We would like to thank you for organising the CSO consultation on the External Investment Plan (EIP) on the 29th May, 2017. This meeting allowed civil society organisations to ask questions and share their numerous concerns after hearing from the European Commission how it sees the next steps towards implementation.
However, we are not sure those concerns were fully understood, as seen in the exchange between MEPs and the European Commission on the 30th May at the European Parliament DEVE Committee meeting; where our criticisms were reduced to minor issues. As a follow-up, we would like to share in writing our major concerns and recommendations regarding the EIP.
Our concerns and recommendations have already been expressed in two position papers specifically focusing on Pillar 1,[1] opinion pieces published in the media,[2] blogs,[3] and at the EP hearing.[4] In this letter, we highlight three major recommendations we would like to get a more detailed response from the European Commission on. We go into further detail in the annex of this letter.
1. We insist that the EIP Pillars 1 and 2 be pro-poor, pro-women, promote a climate resilient sustainable development path and human rights and deliver income-generation opportunities for people living in poverty;
2. We urge that there is visible improvement to the process of and to circumscribe the contents to the policy dialogue that is envisaged under Pillar 3 and which underlines Pillars 1 and 2;
3. We request that the Commission raises the bar on transparency, accountability and sustainability of the EIP and ensures strong social and environmental standards are in place.
We remain available for further interaction and exchanges around these constructive proposals.
Yours Sincerely,
Oxfam, ACT Alliance EU, ActionAid, CAN Europe, CARE International, Counter Balance, Eurodad, Global Health Advocates France, ITUC-TUDCN, Plan International, Save the Children, Transparency International EU, with the support of CONCORD
Please find the detailed proposals relating to the External Investment Plan in the Annex below:
Annex to CSO letter on the External Investment Plan June 2017
[1] CSO recommendations for the EIP and EFSD negotiations: https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/joint_cso_recommendations_on_the_european_ext ernal_investment_plan_0.pdf ; http://eurodad.org/files/pdf/58f75ebc4ca05.pdf ; Eurodad paper: bit.ly/2qJ0SLt ; Romero, MJ. A dangerous blend? The EU’s agenda to ‘blend’ public development finance with private finance. 2013.
[2] https://euobserver.com/opinion/138108 ; https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/opinion/junckers-newinvestment-plan-shows-he-still-has-not-understood-the-problem/
[3] http://www.eurodad.org/blended-finance-aid-risk; see also Oxfam published an op-ed in September https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/opinion/junckers-new-investment-plan-shows-he-still-has-notunderstood-the-problem/
[4] Public Hearing on 8 March 2017: see the link here http://www.counter-balance.org/counter-balance-raises-ngoconcerns-on-the-european-fund-for-sustainable-development-at-eu-parliament-hearing/
