Developing the effectiveness of Pacific Island Cou

Developing the effectiveness of Pacific Island Countries and their Partners

The 40th Pacific Islands Forum has taken place in a time of global turmoil and change. The global economic crisis and the fast growing impact of climate change have set the context of the Meeting. The inherent vulnerability of the Pacific Island Countries magnifies these challenges and adds more distress to the burden they carry.

This requires exceptional efforts: first, to mobilise more aid; second, to use aid more effectively and to leverage other resources, notably private investments. Aid is fragmented and uncoordinated. Addressing these shortcomings is crucial for our collective action to be really helpful and not further spreading the already stretched capacity of the Pacific Island Countries.

The EU is a champion of the Aid Effectiveness Agenda and has consistently promoted its principles from Paris to Accra. We are the second largest donor to the Pacific region. The EU has a special relationship with the Pacific Island Countries and also a special responsibility of solidarity towards them. It intends to remain fully engaged in the Pacific region.

We welcome the initiative of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders for a special compact between Pacific countries and international partners. We believe that it has the potential for reducing the fragmentation of our efforts and for enhancing the delivery of development outcomes for the Pacific people.

In taking forward this initiative we are not starting from scratch. We must accelerate the implementation of the Accra Agenda and the Pacific Principles on Aid Effectiveness:

1. Ownership and country systems

National strategies and plans must be the reference documents for development partners. Country systems should be used. When this is not yet possible, common donor frameworks for aid delivery should be used as a first step.

2. Predictablility of aid and budget support

To support Pacific Countries policy planning and resource allocation, assistance must be predictable. To this end the European Commission believes that budget support should be considered as much as possible.

3. Division of Labour

Tasks should be shared on the basis of our comparative advantages: upstream through joint programming and joint strategies; downstream through joint missions, joint reporting and delegated cooperation.

4. Strengthened support to regional integration and policy coherence
The crisis can be tackled effectively only through more regional integration. Coherence between national and collective action should be promoted.

The European Commission stands ready to play its part to implement the Compact and encourages all other development partners to do likewise.

ENDS

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