2015 is European Development Year. Three important global summits came up, this year’s European Development Days (EDDs) covered relevant key topics for sustainable development under the slogan “Our world. Our dignity. Our Future”. The German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) co-organized various thematic sessions at the EDDs.

This year’s European Development Days took place in Brussels from 3 to 4 June. The German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) together with the European Think Tanks Group (ETTG) had a stand at the development village, and organised the high-level panel ‘Our collective interest? Towards a European strategy for a changing world’, and the high-level climate panel ‘A climate change agreement: towards Paris and beyond’. The ETTG-panel “Our collective interest? Towards a European strategy for a changing world” consisted of Thomas Silberhorn (Parliamentary State Secretary, BMZ), Stephan Auer (Director for Multilateral Relations and Global Issues, European External Action Service, EEAS), and Volker Hauck (ECDPM), moderated by Christina Barrios of the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS). During the discussion, it became clear that the EU needs to pull all of its external action instruments and policies together for a new EU global strategy to become a success.

The panel on climate change was moderated by Simon Maxwell, the chair of the ETTG, and featured amongst others Belete Tafere Desta (Minister of Environment and Forestry, Ethiopia), Tshering Tobgay (Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan), Anne-Marie Descôtes (Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France) and Jos Delbecke (Director General, Directorate-General for Climate Action, European Commission). Developing Country representatives stressed their strong commitment to engage in climate change domestically, but the discussion also highlighted that international negotiations on burden sharing continue to be challenging.

Wednesday, 3 June 2015, 16:15-17:30

Lab
“Our collective interest? Towards a European strategy for a changing world”

This lab discussed findings from the European Think Tanks Group’s (ETTG) latest report on the implications of global challenges for the European Union’s foreign and security policy.

Speakers:

• Stephan Auer, Director for Multilateral Relations and Global Issues, European External Action Service (EEAS)
• Volker Hauck, Head of Programme - Conflict, Security and Resilience, ECDPM
• Daniel Keohane, Research Director at FRIDE
• Thomas Silberhorn, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany

Thursday, 4 June, 11:30 – 13:00
Auditorium
“A climate change agreement: Towards Paris and beyond”

This auditorium session took a close look at the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), which require countries to present their national objectives and strategies for climate action and that are to be submitted prior to the climate summit in December. Hosted by the ETTG, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission’s DG Climate Action, policy-makers from both developing and developed countries explored the potentials and limits of the INDCs to lift the ambition of a new climate agreement in Paris.

Speakers:

• Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan
• Belete Tafere Desta, Minister of Environment and Forestry, Ethiopia
• Pa Ousman Jarju, Minister of Environment, The Gambia
• Judi Wakhungu, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Kenya
• Jos Delbeke, Director-General, DG Climate Action, European Commission
• Anne-Marie Descôtes, Director General of Global Affairs, Development and Partnerships, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France
• Carmen Monges, Youth speaker, Paraguay

Thursday, 4 June, 14:15-15:30

Workshop
“Tackling inequality: From measurement to policy imperatives”

The workshop discussed consequences of inequality for poverty reduction and growth. The speakers drew on recent research on how inequality should be measured and addressed.
 
Speakers:

• Dean Jolliffe, Senior Economist, World Bank
• Amanda Lenhardt, Research Officer, ODI
• Mario Negre, Senior Economist, German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
• Inma Zamora, Senior Economist, Director, EUROsociAL / FIIAPP

Throughout the EDDs, DIE staff was present at the conference, including participation in varios workshops and a stand on the fair, where the ETTG presented their latest report on „Our collective interest? Towards a European strategy for a changing world“.