Development Cooperation Instrument
Legal basis: Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 “Establishing a financing instrument for development co-operation”.
DCI replaces a range of geographic instruments relating to the financial and technical assistance to, and economic co-operation with, the developing countries of Asia and Latin America, namely the Asia and Latin America Regulation (ALA), the Technical Aid to the Commonwealth of Independent States (TACIS) and the regulations governing co-operation with South Africa, as well as more than ten different thematic instruments (e.g. promoting gender equality in development co-operation, the fight against poverty diseases in developing countries, aid to uprooted people in Asian and Latin American developing countries.)
Objectives: The Development Co-operation Instrument regulates the European Union development co-operation policy with those developing countries which are included in the list of aid recipients of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (DAC/OECD).
The DCI has three main functions. The first is to provide assistance to South Africa and 47 developing countries in Latin America, Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East (the countries not covered by the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument or the European Development Fund). The second is to give support to sugar production restructuring in 18 ACP countries.
The DCI's third component consists in five thematic programs:
- Non-state actors/local authorities;
- Food security;
- Investing in people (human and social development);
- The environment and natural resources;
- Migration and asylum.
The overall DCI budget for thematic programs for the period 2007-2013 is € 5.596 billion.
The Union's development co-operation policy is guided by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and by the European Consensus on Development, which provides the general framework for all the DCI's programs. In keeping with this framework, the eradication of poverty and the pursuit of the MDGs, as well as the promotion of good governance and human rights, are primary objectives of the EC DCI.
The instrument implements geographic programs, providing support to 48 countries in five different regions: 18 countries in Latin America, 19 in Asia, 5 in Central Asia, 5 in the Middle East, and South Africa. The thematic programs complement the geographic programs by allowing co-operation activities that are not geographically specific, e.g. environmental protection and food security. Being complementary with other instruments, they involve countries and regions eligible under the European Development Fund (EDF) and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENPI), as well as those covered by the geographic component of the DCI. The DCI also includes a set of measures aimed at supporting the adjustment process of 18 ACP Sugar Protocol countries affected by the reform of the EU sugar regime.
The geographic programs cover co-operation with all the EC 48 partner countries located in Latin America, Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and South Africa. EC assistance to these countries is provided with the following objectives:
- Supporting the implementation of policies aimed at poverty eradication and at the achievement of the MDGs;
- Addressing the essential needs of the population, in particular primary education and health;
- Promoting social cohesion and employment;
- Promoting good governance, democracy, human rights and support for institutional reforms;
- Assisting partner countries and regions in the areas of trade and regional integration;
- Promoting sustainable development through environmental protection and sustainable management of natural resources;
- Supporting sustainable integrated water resource management and fostering greater use of sustainable energy technologies;
- Providing assistance in post-crisis situations and fragile states.
The planning process for the implementation of both the geographical and the thematic programs involves the drafting of Country Strategy Papers (CSPs) and Regional Strategy Papers (RSPs) by the part of Commission. The CSPs and RSPs serve as a base for the formulation of multi-annual indicative programs and annual action programs for each partner country or region. The financial framework for the implementation of the Regulation which sets up the DCI for the period 2007-2013 is € 16.897 billion. This breaks down to € 10.057 billion for the geographic programs, € 5.596 billion for the thematic programs and € 1.244 billion for the ACP Sugar Protocol countries.
Eligible partners: The entities which are eligible for funding are, among others, the following:
- Partner countries and regions, and their institutions;
- Decentralized bodies in the partner countries (municipalities, provinces, departments and regions);
- Joint bodies set up by the partner countries and regions with the Union;
- International organizations;
- EU agencies.
Certain entities and bodies of the Member States, partner countries and regions and any other third country in so far as they help to achieve the objectives of this Regulation.
The Commission is charged with submitting a report evaluating the implementation of this Regulation in the first three years including, if appropriate, a legislative proposal introducing the necessary modifications, before 31 December 2010.
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