The 12th annual European Development Days (EDD) took place in Brussels on 5-6 June. The EDD has established itself as a key fixture in the world’s development calendar and is now widely considered as the “Davos of development”.
Relations between the EU and developing countries are changing. The recently agreed UN Sustainable Development Goals and aid spending commitments are intact, but it is unclear how and whether they will be met.
In the meantime, the EU plans to revamp its development tools and financial investment instruments in the next seven-year budget (multi-annual financial framework), increasing the role of the private sector.
‘Women and Girls at the Forefront of Sustainable Development: protect, empower, invest’ is the theme for this year’s EDD.
In this Special Report, EURACTIV covers the EDD and looks at the latest policy trends in sustainable development.
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‘Water, women and waste’ are our development priorities, says Coca-Cola SVP
In an interview at the European Development Days in Brussels, Perez underlined Coca-Cola's hopes to work with the EU on its flagship External Investment Plan that seeks to build partnerships between local communities, governments, and the private sector.
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Women entrepreneurs ‘a vast untapped resource’, say development policy-makers
Women and girls are too often forgotten in development policy, despite being in the front-line. A mere 2% of total overseas development aid is spent on policies related to gender equality, panellists heard at the European Development Days in Brussels.
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Taking development finance private
The EU’s External Investment Plan (EIP) is the latest addition to the increasingly cluttered landscape of public-private development finance. The EIP's future shape and the role it can play was one of the hot topics at the European Development Days on 5-6 June.
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Don’t leave women out of EU investment programme, Commission is told
The issue of how the EU's External Investment Plan can help empower women and girls dominated the agenda at the European Development Days on Tuesday (5 June), as some panellists voiced concern that it might be marginalised in the final big picture.
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European Development Days: Investing in women and girls
It is consequential that this year’s European Development Days, which start in Brussels today, are focused on women and girls. Gender equality is not only a moral imperative, but also key to progress for the economy, the environment, and social development, argues Melanne Verveer.
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Finance, Cotonou and women set to dominate European Development Days
As far as global development goes, few events can match the reach of European Development Days, whose Brussels edition will gather 8,000 development policy professionals this week.