Foreign aid, donor coordination and recipient ownership in EU–Africa relations

Abstract

The first decade of the 2000s was characterised by a number of important changes in the foreign aid policy of the European Union (EU). This chapter explores the potential trade-offs between donor coordination and recipient ownership in the EU aid relations with sub-Saharan Africa. It provides a concise discussion of the global agenda on aid effectiveness, focusing on the tensions between coordination and ownership. The chapter analyses the supranational programme managed by the European Commission within the context of the Cotonou Agreement. It pays attention to the degree of involvement of actors in the negotiations of two series of multi-annual development strategies. The chapter argues that the preoccupation of the EU (particularly the European Commission) with improving the quality of EU aid by emphasising donor coordination has fatally resulted in reduced ownership by African countries.

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