Ten months has passed since the launch of the project “Update of the current status of implementation of international/bilateral trade regimes with ODA recipients and the current role of civil society and private sectors as development actors in the new EU Member states”. In Estonia, we have conducted a survey about the civil society and development cooperation, private sector and development cooperation and trade and development cooperation. Interviews with CSOs, public servants, businesses and also politicians are also being carried out. We can already say that the usage of the Estonian development cooperation funds is transparent and public; it is possible to follow what activities have been implemented where, by using the taxpayers’ money.

The valued result of this project is to have an overview of the role and relevance of the development cooperation in Estonia and recommendations our researchers are preparing. If we want to increase our impact, not just the number of activities, our development cooperation activities must be coordinated and carefully planned.

For CSOs, the actual value of development cooperation is far more familiar than for the private sector, or even for some in the public sector. However, every time a business does business in an ODA county, the rules of fair trade and corporate social responsibility should be followed. Using and extracting resources without accountability will only damage the already delicate wellbeing, educational aspirations and economical sustainability of the people in the poorest countries in the world. Businesses probably do not even think about the development cooperation or MDGs. Moreover, it is a paradox that with CSOs we are trying to fix what our businesses might be destroying – forcing the pay gap, excluding women from leadership or irresponsibly using the resources.

When the first drafts of the policy briefs are ready, businesses, in addition to the ones already interviewed, will be invited to the task force meeting which will take place in January and February 2013.

Other relevant materials are also being published. Concord, the European NGO confederation for Relief and Development, released a report on 28 November, which analyses the aid effectiveness in the EU context. The AidWatch Special Report assesses the process of the Busan Partnership Agreement and to what extent the new governance structure and the accountability and monitoring framework developed in the first half of 2012 is adequate, legitimate and effective. The report looks at the progress being made across the EU over the past year in actual implementation with a special focus on the joint programming of EU development cooperation and its transparency.

The report finds that provider countries (EU member states in particular) met only one in 13 aid targets that were due in 2010 and that progress was very uneven across EU providers. Recipient countries made more progress and effort in implementation than the providers, and that donor’s progress has slowed down since 2007, and has even reversed in some areas.

The report can be accessed here.

The Estonian section was written by the Estonian Roundtable for Development Cooperation (AKÜ), an independent not-for-profit coalition of 21 non-governmental organisations that work in the field of development cooperation and/or global education. Its main areas of work are advocacy for better Estonian and European development policy and financing, and coordinating the national global education efforts. AKÜ is a member of CONCORD, the European confederation for development and relief.

Teostajad:
Andrew Rozeik, Riina Kuusik-Rajasaar (MTÜ Mondo), Kristina Mänd, Triinu Püvi
Kestus:
2012 - 2013
Finantseerijad:
Märksõnad:
arengukooostöö