The central aim of the thesis is to define the approach of EU development policy towards Africa since the end of the Cold War. It focuses on the unexplored areas of the available literature on the subject, specifically the impact of EU development policy on the domain of international development and the objective of the EU to become a prominent international actor. The thesis relies on Martha Finnemore’s Social Constructivist research. It concentrates on the dynamics maintained by the EU with the normative basis that characterises the structure and agents of international development, and assesses how it affected EU behaviour, as expressed through its development policy towards Africa in the considered timeframe.1 By doing so, the thesis exposes both the marked effect of EU development policy in the domain of international development, and the form of ‘paradise’ (model of development) the EU promoted in Africa. The empirical support in the thesis is comprised of archived data, official documents, press releases, published reports, speeches, and personally conducted interviews. Following the method of research, the thesis focuses on tracing the norms that characterise EU development policy towards Africa over time. Therein, the thesis largely confirms the identified agents as the source of the norms that define the structure of international development, and the EU as its derivative. It argues that EU development policy is currently a general projection of the normative structure of international development, specifically regarding the policy orientation of its identified agents. As a result, it contends that the EU fell short of its efforts to export its form of ‘paradise’ to Africa in the proposed timeframe as a corollary of its limitations to stand as a distinct and leading actor in the domain of international development. Thus, the thesis makes a fresh contribution to the understanding of EU development policy towards Africa and the objective of the EU to become a prominent international actor in the twenty-first century.

Development cooperation is nowadays a highly discussed topic, especially in the context of its effectiveness. In the past years the European Union and the Organization for economic cooperation and development adopted several documents concerning aid effectiveness and possible ways of its improvement. The aim of this thesis is to find out, in the case of selected states (France, Sweden, and the Czech Republic), if they implement the commitments resulting from these documents into their national development policies and if they carry out their development cooperation in compliance with them. Since the commitments in this area overlap between the two organizations and both of them are trying to influence the states to fulfill their commitments, this thesis will also try to identify which of these organizations has a greater influence on the chosen states. Keywords EU development policy, Council Conclusions, Member States, OECD, aid effectiveness, financial commitments

The main topic of this thesis is the role of economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights in the Development Policy of the European Union (EU). The aim of the thesis is to find out through critical discourse analysis, whether the ESC rights are implemented as human rights or rather as goals. The theoretical framework consists of two approaches to the understanding of ESC rights. First, equal position of ESC rights and civil and political rights as human rights, all universal, indivisible and interconnected. This approach is represented by Amartya Sen. Second approach denying the ESC rights such an equal position because to their achievement, certain economic resources are needed, and those are not distributed equally in the world. Therefore, they are rather goals to be achieved than human rights. This approach is represented by Aryeh Neier. The outcome of this thesis is a different position of ESC rights and civil and political rights in the EU Development Policy, despite the EU being legally bound to equal promotion of all human rights by international law and its own official documents. Tools for human rights promotion under the policy are mainly focused on fulfilling civil and political rights. ESC rights are rather implemented as practical, complementary means to economic growth and poverty...

「對外發展援助」作為歐盟施展全球影響力之重要途徑，其具體作法與實際成效在於維繫歐盟「文明權力」之可信度。時值國際金融海嘯衝擊，而歐洲債信仍危機四伏之際，歐盟能否持續推動發展援助政策，已然成為新時期歐盟全球戰略之迫切問題。爰此，本研究旨在探討歐盟發展援助政策，希冀經由對此一政策形成、推動、發展與演進之分析，輔以亞洲地區援助計畫個案討論，全面檢視當代歐盟發展援助政策之實踐與展望。首先透過文獻資料蒐集與整理，系統地回顧歐盟發展援助政策之沿革，並就其相關法理基礎進行初步檢視與探索。其次探討歐盟對亞洲發展援助之架構與策略，闡述歐盟自1994年啟動《邁向亞洲新策略》以來歐亞關係之演進與變遷。最後則以南海海嘯作為分析個案，評估歐盟對亞洲發展援助政策之實踐與現況，進而分析該政策對我國影響與啟示。 / As being the essential approach for EU global influence, European development policy has maintained the credibility of EU “civil power” by its real measures and effects. After the impact of the global financial crisis and the European debt crisis, to maintain the development policy became an imminent challenge for EU global strategy in this new era. In order to explore the regional cooperation and development policy in Asia, there is a need to systematically review the background and legal basis of EU development policy, then to analyze the framework and strategy of EU development policy in Asia and the inner EU-Asia relations since 1994 “Towards A New Asian Strategy”. After all, understand the actual performance of development policy in Asia by evaluating the case study of 2004 South Asian Tsunami, which can also be infer as the policy implication for Taiwan.

Il presente lavoro esamina le politiche e gli strumenti giuridici di promozione e di tutela degli investimenti internazionali nel settore agricolo di uno dei principali attori coinvolti nella nuova corsa alla terra: l’Unione europea. Il primo capitolo analizza la competenza dell’Unione a concludere accordi internazionali, al fine di comprendere la portata innovativa dei trattati di libero scambio di nuova generazione dell’Unione. Il secondo e il terzo capitolo individuano delle possibili soluzioni alle due principali esigenze legate agli investimenti in terre agricole, quali la stabilità e la protezione dell’investimento, da una parte, e la tutela delle popolazioni locali, dall’altra, attraverso un’analisi critica della politica commerciale comune e della politica di cooperazione allo sviluppo dell’UE. La tesi intende dimostrare che i trattati di libero scambio negoziati dall’Unione europea e la politica di cooperazione allo sviluppo dell’Unione possono contribuire a promuovere una maggiore certezza giuridica dell’ordinamento dei Paesi in via di sviluppo, punto fondamentale per qualsiasi riforma del settore agricolo, e conseguentemente garantire una maggior protezione non solo per chi investe, ma anche per le popolazioni locali. / The dissertation investigates the policies and the legal instruments for the international investments' promotion and protection in agriculture of one of the main actors involved in the new land rush: the European Union. The first chapter analyses the EU’s competence over the conclusion of international treaties in order to understand the main innovations of the new generation of EU trade agreements. The second and third chapters focus on possible solutions of the two main agricultural lands investments’ requirements: investment protection and certainty, on the one hand, and protection of local populations, on the other, through a critical analysis of the EU common commercial policy and of the EU development cooperation policy. The thesis aims to provide that the EU free trade agreements and the EU development policy may promote a major legal certainty for developing countries, a key point for any agrarian reform, and consequently guarantee more protection not only for investors but also for local populations.

External policy of the European Union as it is defined by the Lisbon Treaty incorporates, among others, the development cooperation policy and the Common foreign and security policy. Development assistance, as a shared policy, represents a traditional form of cooperation between the Union and the developing countries and as such works as a mean to promote the objectives of its external policy. On the other hand the Common foreign and security policy was established by the Maastricht Treaty and until today the decisions made depend on the will of the Member states. The aim of this thesis is to analyze how the European Union uses the development cooperation to achieve the objectives of its external policy and to demonstrate, that using the means of the Common foreign and security policy is essential as well. To do this, the thesis will study the African Great Lakes region in particular.

EU:s sammanhållningspolitik har sedan 1980-talet varit ett verktyg för att investera och utveckla regioner. Utvecklingen sker genom olika strukturfonder och har de senaste decennierna finansierat stora delar av turismens utveckling, särskilt i turismintensiva regioner. Jämtland Härjedalen är ett tydligt exempel på en turismintensiv region där EU-medel används till utvecklingsprojekt. EU:s finansieringssystem upplevs av stödsökande komplext och resurskrävande i både ansöknings- och genomförandeprocesserna. De regelverk som finns är vidare mycket invecklade, vilket gör processerna än mer omfattande. Den här studien syftar till att undersöka och skapa en förståelse för vilka utmaningarna är samt vilka förbättringsmöjligheter som finns. Detta har skett genom en flermetodsstudie, där datainsamlingen genomförts med både enkät och intervjuer. Enkäten och de första intervjuerna gjordes med projektägare som är verksamma i Jämtland Härjedalen, och kompletterande intervjuer gjordes med representanter från finansiärerna Tillväxtverket och Region Jämtland Härjedalen. De främsta utmaningarna och förbättringsområdena från studien kan sammanfattas enligt följande: Upplevda utmaningar: Komplex och tidspressad ansökningsprocess Finansiärernas bristande förståelse om besöksnäringen Att vara låst till målen som skrivits i ansökan Rädsla att inte få kostnader för genomförda aktiviteter godkända Komplicerad redovisning och rapportering Projekt som arbetsform Önskade förbättringar: Förenklat regelverk Förbättrad kommunikation Mindre byråkratisk ansökningsprocess Mer dialog och samverkan Tydligare ansvar och roller Vi avslutar denna studie med en sammanfattande diskussion där vi lyfter egna tankar och funderingar kring utmaningarna och förbättringsmöjligheterna som framkommit av vårt resultat. Vi ser flera stora förbättringsområden, inte minst kopplat till förenklad byråkrati, ökad samverkan och mer dialog. Projektfinansiering är ett relativt outforskat område och vi hoppas att framtida forskning kommer beröra ämnen kopplade till den EU-finansierade projektvärlden. / Since the 1980s, the EU's cohesion policy has been a tool for investing and developing regions. The development takes place through various structural funds and in recent decades has financed large parts of the development of tourism, especially in tourism-intensive regions. Jämtland Härjedalen is a clear example of a tourism-intensive region where EU funds are used for development projects. However, the EU's funding system has proven to be a complex system where applicants experience the application and implementation process as very complex and resource-intensive with complicated regulations to deal with. This study aims to investigate and create an understanding of what the challenges are and what opportunities for improvement exist. This has taken place through a mixed-method study, where the collection of data was carried out with both a questionnaire and interviews. The survey and the first interviews were done with project owners who are active in Jämtland Härjedalen, and supplementary interviews were done with representatives from the financiers Tillväxtverket and Region Jämtland Härjedalen. The main challenges and areas for improvement from the study can be summarized as following: Perceived challenges: Complex and time consuming application process The financiers lack of understanding about the hospitality industry To be locked to the goals written in the application Fear of not getting costs for completed activities approved Complicated accounting and reporting Projects as a form of working method Desired improvements: Simplified regulations Improved communication Less bureaucratic application process More dialogue and cooperation Clearer responsibilities and roles We conclude this study with a summary in which we raise our own thoughts and reflections regarding the challenges and opportunities for improvement that emerged from our results. We see several major areas of improvement, not least linked to simplified bureaucracy, increased cooperation and more dialogue. Project financing is a relatively unexplored area and we hope that future research will touch on topics connected to the EU-funded project world. / <p>2023-06-16</p>