evaluation and results-oriented monitoring systems.
Report on EuropeAid's evaluation and results-oriented monitoring systems
The Council approved the conclusions on the European Court of Auditors’ Special Report No
18/2014 on EuropeAid’s evaluation and results-oriented monitoring systems. For the EU, sound
monitoring and evaluation systems are vital to ensure the impact and effectiveness of development
assistance. The Council took note of the recommendations included in the report and called for their
implementation.
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FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Restrictive measures in view of the situation in Libya
The Council implemented United Nations Security Council Resolution 2213 (2015) by amending
certain criteria for listing in relation to the travel restrictions and asset freeze measures. It also
implemented certain updates of the list of persons and entities subject to travel restrictions and asset
freeze measures as decided by the Security Council Committee established pursuant to UNSCR
1970 (2011).
Furthermore, the Council also amended the criteria for listing persons and entities under EU
autonomous travel restrictions and asset freezes.
Security of information agreement between the EU and Moldova
The Council authorised the opening of negotiations with the Republic of Moldova in order to
conclude a security of information agreement between the European Union and the Republic of
Moldova.
ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
EU-Switzerland tax agreement - Automatic exchange of information
The Council adopted a decision authorising the signing of an agreement with Switzerland on the
automatic exchange of financial account information, aimed at improving international tax
compliance.
The draft agreement is part of ongoing efforts to clamp down on tax fraud and tax evasion. It
upgrades a 2004 agreement that ensures that Switzerland applies measures equivalent to those in an
EU directive on the taxation of savings income.
The aim is to address situations where a taxpayer seeks to hide capital representing income or assets
for which tax has been evaded.
Two specific objectives are pursued. Firstly, the agreement will ensure that Switzerland applies
strengthened measures that are equivalent to the EU directive as upgraded in March 2014.
Secondly, it includes changes in relation to the automatic exchange of financial account information
promoted by a 2014 OECD global standard.
Signature of the agreement is scheduled for 27 May 2015 in Brussels. The text must be concluded
by the EU and Switzerland before entering into force. The parties expect that the necessary
requirements will be fulfilled in time to enable entry into force on 1 January 2017.
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