Enlargement and the challenge of EU development policy

Abstract 2004 saw eight states from Central and Eastern Europe become members of the European Union. Never before had so many recipients of EU aid joined the Union and taken on the commitment to become aid donors. Although only four years since they became members of the EU, it is possible to identify the key improvements made by the new member states (NMS) in the area of development policy as well as the challenges still to be faced. To do so this paper explores three questions. First, what are the key challenges facing the new donors? In particular it examines administrative capacity within governments, the level of political will and the level of public awareness. Second, it assesses how the development policies of the NMS have evolved since accession, focusing on meeting ODA goals, the geographical focus of aid and the types of projects favoured by CEE states. Finally, the paper explores the challenge presented by Eastern enlargement for EU development policy. In particular, it will assess the impact of enlargement on EU-ACP relations and the future of the EDF, whilst also considering the impact of enlargement on the three Cs of EU Development Policy as well as the comparative advantages offered by the NMS in particular geographic areas/policy sectors. Key Words: Development policyEU enlargementCentral and Eastern Europenew member states Acknowledgements I would like to thank Irene Lindenhovius, for her research assistance and intellectual input into this project, and Gordon Crawford, whose advice has been invaluable in turning my initial ideas into this paper. In addition, I have welcomed the input from Jenny Brown, Maurizio Carbone, Stephen Dearden, Mikaela Gavas, Andy Storey and two referees, all of whose comments have improved this paper enormously. Thanks are also due to all those representatives of governments and NGOs who took the time to discuss my many questions on EU Development Policy since enlargement. Any errors are my own. An earlier version of this paper appeared as EDPSG Discussion Paper 35. This project is funded by the British Academy (SG-46721) and the Elisabeth Barker Fund, whose support is acknowledged with thanks. Notes 1 Please note that terms CEE states and new member states will be used throughout the article to refer to the eight states that joined in 2004. 2 The relevance of this is that 31 chapters were negotiated.