The European Development Fund

Abstract

The European Development Fund (EDF) was established with the European Community itself. In 1957 the six founding members of the Community decided to create a fund (EDF I) in order to contribute to the economic and social development of a number of African countries that had special links with four member states.¹ Some of these African countries were still colonies of France and Belgium and the Netherlands, while others, such as Somalia, which was a trust territory of Italy, had a transition status. Thus the EDF is one of the oldest instruments of the European Community. It has proved to be quite flexible, because it has been able to survive for forty years, during which the concept and the actual implementation of development aid has changed radically. The first great change occurred with the independence of most of the African countries at the beginning of the 1960s. After the Yaounde Convention was signed, the Fund (EDF II and III) became the instrument of cooperation between the EC and the États Africains et Malgaches Associés (EAMA). A second major change occurred with Great Britain’s accession, which led to an increase in the number of recipient countries. The Lomé Convention was the framework in which the EDF (IV, V, VI, VII and VIII) was used as the principal instrument for financial cooperation with the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP).