QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EU-PCD REPORT 2015: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MEMBER STATES

Transcription

1 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EU-PCD REPORT 2015: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MEMBER STATES Brief Introduction The European Union is a major global actor and its non-developmental policies have the potential for substantial positive or negative impact on poverty reduction in developing countries. The very aim of Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) is to ensure that relevant EU policies and development cooperation are mutually supportive and can contribute to the objective of poverty reduction or, at least, that EU policies do not undermine development objectives as well as the effectiveness of European aid. This questionnaire is to prepare the fifth EU report on Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) to be published in In May 2005, the Council invited the Commission to produce a biennial report on Policy Coherence for Development 1. It also called on EU Member States and the Commission "to strengthen policy coherence for development procedures, instruments and mechanisms and secure adequate resources in their respective administrations, looking at the best practices developed by some Member States." The aim of the report is "to encourage the further development of PCD, taking into account feedback from developing countries, civil society and the European Parliament. The report should also serve as a public information tool" 2. In 2009, the Council agreed to focus on five broad areas: trade and finance, food security, climate change, migration and security 3, which was reiterated in the Council Conclusions of December It should be noted that the focus on these five broad policy areas does not mean that the twelve policies 5 identified by the Council in 2005 lose their PCD relevance. On the contrary, each of those policies can effectively contribute to meeting the five global challenges. In order to make further progress on PCD, it is necessary to improve on issues such as measuring PCD, promoting a more evidence-based approach and moving "towards a more focused, operational and results-oriented approach to PCD" 6. In this regard, the Council specifically underlined the importance of reporting on PCD processes and initiatives at country level and strengthening the dialogue with local stakeholders. The 2015 EU PCD Report will therefore aim to: Assess the progress made by the European Union and its Member States; Draw lessons from experience as well as identify good practices and opportunities with the aim to foster decision-making that increases the development-friendly impact of EU external policies; Raise awareness among policy makers and civil society in the European Union on policy coherence challenges as well as tools and processes; 1 May 2005 General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) Conclusions on the Millennium Development Goals (Doc. 9266/05) 2 October 2006 GAERC Conclusions (Doc /06) 3 Council conclusions 16079/09, dd. 18/11/ Council conclusions 15646/13, dd. 12/12/ These policies are: Trade, Environment, Climate Change, Security, Agriculture, Fisheries, Social Dimension of Globalisation, Employment and Decent Work, Migration, Research and Innovation, Information Society, Transport and Energy 6 Council conclusions 15646/13, dd. 12/12/2013

2 Illustrate and demonstrate to the public the importance of PCD. This is of particular relevance this year in the context of the European Year for development 2015; Be a tool for EU representatives in international fora to use in the multilateral discussions requiring a shared approach beyond the European Union. The respondents are kindly requested to have these objectives in mind. Guidelines for answering the questionnaire. The purpose of the questionnaire is to take stock of existing practice and identify progress made in the various PCD areas from January 2013 to January Concrete facts, data and examples are required in view of the preparation, by the Commission, of the 2015 PCD Report. Before completing the 2015 PCD questionnaire, respondents are strongly encouraged to consult the 2013 EU PCD Report 7 even though the 2015 EU PCD Report aims to be more analytical and focused trying to particularly reflect on successes and challenges with evidence-based findings where available. As so far as possible, all questions should be answered and details and explanations given. The thoroughness and quality of the answers will directly determine the quality of the EU PCD Report. The questionnaire should be completed no later than the 31st of March. Please be aware that only one questionnaire per country should be completed, so make sure you are the only one to answer for your country. For this purpose, you can download below a document listing all questions you will need to answer. This will help you gather information from your colleagues if necessary before answering to the questionnaire. Download a preview of survey questions ( KB) For additional information, please contact the European Commission, Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development, Unit A/1 "Policy and Coherence". Contact person: Norbert Probst at Norbert.PROBST@ec.europa.eu and Amalia Garcia-Tharn at Amalia.GARCIA-THARN@ec.europa.eu 7 See electronic version at:

3 A. PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENT Country: Estonia Please tell us a little about yourself Name: Surname: Kairi Saar Kairi.Saar@mfa.ee Telephone: Which Ministry or organisation do you represent? Ministry of Foreign Affairs Do you certify being the only one to answer to this survey for your country? I don t know

4 B. EXISTING PCD COMMITMENTS AND PROCESSES 1) Does your country have a legal basis on PCD? Yes No If yes, please explain and precise since when: 2) Does your country have a political commitment (e.g. in government programmes, strategic documents on development cooperation) on PCD? If yes, please explain and precise since when: Estonia s development cooperation activities are based on Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Strategy where the general principle of policy coherence has been underlined as a general approach. Estonia is currently elaborating a new Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Strategy for the years The PCD principle will feature even more prominently in the new Strategy, which will also take into account the post-2015 development agenda. 3) Does your country have reporting obligations on PCD? Yes No If yes, to whom and how. Please explain and precise since when: 4) Does your country have coordination mechanisms on PCD within the national administration? If yes, please explain roles and responsibilities, and precise since when: All projects of legislative acts have to be circulated among relevant Ministries to ensure policy coherence. This is done through online portal eelnoud.valitsus.ee. However most coordination work in development cooperation area is done informally and various documents concerning development are regularly circulated among applicable administration units to include all viewpoints. 5) Is your Parliament involved in PCD?

5 If yes, please explain how: All Estonian government institutions regularly report to the Parliament on their activities. Estonian Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Strategies have been approved by the Parliament. 6) Does your country have thematic priority areas regarding PCD? If yes, which priority areas? Trade, food security, environment 7) Have initiatives been undertaken to strengthen PCD-relevant knowledge and skills through e.g. trainings? Yes No If yes, please give examples: 8) Have your embassies or third partner countries been involved in PCD related issues (i.e. pilot projects, policy dialogue, events )? If yes, please explain: Estonian Embassies in our development cooperation priority partner countries are an important source of background information (political situation and stability, business environment, suggestions for development cooperation activities etc). Estonia also maintains regular (annual or biannual) political and economic consultations with development cooperation priority partners.

6 C. UPDATE ON PROGRESS / CHALLENGES PER THEMATIC AREA 9) Per thematic area, please describe what new initiatives have been undertaken in to ensure that your non-development policies take account of development objectives? Please indicate: i. the Description of the initiative, policy or action taken, ii. the Analysis of relevance / contribution to PCD A. Trade and Finance: Trade policy and investment policy of Estonia have over a number of years been supportive and in their nature complimentary to the goals of development, especially in relation to less developed countries and developing countries. Via various trade facilitation actions a number of developing countries` delegations (especially from Sub-Saharan Africa) have been visiting Estonia with the aim of learning best practices, especially in the field of services and new technologies. We have offered our expertise in the field of developing new solutions in the use of e-services. Also our trade delegations have visited developing countries over the last years, seeking to find new markets as well as to diversify the imports to Estonia. Estonia continues to contribute to the voluntary WTO fund aimed at facilitating the capabilities of developing countries - WTO Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund. With regard to agreements on mutual promotion and protection of investments Estonia`s aim is conclude them with as many countries as possible, given there is a substantial commercial interest from the private sectors of one or another party. Currently the number of BIT-s in different phases of negotiations is about 10. Both if the field of trade policy and investments Estonia has been supportive to the policy line of the EU Commission. B. Climate Change: Estonia has been proactive within the climate change adaptation and mitigation field. Estonia has begun drafting the "Climate Policy Fundamentals until 2050" - a climate-themed development document, which aims at establishing a long-term roadmap for climate change mitigation (i.e reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change adaptation) on a state level. It is an umbrella document that will become a guideline for all relevant Estonian sectorial development plans until The document is expected to be adopted by the end of Another important document the draft of Estonian Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan is also expected to be finalised in Estonian Ministry of the Environment has several ongoing bilateral and multilateral cooperation projects, mainly focused on climate change adaptation: - Global Climate Change Alliance - Climate Change Adaptation in the Renewable Natural

7 Resources Sector project in Bhutan, in collaboration with European Commission (July 2012 to June 2017); - Strengthening Climate Change Adaptation in Rural Communities, for Agriculture and Environmental Management in Afghanistan, as part of UNEP s bigger project Environmental Cooperation for Peacebuilding-Phase III ( ); - Implementing the Climate Change Adaptation Component of the Satellite Communications, Capacity, and Emergency Communications Solutions Project for the Small Island Developing States of the Pacific, in collaboration with Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and realised through International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ( ); - World Cleanup 2015 project (details are currently being negotiated). Estonia is also participating in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) which is a multilateral initiative that aims to promote good governance across the world by harnessing new technologies. Open government means exercising official authority honestly, transparently and in partnership with citizens. C. Food security: Agriculture is one of the most important economic activities and the basis for the livelihood in many developing countries. Food security is a complex issue which has to be addressed from different levels and there is a considerable interest to answer this challenge, since it determines the overall pace and direction for development. Estonia as an EU member state applies Common Agricultural Policy. This involves trade and support to agricultural sector. Development countries are affected by export subsidies, food aid and support to farmers paid according to the CAP. Estonia supports developments in the CAP, which is moving in direction to minimise the negative effects, including abolishing export subsidies and decoupling of direct payments. As other member states Estonia has adopted a new rural development programme where the emphasis has been more as in many other member states on the environmental protection. It has to be emphasized that in the framework of CAP and regarding the financial envelope, Estonia has put the additional 97,5 from 1st pillar i e direct payments to 2nd pillar investment support, to increase the competitiveness and reduce the dependence from the subsidies in the long term. This is the reform in the direction of sustainable and market oriented agriculture, which has a less distortive effect on food prices and economies of developing countries. Estonia has encouraged development of rural tourism which could be a good example for developing countries how to offer other income sources for farmers who have to step out of agribusiness but still want to stay in countryside. Estonia is a frontrunner among the new member states with around thousand rural tourism facilities per 1 million ha agricultural land. For sustainable agriculture, biological diversity and protection of genetic resources has considerable impact. Estonian programme for collection and conservation of genetic resources in agriculture foresees the considerable improvement of international cooperation, exchange of information and coordination in the framework of the programme. For food security challenge the importance to maintain local varieties and genetic recourses is essential. The problems are to be answered locally; it ensures the ownership and the sustainable development of agriculture and other activities.

8 D. Migration: Estonia has introduced several policy initiatives to promote the entry of highly skilled workers and to internationalize science and education. Pursuant to the Estonian Government Action Plan, which states that there is a need for smart immigration, several amendments were made to the Aliens Act. Among other, simplifications were introduced to residence permit process for highly skilled specialists, students, lecturers and scientists. In order to facilitate migration, a 90-day transition period after the expiry of the residence permit was established, during which aliens can f.e. seek for an employment and apply for a new residence permit. To allow foreigners to use their knowledge and skills to the maximum, amendments were made allowing them to work simultaneously with several employers. Steps have also been taken to facilitate the adoption of new arrivals to Estonian society. The Estonian Ministry of the Interior has developed and will enact services aimed at newly arrived immigrants from both EU and third countries (including beneficiaries of International protection). In 2014, consultations with stakeholders were held and a study publicised on the issue of adaptation of newly arrived immigrants. Also, networks to facilitate new arrival adaptation are developed. During 2010 to 2014, a number of projects were organized to promote the public awareness of migration and asylum and to increase public acceptance for immigrants and refugees. Amendments to the Act on Granting International Protection to Aliens were launched, in view to further improve the asylum procedures. In 2014 the draft bill was initiated to transpose the Directives 2013/32/EU and 2013/33/EU. With increasing migratory pressure towards Europe, Estonia contributes to joint operations conducted by FRONTEX to avoid tragedies at sea and to ensure effective border surveillance. In our view, the main strategic priority in the coming years should be the smooth functioning of the Schengen area, based on cooperation and trust between the Member States. In the field of internal security, the main emphasis should be on the use of new technologies, enhancing information exchange between law enforcement authorities and ensuring cyber security. We continue to support the introduction of new large-scale IT systems (Registered Travellers Programme, Entry- Exit System, PNR). Being the first country in the world to offer e-residency to foreigners residing abroad, Estonia started issuing e-resident digital IDs from December The e-resident digi-id offers foreigners similar online opportunities to those enjoyed by Estonian citizens and residents. Foreign investors, scientists, students, and theoretically everyone in the world who are interested, will be able to securely access digital services like online banking, tax returns, education, healthcare etc. and use digital signatures. This in turn further fosters cooperation with third country nationals in the fields of education, business etc. E. Security: Estonia is actively contributing to international civil peace building and peace keeping operations, for example in 2014: EUPOL Afghanistan, EULEX Kosovo, EUMM Georgia, EUAM Ukraine. Estonia has actively supported regulation of arms trade and participated in the preparations of the Arms Trade Treaty (entered into force on 24 of December 2014). Our participation in certain military operations (for example EUFOR RCA in the Central African Republic and EUTM in Mali) also contributes to conflict prevention and institution building in fragile states.

9 Estonia offers defence-related assistance (reform of defence sector, cyber defence, study visits, support to students studying at the Baltic Defence College) to Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and Afghanistan. In addition to bilateral activities Estonia also uses several multilateral co-operation formats and programs, especially NATO initiatives to support partner countries. Estonia has supported financially and with know- how trust funds for Afghanistan, Georgia and Ukraine. Estonia also supports the work of Geneva- based institutions counselling security sector reforms, for instance DCAF Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces and GCSP Geneva Centre for Security Policy. F. Other policy areas: 10) Looking back on the last two years, can you give one example that you would like to highlight as a particularly good practice / lesson learned for promoting PCD? If yes, please describe: Ukraine has always been an important partner for Estonia, but since the start of the crisis in 2014 all policies have been aligned to support Ukraine. In the framework of the EU Estonia strongly supports of Ukraine s European integration, including the full implementation of the Association Agreement, and the DCFTA. Considering the events in Ukraine Estonia has shifted the focus of its development cooperation and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Priority will be given to projects that facilitate the implementation of the Association Agreement. We will continue to contribute to the alleviation of the situation of the IDP-s and injured in conflict and their recovery. Also defence cooperation has been strengthened. Focus is on cooperation between pioneers, strategic communication and cyber defence. Estonia has contributed to the NATO-Ukraine Trust Fund EUR in kind assistance and plans to carry out different projects under Cyber Defence Training and Exercises Package. D. RESEARCH ANN EVIDENCE-BASED FINDINGS 11) Does your government take into account development objectives in assessing the impact of non-development policies? If yes, please explain:

10 The Government s Strategy Unit supports planning the work of the Government and coordinates the drawing up and carrying out of the Government s action plan. It is also resposible for ensuring that all policies support the strategic goals (including development co-operation goals) of the Government. 12) Have any PCD-related evaluations (regarding policies or mechanisms) or ex-post impact assessments been conducted in with a relevance to PCD? Yes No If yes, please explain: 13) Have any PCD-relevant studies been commissioned or carried out? If yes, please explain and describe the main results if applicable: The role and share of Estonia in Development Cooperation study by pilitical researc center PRAXiS in 2013, available at esriikide_panus.pdf (in Estonian only). According to the study exchange of development cooperation related information among public sector institutions has improved, but there is room for further progress. 14) Does your country use indicators for measuring / evaluating the development-friendliness of your PCD-relevant policies? Yes No If yes please give examples: E. DIALOGUE WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS 15) Do you involve civil society and the private sector in your discussions on PCD-relevant issues? If yes, please give some examples of the initiatives taken: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has very close cooperation ties with the civil society organizations and involves them in discussions concerning development issues, including PCD. The MFA also

11 maintains regular contact with business associations, especially the Chamber of Trade and Commerce. F. OUTSTANDING PCD-RELEVANT CHALLENGES 16) Which are in your view the key policy challenges A. At EU level? Better coordination among EU administration and different directorates. B. At National level? Better shaping of existing cooperation mechanisms. 17) What are in your view the remaining key challenges in relation to PCD tools and mechanisms? A. At EU level? Unification of reporting systems to international organizations, i.e. EU and OECD, who both work with PCD and create reports. B. At National level? Assessment of the necessity of official tools and mechanisms to replace current informal system. G. Publication and Contact Point 18) Does your country agree to make your contribution to the 2015 EU Report on PCD publicly available?