Call for Coherence - Final Recommendations

European Conference on Policy Coherence for Development 2nd – 3rd October 2006 Helsinki Final Recommendations

There is growing political commitment to Policy Coherence for Development, at global, European and national level. In particular, this has been reflected in the Millennium Declaration and the European Consensus on Development. Additionally, the European Council Conclusions of June 2006 emphasised the need for coherent and effective EU external policies.

Coherence is about ensuring that the objectives of development cooperation are not undermined and negated by other policies which have an external impact. The EU´s contribution to achieving and surpassing the Millennium Development Goals will only materialise if all EU and Member State policies support and reinforce the fight against poverty.

Over 250 participants from national ministries, parliaments and development agencies world-wide, EU institutions, European civil society organisations, international organisations and research institutes, participated in the European Conference on Policy Coherence for Development on 2-3 October 2006 in Helsinki.

The conference was organized by KEHYS (the Finnish NGDO Platform to the EU), in co-operation with CONCORD, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, the Finnish Development Policy Committee and the European Commission.

The conference focused on the current situation and future challenges regarding Policy Coherence for Development, which were elaborated further through five thematic dimensions of development in workshops:

• security and development • trade and development • migration and development • environment and development • HIV/aids and development

The specific objective was to provide the space for discussion to identify synergies and inter- linkages of policies, mechanisms to ensure coherence and practical ways of monitoring implementation.

We call on decision-makers to acknowledge the mutual and long-term benefits of pursuing development objectives and to take responsibility and demonstrate strategic leadership to deliver on promises. Action should echo policy.

1. Political will and commitment to Policy Coherence for Development should be taken a step further through policy change and concrete action. Change needs to be brought about at the highest level of decision-making and implemented consistently across all policy-making. Creative and innovative approaches in translating the commitments into actions should be developed.

2. A pre-requisite for coherent decision-making is sufficient and systematic analyses of policies to identify economic, social and environmental impacts on developing countries. This should result in conscious political choices for the benefit of the poor.

3. Institutional structures should facilitate Policy Coherence for Development. Effort should be made to improve existing mechanisms and policy fora in order to enhance the integration of development objectives into policy-making.

4. Development cooperation, itself, should be implemented in a coherent fashion. In addition, we need to move beyond the traditional development circles in order to broaden the understanding of the links and the interdependency of the various interests of different stakeholders.

5. Emphasis should be placed on the actual needs and aspirations of developing countries and their citizens in the debate on Policy Coherence for Development. Joint responsibility and ownership of development strategies should be at the forefront of policy-making. 6. Decision-makers need to be held accountable to European citizens and the international community for the commitments they have made on Policy Coherence for Development. Accountable policy-making requires transparency in the Council, the Commission as well as the national level. Regular reporting on the progress made by the EU together with external monitoring by the European parliament and civil society are essential.

7. Participative democracy is an integral part of effective and long-term development. Civil society has a crucial role to play in holding governments to account, influencing and scrutinising the implementation of policy decisions as well as raising awareness of the impacts of incoherent policies on development.

The European Union is a key global actor. The need for Policy Coherence for Development does not end at the EU level but should be strategically taken forward into multilateral fora.