EU and USA in dialogue on aid and development
Around twenty experts from Europe and the United States are gathered in Stockholm to spend a few days discussing the current challenges for international development cooperation policy.
Photo: André Mkandawire
The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS) has, together with the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, initiated a joint project entitled 'Transatlantic Taskforce on Development'. The aim is to achieve a greater level of consensus on aid and development issues on both sides of the Atlantic.
A number of prominent figures from administrations and development aid agencies, the private sector, foundations and organisations in Europe and the United States have been invited to the seminar, which is being held in Stockholm. The working group is being led by Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson and Jim Kolbe from the German Marshall Fund, a former member of the US Congress and representative of the GMFUS.
The idea is for the conclusions from the workshops to be communicated to the incoming administration in Washington, as well as to the incoming EU Commission, in 2009. It is hoped that this initiative will provide opportunities to improve coordination across the Atlantic.
Prior to the October meeting, work has been conducted in four different working groups:
- democracy/security/development nexus
- climate change and other global public goods
- innovative instruments and approaches to development
- Food security
KEY FACTS:
The German Marshall Fund of the United States was founded in 1972 with the help of financial support from the then West Germany, on the initiative of Chancellor Willy Brandt. This contribution was a thank-you for the support given to Europe after the Second World War. The Fund - which is politically independent - works to cultivate and deepen the transatlantic dialogue in a range of different policy areas.
The working group convened for the first time in Washington in April 2008. The meeting in Stockholm on 7-8 October is the group's second meeting. The aim is to reach agreement on the contents and message of the report that, under the aegis of the German Marshall Fund, will be completed during the autumn. The plan is to publish the report at the beginning of 2009.
