Hearing Statement from the LO/FTF Council On behalf of Danish LO and FTF for GREEN PAPER "EU development policy in support of inclusive growth and sustainable development – Increasing the impact of EU development policy"

Overall, the Green Paper opens up for a reasonably open debate on a revision of the future joint development policy of the European Union – a revision that is necessary, for one thing, in light of the adoption of the Treaty of Lisbon. It is particularly encouraging that the Green Paper maintains that the main purpose of the Union’s development policy is to reduce and in the long term eradicate poverty and that the future effort will continue to contribute to obtaining the MDG goals; that it is acknowledged in the Green Paper that there is a need for taking the EU’s development policy into account in the programming of other policies such as trade, migration, climate and environment; and that the Green Paper underlines the necessity of increased effectiveness in development policy, among other things, through better coordination of the Union’s and the Member States’ efforts within the development area.