DG VIII [Directorate General VIII]

Abstract

"As the Directorate-General responsible for Development Co-operation with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, DG VIII occupies an unusual position with regard to development aid. Not only does it control `budgetary allocations' voted by the European Parliament to the respective development-related budget lines, but it also has access to the so-called `nonbudgetary funds' in the form of the periodic pledges which are made directly by the Member States to the European Development Fund. Unlike the budget lines, the EDF does not form part of the EC Budget and is thus outside direct Parliamentary control. Unusually, therefore, DG VIII action is conditioned not only by Commission-wide influences such as the Maastricht Treaty, but also by the bilateral and extra-budgetary financing arrangements associated with the multi-annual Lome Conventions. DG VIII's geographical mandate reflects the history of the European Union and the colonial history of several of its Member States."