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10th EDF
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Development policy proposals The European Development Fund (EDF)
The European Development Fund (EDF) is the main instrument for providing Community aid for development cooperation in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states and overseas countries and territories (OCTs).
The 1957 Treaty of Rome provided for its creation as an extra-budgetary fund to grant technical and financial assistance to the colonies of the founding Member States of the European Economic Community. With the independence movement starting in the late fifties and the broadening membership of the European Community, the EDF gradually increased its scope from supporting OCTs, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa, to supporting newly independent countries in the African, Caribbean and Pacific region and other countries in those regions with which some Member States had historical links. The ACP-Group was established by the Georgetown agreement of 1975.
A heading has been reserved for the Fund in the Community budget since 1993, following a request by the European Parliament. The Commission has repeatedly asked for it to be included in the overall EU budget. However, the European Council of December 2005 decided that the geographical cooperation granted to the ACP States (except South Africa) and OCTs should continue to be funded by the EDF for the period 2008-2013. It is funded by the Member States according to a specific contribution key, is subject to its own financial rules and is managed by a specific committee.
Each EDF is concluded for a multi-annual period and is implemented within the framework of an international agreement guiding the relations between the European Community and the partner countries.
- First EDF: 1959-1964
- Second EDF: 1964-1970 (Yaoundé I Convention)
- Third EDF: 1970-1975 (Yaoundé II Convention)
- Fourth EDF: 1975-1980 (Lomé I Convention)
- Fifth EDF: 1980-1985 (Lomé II Convention)
- Sixth EDF: 1985-1990 (Lomé III Convention)
- Seventh EDF: 1990-1995 (Lomé IV Convention, 1990-2000)
- Eighth EDF: 1995-2000 (Lomé IV Convention, revised in Mauritius, 1995)
- Ninth EDF: 2000-2007 (Cotonou Agreement, 2000-2020)
- Tenth EDF: 2008-2013 (Cotonou Agreement, revised in Luxembourg, 2005)
The EDF consists of grants managed by the Commission and risk capital and (concessional) loans managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) under the "Investment Facility". The Stabex and Sysmin instruments designed to help the agricultural and mining sectors under the Lomé Conventions were abolished by the new partnership agreement signed in Cotonou in June 2000 and replaced by the FLEX mechanism, aiming at remedying the adverse effects of instability of export earnings. This agreement also streamlined the EDF and introduced a system of rolling programming, making for greater flexibility and giving the ACP States greater responsibility.
The ninth EDF was allocated €13.8 billion for 2000-2007. To this initial amount were added uncommitted funds from previous EDFs and unspent funds released at the end of projects funded from the EDF (so-called "decommitted funds"). At the end of 2007, the funds committed under the 9 th EDF amounted to €17.9 billion. The tenth EDF has been allocated €22.682 billion. In addition to managing part of the EDF's resources under the investment facility, the EIB will contribute up to €2.0 billion from its own resources for the period covered by the tenth EDF.
Geographical cooperation with the ACP under the EDF is complemented by development aid provided by the Community's general budget and by bilateral cooperation and contributions from individual Member States to multilateral development cooperation
