European Cooperation Office
The European Cooperation Office (EuropeAid) was one of the Directorates General of the European Commission . It managed the European Union's external aid programs and ensured the provision of EU development aid worldwide . It came up on January 1, 2015 in the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO).
tasks
The main task of the office, which was established on January 1, 2001, was the implementation and implementation of the external aid programs of the European Commission . The aim was to provide help quickly and effectively.
The Office e under the direction of Commissioner Neven Mimica , responsible for international cooperation and development. The Office also worked closely with the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Protection , Kristalina Georgiewa . EuropeAid's Director General, Fokion Fotiadis , was responsible for deploying the external aid instruments, which are financed by both the EU budget and the European Development Fund.
The aim of the work of the Office for Cooperation was to make a contribution to the development goals of the EU and the UN Millennium Development Goals through the targeted use of external aid instruments . In addition, the EU's external aid is an instrument for strengthening the EU's international role. The European Union is the world's largest donor of development aid .
Implementation of the goals
In implementing the projects, the Office built on EU objectives and long-term programs, with the project objectives being determined by the work of various Directorates-General of the Commission, such as the Directorate-General for Development for the ACP regions and the Directorate-General for other regions in the world .
In doing so, the Office tried to provide assistance in various ways, such as budget support or sector-specific assistance, depending on the needs. This includes the “European Development Fund for the ACP States”. Around 150 countries, regions and organizations receive support through EU external aid. These include the countries of the Western Balkans and former Soviet republics. The European Cooperation Office also publishes guidelines and evaluation reports on the aid projects carried out. EuropeAid is obliged to provide adequate information and transparent reporting on its activities, the project results and the use of resources.
cooperation
The implementation of the external aid programs worked closely with the partners to ensure coherence , complementarity and coordination of actions. The aim is to make external aid as effective as possible. Civil society, international organizations and the governments of the EU Member States played an important role in this.