Council Regulation (EU) 2015/322Show full title

Article 2 U.K. General principles

1. In implementing this Regulation, consistency with other areas of Union external action and with other relevant Union policies and policy coherence for development shall be ensured, in accordance with Article 208 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). To this end, measures financed under this Regulation, including those managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), shall be based on the cooperation policies set out in documents such as arrangements, declarations and action plans between the Union and the third countries and regions concerned, and on the Union's decisions, specific interests, policy priorities and strategies.

2. The Union and the Member States shall work 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 joint donor-wide missions and by the use of co-financing and delegated cooperation arrangements.

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

4. Relations between the Union and its Member States and partner countries are based on and will promote shared values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law as well as the principles of ownership and of mutual accountability. Support to partners will be adapted to their development situation and commitment and progress with regard to human rights, democracy, the rule of law and good governance.

Furthermore, relations with partner countries shall take into account their commitment and track record in implementing international agreements and contractual relations with the Union, including within the area of migration as stipulated by the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement.

5. The Union shall promote effective cooperation with partner countries and regions in line with international best practice. It shall align its support with partners' 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, 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, 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 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 and 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, as well as specific budget support mechanisms such as state-building contracts. 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 and reinforcement of partner countries' fiscal policy with the purpose of reducing poverty and aid dependence;

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

(g) results-based approaches to development, including through transparent and country-led results frameworks based on, where appropriate, internationally agreed targets and comparable and aggregatable indicators such as those of the MDGs, in order to assess and communicate the results, including the outputs, outcomes and impact of development aid.

6. 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 promote south-south cooperation.

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

8. The Union shall seek regular exchanges of information with the actors of the partnership in line with Article 4 of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement.