On 18 February, the Slovenian Presidency is organising the Conference on the Challenges of EU-27 Development Policy at Brdo pri Kranju. The conference, hosted by State Secretary Andrej Šter, will be attended by senior representatives of EU Member States and European institutions, among them European Commissioner for development and humanitarian aid Louis Michel.
The conference is devoted to in-depth discussion of the participation of different European players in the field of development cooperation with a view to ensuring coordinated and effective assistance to partner states. This is an important event for the Slovenian Presidency, as it will be attended by the makers of the joint European development policy, as well as those who implement it. The European Union is the world’s leading provider of development aid, constantly strengthening its role as a global partner in this field.
The main topics of the conference are effectiveness of development assistance, division of labour, European financial instruments and the priority of the Slovenian Presidency in the field of development cooperation: “women and children in armed conflict, with particular reference to development policy”.
The conference will include a seminar for representatives of the non-government sector on the subject of operation of the European Development Fund (EDF) and other financial instruments of European development cooperation, focusing on the possibility of non-governmental organisations, the private sector and local communities participating in projects financed from these funds.
The European Development Fund is the main development cooperation financial instrument, providing aid to the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP countries), with available funds for the period 2008–2013 amounting to almost € 23 billion. Slovenia is participating in the Fund for the first time as of this year, allocating close to € 41 million for the above six-year period.
