With the aim of “further improving the conditions for an effective delivery of EU aid to the ACP countries (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific)”, the Commission adopted a series of proposals on 4 February as part of the EU-ACP Partnership Accord signed in Cotonou in 2000 and valid up till 2020. While awaiting a more thorough reform of the Accord, also to take into account the new political and humanitarian needs at the international level (fight against terrorism, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, support for the International Penal Court), the proposals of the Executive reflect the need to give greater incisiveness to the 13.5 billion euros allocated by the European Development Fund to cooperation with the ACP countries. The Commission’s decisions are based on three guidelines: first, “increasing the flexibility of resources to adjust them more effectively to new needs and to permit a better capacity of response to international interventions and conflicts”; second, “re-defining and decentralizing the management of funds for aid to development in the ACP countries to reinforce local proprietorship”; and third, “promoting wider regional integration between ACP and non-ACP countries by facilitating cooperation between the International Organizations and extending the scope of aid to non-ACP developing countries”.
