Regulation (EU) No 233/2014 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 3 U.K. General principles

1. The Union shall seek to promote, develop and consolidate the principles of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms on which it is founded, through dialogue and cooperation with partner countries and regions.

2. In the implementation of this Regulation, a differentiated approach amongst partner countries shall be pursued, in order to ensure that they are provided with specific, tailor-made cooperation based on:

(a) their needs, based on criteria such as population, income per capita, the extent of poverty, income distribution and the level of human development;

(b) their capacities to generate and access financial resources and on their absorption capacities;

(c) their commitments and performance, based on criteria and indicators, such as political, economic and social progress, gender equality, progress in good governance and human rights, and the effective use of aid, in particular the way a country uses scarce resources for development, beginning with its own resources; and

(d) the potential impact of Union assistance in partner countries.

The countries most in need, in particular the least developed countries, low income countries and countries in crisis, post-crisis, fragile and vulnerable situations, shall be given priority in the resource allocation process.

Criteria such as the Human Development Index, the Economic Vulnerability Index and other relevant indexes, including for measuring in-country poverty and inequality, shall be taken into account in order to underpin the analysis and identification of the countries most in need.

3. Throughout all programmes, cross-cutting issues as defined in the European Consensus shall be mainstreamed. In addition, conflict prevention, decent work and climate change shall be mainstreamed, where relevant.

The cross-cutting issues referred to in the first subparagraph shall be understood to encompass the following dimensions, to which specific attention shall be given where circumstances so require: non-discrimination, the rights of persons belonging to minorities, the rights of persons with disabilities, the rights of persons with life-threatening diseases and of other vulnerable groups, core labour rights and social inclusion, the empowerment of women, the rule of law, capacity building for parliaments and civil society, and the promotion of dialogue, participation and reconciliation, as well as institution building, including at local and regional level.

4. In implementing this Regulation, policy coherence for development and consistency with other areas of Union external action and with other relevant Union policies shall be ensured, in accordance with Article 208 TFEU.

In this regard, measures financed under this Regulation, including those managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), shall be based on the development cooperation policies set out in instruments such as agreements, declarations and action plans between the Union and the partner countries and regions concerned, and on the relevant Union decisions, specific interests, policy priorities and strategies.

5. The Union and the Member States shall seek regular and frequent exchanges of information, including with other donors, and shall promote better donor coordination and complementarity by working towards joint multiannual programming based on partner countries' poverty reduction or equivalent development strategies. They may undertake joint action, including joint analysis of and joint response to those strategies identifying priority sectors of intervention and in-country division of labour, by means of joint donor-wide missions and by the use of co-financing and delegated cooperation arrangements.

6. The Union shall promote a multilateral approach to global challenges and shall cooperate with Member States in that respect. Where appropriate, it shall foster cooperation with international organisations and bodies and other bilateral donors.

7. Relations between the Union and the Member States, on the one hand, and partner countries, on the other hand, shall be based on and shall promote the shared values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law as well as the principles of ownership and mutual accountability.

Furthermore, relations with partner countries shall take into account their commitment and track record in implementing international agreements and contractual relations with the Union.

8. The Union shall promote effective cooperation with partner countries and regions in line with international best practice. It shall align its support with their national or regional development strategies, reform policies and procedures wherever possible, and support democratic ownership, as well as domestic and mutual accountability. To that end, it shall promote:

(a) a development process that is transparent and partner country- or region-led and owned, including the promotion of local expertise;

(b) a rights-based approach encompassing all human rights, whether civil and political or economic, social and cultural, in order to integrate human rights principles in the implementation of this Regulation, to assist partner countries in implementing their international human rights obligations and to support the right holders, with a focus on poor and vulnerable groups, in claiming their rights;

(c) the empowerment of the population of partner countries, inclusive and participatory approaches to development and a broad involvement of all segments of society in the development process and in national and regional dialogue, including political dialogue. Particular attention shall be given to the respective roles of parliaments, local authorities and civil society, inter alia regarding participation, oversight and accountability;

(d) effective cooperation modalities and instruments as set out in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 236/2014, in line with OECD/DAC best practices, including the use of innovative instruments such as blending grants and loans and other risk-sharing mechanisms in selected sectors and countries and private-sector engagement, with due regard to the issues of debt sustainability, the number of such mechanisms, and the requirement for systematic assessment of the impact in accordance with the objectives of this Regulation, in particular poverty reduction.

All programmes, interventions and cooperation modalities and instruments shall be adapted to the particular circumstances of each partner country or region, with a focus on programme-based approaches, on the delivery of predictable aid funding, on the mobilisation of private resources, including from the local private sector, on universal and non-discriminatory access to basic services, and on the development and use of country systems;

(e) mobilisation of domestic revenue through the reinforcement of partner countries' fiscal policy with the purpose of reducing poverty and aid dependence;

(f) an improved impact of policies and programming through coordination, consistency and harmonisation between donors to create synergies and avoid overlap and duplication, to improve complementarity and to support donor-wide initiatives;

(g) coordination in partner countries and regions using agreed guidelines and best practice principles on coordination and aid effectiveness;

(h) results-based approaches to development, including through the use of transparent country-level results frameworks, based on, where appropriate, internationally agreed targets and indicators such as those of the MDGs, to assess and communicate the results, including the outputs, outcomes and impact of development aid.

9. The Union shall support, as appropriate, the implementation of bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation and dialogue, the development dimension of partnership agreements, and triangular cooperation. The Union shall also promote South-South cooperation.

10. The Commission shall inform and have regular exchanges of views with the European Parliament.

11. The Commission shall have regular exchanges of information with civil society and local authorities.

12. In its development cooperation activities the Union shall, as appropriate, draw from and share the reform and transition experiences of Member States and the lessons learned.

13. Union assistance under this Regulation shall not be used to finance the procurement of arms or ammunition, or operations having military or defence purposes.