Blog: 2015 - a year of challenge and change - Hoofdinhoud

2015 has been the European Year for Development. It has been a critical year for development cooperation at European and at global level. And it has been the first full year as European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development. I look back to this year with a great deal of satisfaction on what we have achieved.

The context has been difficult, with rising threats to security and stability, not just in the European Union, but in the wider world. The hardest test case for solidarity world-wide is probably the migration and refugee crisis. More than one million people reached Europe on irregular routes this year according to the International Organisation for Migration. Europe faces the biggest wave of migration since the Second World War. But most migrants and refugees stay in their own or in neighbouring countries that require our determined support.

The European Union responded fast and effectively. We presented a European Agenda on Migration and delivered both on the internal and external side. At the Valletta migration summit between the EU and African partners in November, we set up an emergency trust fund for Africa providing more than EUR 1.8 billion to support our African partners swiftly in addressing the urgent root causes of irregular migration.

We have also seen the devastating impacts of disasters in some of our partner countries - such as the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, cyclone Pam in the Pacific and the earthquake in Nepal. The EU has shown its humanitarian face in the response and is contributing fully to build longer term resilience in the affected regions. The EU's total financial contribution to fight the Ebola epidemic e.g. is over EUR 1.2 billion, including EUR 414 million from the Commission in emergency measures and longer-term support.

Beyond the immediate headlines, the European Union has been working tirelessly and successfully to put in place a new regime for international cooperation and development with the adoption of the action agenda on means of implementation in Addis Ababa in July and the 2030 sustainable development agenda in New York in September. I was privileged to be involved in these negotiations, as the outcomes reflected many of the European Union's key objectives. Together with the conclusion of the Paris climate change conference, the course for our common efforts over the next 15 years has now been set.

On the part of the European Commission, we also adopted a new framework for the EU's activities on gender equality and women's empowerment in the EU's external relations. This will lead to real improvements in the livelihoods of women and girls in third countries and ensure that sustainable development is also fully inclusive.

In 2015, the 11th European Development Fund, worth EUR 30.5 billion for the period up to 2020, became fully operational. In addition, the instruments and programmes supported by the EU budget under the current multiannual financial framework continued to function, with more than EUR 2.9 billion committed during the year. Together, these resources provide the means to help our partner countries eradicate poverty and build a sustainable future.

I have been privileged to work closely with a team of Commissioners with external responsibilities, led by Vice-President Federica Mogherini, the EU's High Representative for foreign affairs and security policy. Together, we have taken forward the work of making the European Union a stronger global actor.

Apart from the coordinated response to the refugee and migration crisis, we have, notably, launched the consultation process on the future of the EU's partnership with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

We have also taken decisive action to foster a political solution in Burundi by launching consultation procedures under Article 96 of the EU-ACP Partnership Agreement.

This year has also been one of stories. I am very pleased that the European Year for Development has allowed beneficiaries in our partner countries to tell the world about how the EU's assistance has transformed their lives and their communities. There is no better advertisement.

I have also had the chance to see for myself the tremendous work that is being done in the field with visits to Guinea, Senegal, Nepal, the British Virgin Islands, Ethiopia, Fiji, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Peru, Paraguay, Niger, Vietnam, and Ivory Coast. This was in addition to my visits to a number of EU Member States, my participation in international negotiation sessions, international conferences and discussions with other institutions. With 85 days spent working on the ground and almost 40 days travelling, with some 300 meetings, 47 institutional events and 19 visits of projects since November 2014, my schedule has been demanding, but richly rewarding in terms of understanding the importance of the development assistance provided by the EU.

In the course of the year, I have been privileged to meet many dedicated development practitioners who are working in governments, institutions and civil society. They have become not just partners, but even friends. In particular, the European Development Days in Brussels in June brought together thousands of people from across the world to discuss policies, projects and implementation. I wish to thank all of them for their commitment to helping those who need our assistance and to giving a voice to the vulnerable. Given the many complex challenges that the world faces, I look forward to seeing the EU strengthen its role and fulfil its responsibility for helping to eradicate poverty and ensure a sustainable future for all.

I am sure that 2016 will be as challenging and invigorating as 2015 has been. Building on the strong partnership with so many others around the world, I am confident that we will be able to address these challenges together.

Neven Mimica