The European Union and the Third World; Avoiding Responsibility: The Politics and Discourse of European Development Policy and EU Development Cooperation: From Model to Symbol reviewed by Maurizio Carbone
✍ Scribed by Maurizio Carbone
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2005
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 65 KB
- Volume
- 17
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0954-1748
- DOI
- 10.1002/jid.1208
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✦ Synopsis
The relationship between the European Union (EU) and the developing world has received sporadic attention in the literature. The few existing studies focus on the relationship between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of countries; a small number of studies look at other regions, but the development cooperation aspects of these relations are often a secondary matter in the analyses. The three books reviewed here share the idea that EU development policy has evolved over the years. In particular, Holland argues that it has shifted from playing an optional role in the process of EU integration to being fundamental to the EU's internal and external role. Arts and Dickson argue that it has shifted from representing a model for North-South relations to more of a symbol of the EU's will to express its presence in the international arena. Karagiannis agues that it has shifted from emphasizing giving to former colonies to a policy in which developing countries are responsible for their own future. This essay, in addition to a detailed analysis of all these shifts, also intends to discuss the reform process started in May 2000 and to draw some conclusions on the future of EU development policy in the light of the debate which emerged from the European Convention on the Future of Europe. 1
AN EVOLVING DEVELOPMENT POLICY
The foundations for an EU development policy were laid down in the Treaty of Rome, which contained some provisions on the relations between the six members of the European Economic Community (EEC) and their colonies in the developing world. Since then, the activities and responsibilities of the EU have gradually progressed from a relationship with a few countries in Africa into a more global policy, covering all regions of the developing world. But the EU is a unique case because it combines characteristics of a bilateral donor (as it provides direct assistance to