Our issues

EU is the world's largest aid donor, and an increasingly significant player in development cooperation. All EU- developing countries policies and activities are able to help, or hinder, development. CONCORD Sweden is working on advocacy and information. In 2010, we will focus primarily on aid effectiveness and how all EU policies can affect development positive & coherent.

Policy Coherence for development

Trade, agriculture, and climate are all policies that have a significant impact on sustainable development in the world. When the EU operates and takes policy decisions and signing contracts with developing countries there should always be a development dimension in the decisions and they must not impede the development goals. To clarify how the EU can do better in this Concord produced the report Spotlight on Policy Coherence. The report was initiated by CONCORD Sweden and has received considerable attention and is now a tool in our advocacy work on issues related to policy coherence for development.

Aid effectiveness

The Union represents more than half of world aid and have a significant impact on developing countries economies. The EU development assistance consists of the Commission's own aid programs and also the member states´bilateral aid. All EU Member States have pledged that aid should be at certain levels. However, only a few can live up to those promises. Some of the aidbudgets are also undermined by supporting efforts, such as migration costs within the EU and student costs, aimed at other than poverty reduction. Concord looks at European aid levels and aid content - poverty reduction should be the focus of all aid efforts. Every year Concord produces the so-called AidWatch report in which all Member States and the Commission's assistance levels and content are identified and discussed. The AidWatch report becomes a tool in our advocacy and a wide range of NGOs are represented in the report.

CONCORD Sweden

CONCORD Sweden streangthen capacity on EU development policy among its 38 member organisations and advocates on PCD, aid effectivness and more.