The European Interdisciplinary Studies Department of the College of Europe in Natolin together with the Practice & Apply Lab were pleased to organise a timely expert seminar titled: "Future Directions of EU Development Policy under von der Leyen II" featuring Mr Daniele FATTIBENE, Coordinator of the European Think Tanks Group (ETTG), Dr Patryk KUGIEL, Chief Analyst in the Asia-Pacific Programme at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), Mr Jan BAZYL, Director of Grupa Zagranica, Dr Niels KEIJZER, Project Lead and Senior Researcher based at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and Ms María SANTILLÁN O’SHEA, Analyst at the Elcano Royal Institute.
The von der Leyen Commission I (2019-2024) launched a more geostrategic approach to EU development cooperation and the EU’s international partnerships. The integration of formerly separate financial instruments into one Global Europe – Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), together with the launch of Team Europe Initiatives and the Global Gateway strategy reflected a clear attempt to strengthen EU coordination and visibility abroad as one strong development and political actor.
The start of the von der Leyen Commission II (2024-2029) coincides with the beginning of negotiations for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF 2028-2034). This next MFF will shed further light on the future direction of EU development cooperation policy, including whether the Global Europe - NDICI instrument will be renewed or reshaped and whether a further strengthened and/or more articulated role will be attributed to Global Gateway from the financial planning phase. This all takes place in a context of several significant changes in government across EU countries, of an incoming second Trump Administration in the United States and of a five-year margin before the 2030 “deadline” for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
The goal of this seminar was to discuss and explore the likely future direction of EU development cooperation and international partnerships policy with experts and observers from leading think tanks and with civil society, by reflecting on the central elements of the policy as set out in the political guidelines (including the geographical focus and the effectiveness of its different tools). Among other topics, it examined the extent to which/how the current composition of the European Parliament influences the effectiveness of the policy as well as development policy trends in key member states.
About the speakers:
Mr Daniele FATTIBENE is the Coordinator of the European Think Tanks Group (ETTG). Previously he worked as a Researcher at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) in Rome and as a Consultant for UN agencies, think tanks and NGOs, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, Save the Children and OXFAM. Mr FATIBENE has a major in food and nutrition security and development cooperation. He also holds a M.A. in International Relations at the University of Bologna – Forlì Campus and a B.A. in Political Science from ‘L’Orientale’ University in Naples.
Dr Patryk KUGIEL is a Chief Analyst in the Asia-Pacific Programme at PISM. His research focuses on South Asia (mainly India, Pakistan, Afghanistan) as well as development cooperation policy of Poland and the EU. He holds a Ph.D. from the Warsaw University, a M.Phil. in South Asia Studies from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and a M.A. in International Relations (specialization in American Studies) and in Cultural Studies (specialization in Religious Studies). He is an author of a book India's Soft Power: "A New Foreign Policy Strategy" (Routledge 2017).
Mr Jan BAZYL has been the Director of Grupa Zagranica since 2011. Grupa Zagranica is a platform of Polish Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) involved in international development cooperation, democracy support, humanitarian aid and global education.
Mr BAZYL has over 20 years of experience in Polish civil society in areas including management, strategy/planning and advocacy.
Dr Niels KEIJZER is a Project Lead and Senior Researcher based at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in Bonn, Germany. In 2022 he was a Visiting Researcher at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea. Mr KEIJZER holds a Ph.D. from Radboud University Nijmegen (the Netherlands) based on a doctoral dissertation on the European Union’s development policy. He also has a M.A. in Development Studies from the same university. His research and advisory work focuses on European development cooperation, external evaluations, aid and development effectiveness, policy coherence for development and financing for development.
Ms María SANTILLÁN O’SHEA is Analyst at the Elcano Royal Institute and the Institute’s contact point in the European Think Tanks Group (ETTG). Currently a Ph.D. student in Economics at the Complutense University of Madrid, she holds a BSc in Politics and International Relations from the University of Exeter, and an MSc in Public Policy and Human Development with a Social Protection Policy specialisation from the United Nations University-MERIT and Maastricht University. She previously worked as a Research Executive in the Public Division of Kantar UK and as a Research Analyst at TotalAnalysis.
Photo credits: ecdpm.org, pism.pl, agranica.org.pl, idos-research.de, realinstitutoelcano.org respectively.