List of figures and tables iv

List of abbreviations and acronyms v

Executive summary vii

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Context and contribution 1

1.2 Problem statement: Values, interests, law and politics 4

1.3Approach and methods 5

1.4 Key concepts 6

2 Principles and goals of EU development cooperation: Between continuity and change 6

2.1 Political considerations 7

2.1.1 Eras of EU development policy from Yaoundé to Samoa 7

2.1.2 The ‘normative core’: Continuity and change 12

2.2 Current EU legal framework 14

2.2.1 Competences 14

2.2.2 Objectives and scope 15

2.2.3 NDICI-Global Europe regulation 18

2.2.4 Institutional considerations 20

3. European interests in the development context 22

3.1 The politics of a contested but persistent theme 22

3.1.1 A typology of EU interests in development cooperation 23

3.1.2 Old and new interest configurations 26

3.1.3 The political processes of defining European interests in development policy 29

3.2 EU interests in development-related EU secondary law and policies 34

4. Exploring the coherence of principles and interests 36

4.1 Introduction 36

4.2 Policy coherence as a central legal and normative benchmark 37

4.3 An indicative coherence assessment of the current development agenda 40

4.4 Illustrative episodes 45

4.4.1 Migration-linked external financing and conditionality 45

4.4.2 Climate and energy 46

4.4.3 Investment mobilisation 47

4.5 Conclusions 49

5. Conclusion and recommendations 50

5.1 What the study finds 50

5.2 Two governance models: Integrated vs. differentiated 51

5.3 Recommendations for the European Parliament 53

5.3.1 Setting guardrails 53

5.3.2 Strengthening transparency and scrutiny 53

5.3.3 Making the private sector agenda development-proof 54

5.4 Towards an honest narrative – Concluding thoughts 54

Bibliography 56

Legal sources 56

Scholarly and other sources 57