Minister for Foreign Affairs János Martonyi will attend the EU Foreign Affairs Council Meeting of Development Ministers to be held in Brussels on 14 November. The main issues on the agenda are future of the EU’s development policy, budget support, the EU common position for the Fourth High level Forum on Aid Effectiveness and the Horn of Africa.

On the 13th October, the European Commission published a Communication on the increase of the impact of EU’s international development policy titled “Agenda for Change”. Hungary supports the priority areas of the future EU development policy outlined in this Communication. Providing focused development assistance to sustainable agriculture and energy is necessary for pro-poor long term sustainable development. In this context water, the priority of the Hungarian EU Presidency should be higher on the development agenda.

The European Commission also published a Communication on the “Future Approach to the EU Budget Support to Third Countries”. The Communication is timely and important, and Hungary generally agrees with its findings. Budget Support is a good mechanism in case the eligibility criteria and accountability in the recipient countries are enhanced, to strengthen their ownership and alignment. However, it is important to apply the principle of conditionality through the entire program cycle.

Development ministers will also adopt the council conclusions and have a debate on EU common position for the Fourth High level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (Busan, 29 November – 1 December). Hungary agrees with the conclusions and consider them as a solid basis to express the EU’s and its member states’ strong commitment to the implementation of the focused and deepened aid and development effectiveness principles.
Development ministers will explore the possibilities of the implementation of the Horn of Africa Strategy, in the presence of Commissioners Andris Piebalgs and Kristalina Georgieva. Hungary remains concerned by the critical humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa, and supports the approach of Strategy striving to use the EU’s instruments in a coherent way, focusing more clearly on the underlying challenges of the region.

Additional information: Tamás Orosz, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department for International Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, +36 1 458 1871, [[[tFXftkS6JUxkzRdG9yb3N6QG1mYS5nb3YuaHU=]]].

(kormany.hu)