As part of the dialogues organised with representatives of the European institutions in Brussels, on the morning of Friday 7 November we returned to the European Quarter to go to DEVE, specifically to the Committee on Development, where we met with Ms Hana Sedlackova, Head of the Unit for West Africa, civil society organisations, and migration.
Once again, she explained to us how her committee works and how it fits into that great “black box” that the European Union often seems to be.
The European Parliament’s Committee on Development is responsible for overseeing and guiding the EU’s development and cooperation policy. It ensures that European aid reaches developing countries effectively and that European policies are consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals. It also works to promote democracy, good governance and human rights, and sends delegations into the field to assess projects and speak with local actors. Its task, in essence, is to ensure that EU actions contribute to fair, sustainable and genuinely useful development for the communities that need it most.
Hana told us that the European Union currently allocates around €9.2 billion to external action, making it the world’s leading donor of aid and cooperation. The ultimate goal of this cooperation, however ambitious it may sound, is to contribute to the eradication of poverty. For this reason, DEVE (the Committee on Development) is responsible for monitoring how this money is invested and what results it produces.
She also told us that for the coming year (2026) two evaluation missions in the field were scheduled: one to Bolivia and another to Ghana. She would be part of the delegation visiting Ghana for three days, the time agreed for the mission, and although she felt it was short, she wanted to make the most of it. She therefore asked the group for advice, as there were African participants who could provide direct experience. They shared their perceptions of the EU’s role in their territories and suggested what the team could do to add real value during the visit.
Topics such as inequality, the debt problem, youth unemployment, waste management, and the situation of cocoa and sustainable cotton were raised. There was also discussion of the role of some European companies that exploit natural resources and export the profits back to Europe, leaving little wealth for the local population. In addition, many people perceive European “embassies” (external representations) as institutions that are hard to access and distant from everyday needs, which generates mistrust. For this reason, strong emphasis was placed on the importance of interacting directly with the population, especially young people, who are the ones most eager to bring about change.
Meeting with Hana was a pleasure: she was genuinely interested in the group’s contributions, took notes, asked questions, and listened with a very open and receptive attitude.
This activity has been developed in the frames of the Youth Participation Activity project Towards Inclusive Europe - Cap a l'Europa Inclusiva, supported by the Erasmus+ programme co-funded by the European Union and Coordinated by AHEAD.
Find further information about the project in: https://aheadedu.org/en/projects/towards-inclusive-europe/
The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.