The coherence dilemma in EU development policy: tackling fragmented structures in the Comission and Council

It is widely recognised that aid alone cannot solve the problems of development in poor ountries. Many other policy areas have an impact on living standards and economic
opportunities in developing countries, and their formulation and implementation therefore need to be closely coordinated.

This article aims to contribute to the growing debate on
‘policy coherence’ in general and policy coherence for development (PCD) in particular. Assessing the extent to which policy-making processes in the European Commission and the EU Council provide sufficient scope for development inputs to be made, this analysis draws on empirical work in 12 key areas.

The study’s findings point to the highly segregated
character of EU policy-making and provide instructive insights into the internal challenges the EU needs to address in order to fulfil its goal of achieving greater coherence in its (external)
policy-making.