Joint Programming in More Advanced Developing and Middle Income Countries

A more joined-up Union in Middle-Income Countries matters as much to implementing the SDGs, as it does to the EU's own economic, social and political interests, and those relating to trade, migration and security.
The developing world's shrinking dependence on financing from international development partners is accompanied by bolder developing country foreign policy agendas. Increasingly, the development model put forward by international development partners is perceived and presented in competition with developing country growth models, most notably that of China. Leaders in Rwanda, Ethiopia and Vietnam amongst others often cite China's developmental state as an alternative development approach to the market-driven, open democratic models proffered by the EU and other Western development partners. This, accompanied by South-South and triangular cooperation has created a context in which developing countries compete with international development partners in advocating for influence on setting development priorities in international, regional and domestic fora.

Operational findings of the study are:

- Framing development cooperation approaches in accordance with per capita income categories is flawed.
- There is a clear need to experiment with and develop a greater institutional command of cooperation tools that make better use of relationship building and exchange of know-how.
- Agenda 2030 is not achievable unless the EU is able to build a partnership amongst equals.
- With regard to Joint Programming relating to policies for Middle Income Countries, to improve the relevance of programming especially in countries that are not aid-dependent, the EU should strengthen EU Delegation's programming strategy capacity specifically regarding understanding more clearly the political agenda of the partner country and the political work of the EU Heads of Mission and EU Political Officers.
- EU Joint Programming is an opportunity to better link programming to high-level strategy such as in relation to building a partnership beyond development cooperation and in support of Agenda 2030.