European Centre for Development Policy Management Discussion Paper No. 192 June 2016 Prospects for supporting regional integration effectively An independent analysis of the European Union’s approach to the 11th European Development Fund regional programming by Alisa Herrero and Cecilia Gregersen www.ecdpm.org/dp192 ECDPM – LINKING POLICY AND PRACTICE IN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ECDPM – ENTRE POLITIQUES ET PRATIQUE DANS LA COOPÉRATION INTERNATIONALE Prospects for supporting regional integration effectively An independent analysis of the European Union's approach to the 11th European Development Fund regional programming Alisa Herrero and Cecilia Gregersen June 2016 Key messages Regional integration is Learning from the past The EU adopted a To effectively support one of the was one of the key prescriptive and regional integration cornerstones of the drivers behind the normative in the future, the EC EU's development and EU’s new approach to programming systems, incentives international supporting regional approach, which and capacities cooperation policy and cooperation in the 11th excluded relevant guiding programming is an area where the European ACP actors need to be geared EU is seen as having a Development Fund throughout critical towards producing real added value and programming stages of the higher impact rather know-how in its process. Innovations process. This than higher cooperation with introduced were approach is difficult disbursement rates. African, Caribbean and mostly geared to to reconcile with the This will require, Pacific countries. addressing aid principles of among others, management ownership and co- ensuring that future problems, but it is management programming is unclear how and underpinning the informed by a more whether they will Cotonou Partnership sophisticated maximise impact on Agreement. analysis of what regional integration. drives or hinders regional integration in the different regions, countries, and sectors. Discussion Paper No. 192 www.ecdpm.org/dp192 ii Discussion Paper No. 192 www.ecdpm.org/dp192 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................................... vi Acronyms ....................................................................................................................................................... vii Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... viii About this study ........................................................................................................................ viii Implications for future EU support for regional integration ........................................................ xii Pointers for the future ............................................................................................................... xiii 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Study rationale and objectives ................................................................................................... 3 1.2. Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 3 1.3. Structure of this paper ................................................................................................................ 4 2. Regional cooperation and support for regional integration in EU development policy and the ACP-EU partnership............................................................................................................................................... 5 2.1. Regional integration in EU development policy .......................................................................... 5 2.2. Regional integration and cooperation in ACP-EU relations ....................................................... 7 2.3. A brief look at regional integration in the ACP regions............................................................... 8 2.4. Changes in priorities in EDF support for regional integration .................................................. 11 2.5. Chapter findings in a nutshell ................................................................................................... 14 3. The new approach to supporting regional integration in the 11th EDF: will it deliver better results? ..... 15 3.1. The contextual dynamics influencing the 11th EDF programming ............................................ 15 3.2. ‘Learning from the past’: a key driver in 11th EDF approach to regional programming ............ 18 3.3. Major innovations in regional cooperation contained in the 11th EDF ...................................... 22 3.4. Will these innovations deliver more regional integration? ........................................................ 25 3.5. Chapter findings in a nutshell ................................................................................................... 37 4. 11th EDF regional programming: where does the money go? ............................................................... 41 4.1. Geographic distribution of regional funds ................................................................................. 42 4.2. Sector concentration in regional programming ........................................................................ 42 4.3. Regional economic integration for regional cooperation .......................................................... 45 4.4. Support for the environment and regional natural resource management and for combating climate change ......................................................................................................................... 45 4.5. Support for governance, peace and security at regional level ................................................. 45 4.6. Support for capacity development in relation to DMRO secretariats ....................................... 46 4.7. Chapter findings in a nutshell ................................................................................................... 48 5. 11th EDF regional programming: a partnership between equals? ......................................................... 49 5.1. The 11th EDF’s new approach to regional cooperation: ‘made in Europe’? ............................. 49 5.2. No shared vision on the principle of direct access ................................................................... 52 iii Discussion Paper No. 192 www.ecdpm.org/dp192 5.3. EU interference in African RECs ‘politics’: a legitimate or unreasonable operational concern? 53 5.4. Do regional actors have sufficient weight in EU blending activities? ....................................... 55 5.5. Has the 11th EDF regional programming been hijacked by EU priorities? ............................... 56 5.6. Who owns the 11th EDF regional cooperation? A critical perspective on alignment and participation .............................................................................................................................. 58 5.7. Chapter findings in a nutshell ................................................................................................... 60 6. EU interinstitutional dynamics and key drivers of the choice of sectors ................................................ 62 6.1. A ‘comprehensive and political’ versus a ‘classical developmental’ approach to regional cooperation ............................................................................................................................... 62 6.2. Complementarity: a key driver in the choice of sectors ............................................................ 64 6.3. No formal process for member state participation in the field .................................................. 65 6.4. Chapter findings in a nutshell ................................................................................................... 66 7. Conclusions and pointers for the future ................................................................................................. 67 Conclusion 1: The EU takes its past failures seriously ............................................................ 67 Conclusion 2: The 11th EDF innovations may not necessarily result in more and better regional integration ................................................................................................................................. 67 Conclusion 3: The EU finds it difficult to honour its commitment to ownership and an ACP-EU partnership of equals ................................................................................................................ 70 Conclusion 4: A prescriptive programming approach prevented close alignment with the political and economic realities in the various regions ............................................................. 71 Conclusion 5: The EU’s ambitions for support for regional integration may need be to be revisited .................................................................................................................................... 72 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................. 73 Annex I: List of interviews ............................................................................................................................