LESSONS LEARNED?
01 July 2016

One week after the UK EU referendum and the decision on BREXIT the drama is far from over and could have been inspired by Shakespeare. The man who has been the face and voice of the BREXIT campaign has been politically “assassinated” by his close friend and has taken flight rather than face the consequences. The UKIP liar does not care about the consequences that leaving will have on the future of the UK. After BREXIT the UK itself may even break up. No one would have imagined such a scenario a few years ago: more tragedy than comedy.

The referendum, like in France and the Netherlands in 2005, has once again been very much about the democratic deficit. But this is not exclusive to the European Union, it can be seen in many individual EU Member States and beyond. Concentrating on clear line of action, our suggestion remains the same: to invest in social cohesion and consolidation, in upward convergence, in reducing inequalities, showing that the EU is about more than an internal market and free trade, and that Europe can protect against risks and uncertainties.

With all eyes focused on the aftermath of the British vote, the presentation of the new EU Global Strategy did not get the attention it deserved. A Global Strategy should use the momentum created by the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) as an opportunity to understand and promote sustainability in all its dimensions: environmental, economic, social and political development. Yet, the main message seems to be that the only way to succeed in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda is “galvanising public-private partnerships, and leveraging the experience of the European Investment Bank (EIB)…”. The same approach emerged from this year’s edition of the European Developments Days and the Conference promoted by the Dutch Presidency of the EU and EESC on How to make the SDGs Europe’s Business: the new mantra seems to be that it is all about business promotion and business solutions. Economic sustainability needs sustainable business development, including a social economy. Development cooperation is not a business case. Underdevelopment, climate and the influx of war refugees cannot be solved by business development alone, by making money out of misery.

NGOs and CSOs contribute years of experience, partnership and a high level of professional and volunteer commitment in the general interest, which should remain the purpose of policy coherence in development. If this is reduced to only trade and market access by the EU itself, then why should we be worried about the British demand for relations with EU based on only trade and market access? They would get what they want and the EU would again surrender values and references. Development cooperation is not for sale, nor for trade!

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