1. EuropeAid Contextualization EU Parliamentary Support Thomas Huyghebaert, Head of Democracy Sector DEVCO D1 EC support to governance in partner countries – with a focus on the African continent – 4-8 July 2011

2. EuropeAid EC policy Framework on Parliamentary Strengthening Democracy at the core of the EUs own integration process, therefore also a key guiding principle for its policy and action outside the EU Place of democracy support has gained in importance and a a more comprehensive, integrated and long-term approach is now recommended o Cotonou agreement, Including 2010 revision o Commissions communication on Governance in 2006 o 2009 Council Conclusions on Democracy Support Democracy support should include a special focus on the role of elected representatives and political parties and institutions, independent media and civil society. Context specific but build around common universal principles (see UN resolutions) Context specific but build around common universal principles (see UN resolutions)

3. EuropeAid Aid effectiveness and Parliaments Ownership of development process also means o reliance on national, rather than donor-driven, accountability mechanisms o Moving beyond the executive (and CSOs) Budget Support is an important tool to deliver aid through country systems; success of it depends on national delivery and accountability processes Parliaments are at the heart of domestic accountability in close collaboration with SAIs, Civil society watchdog organisations, and media o Oversee public spending, but also be engaged in policy making and defining aid destination There is strong pressure on the Commission to take domestic accountability serious, if Budget support is to continue o Revision of BS Guidelines and new BS Communication

4. EuropeAid Domestic accountability Parliament Supreme Audit Institutions Civil Society

5. EuropeAid Parliaments & Development Assistance – State of Play A gap between rhetoric and practice - New development and democracy support policy framework has not been fully integrated into practical work in the field Donors have a poor record of supporting parliaments in emerging democracies– parliamentary development took off since early 2000 o Key donors: DFID, NORAD, DANIDA, SIDA, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, USAID, CIDA Only a tiny proportion of governance assistance is allocated to parliament o donors often spend huge resources on democratic election, but do little to strengthen the elected institution

6. EuropeAid Parliaments & Development Assistance – State of Play Donor support programmes are frequently negotiated between donors and governments only Internationally-driven programmes like the PRSP are rarely approved by national parliaments, breaking the accountability loop Historically, most international aid provided off-budget Even in budget support systems, donors often establish parallel accountability systems, undermining parliament and other national oversight institutions Donors only rarely explain their support programs to recipient country parliaments Accra raised the issue of the role of parliaments both in North and South in development cooperation and Busan to further reinforce it

7. EuropeAid What has the EC been doing in terms of parliamentary support? 1.EC involved in about 70 parliamentary support (PS) projects in about 35 countries 2.From 2000 to 2010 about 110 million invested 3.Wide variation of projects – no clear pattern in terms of size or focus 4.Often purely technical approach with too little ownership 5.Small subset of projects tied formally or informally to EC direct budget support

8. EuropeAid Overall Assessment findings Overall EC Parliamentary support dwarfed by support to executive strengthening (and electoral assistance) – unbalanced institutional strengthening and insufficient attention to building democratic institutions. Still a relatively new area of work for EC Some good practice examples: South Africa case, but also smaller successful engagements Ingredients for successful programmes Longer term Parliamentary Development approach Amenable environment for democratic development Strong national ownership, Clear programme objectives, Strong Delegation engagement Expert implementation partners, national and international

9. EuropeAid Scaling up EC support to Parliaments Reference Document and training as a first step Quality support of DEVCO D1 Ongoing revision of Budget support Guidelines, giving a more prominent place to domestic accountability and the need to strengthen it when weak Since Arab Spring Democracy support back at the heart of EU external relations and development cooperation support Enhanced involvement of EC in regional and global collaborative initiatives on parliamentary development: o Parliamentary donor coordination o AGORA – central PS knowledge hub o Benchmarks for democratic parliaments o Supporting through RSPs regional parliamentary frameworks and regional inter-parliamentary exchange

10. EuropeAid Benchmarks/standards for Democratic Parliaments While every parliament is a product of its countrys history and culture, certain norms and standards regarding democratic parliaments transcend the particularity of political and legislative systems. But what does constitute a democratic parliament? Today a range of inter-parliamentary and other organizations worldwide are developing such benchmarks (Cfr. elections in the past) which can contribute to parliaments own evaluative (self-assessment) and reform efforts. But those can also guide parliamentary development practitioners and donors in designing more appropriate support programmes. o Useful starting point and tool to measure impact

11. EuropeAid Benchmarks for Democratic Parliaments Some examples Institutional Independence–Parliamentary immunity, budgetary autonomy, control over staff, recourse to own expertise, sufficient resources, control over own internal rules, etc. Procedural Fairness–Written procedural rules, recording of proceedings and votes; openness of plenary, order of precedence of motions and points of order, meaningful opportunity for debate, etc. Basic Parliamentary Organization–Election of committee chairs and leadership according to procedures; right to form parliamentary party groups; right to permanent, professional, nonpartisan staff; etc. Core Legislative and Oversight Functions–Ability of lower house to initiate legislation; rights to propose amendments and; ability to hold public hearings or receive testimony from experts; etc.