Successes, lacks found in Finland´s role in swaying EU dev policy

Finland’s influencing towards the EU’s development policy has been relevant and successful, according to a recent evaluation,

The evaluation, however, identified deficiencies, too, such as gaps in the strategic guidance of activities at different levels, said the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in a press release on Monday referring to the evaluation.

The independent evaluation examined Finland’s success in influencing the EU’s development policy. The evaluation found that Finland’s influencing towards the EU has been relevant, systematic and mostly efficient and seamless.

The EU influencing strategies of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs are in line with Finland’s development policy.

However, the strategies do not always have clearly defined priorities or they are not sufficiently forward looking. The evaluation criticises the Ministry for lacking an established system of monitoring, evaluation and learning.

The evaluation recommends among other things that the Ministry should broaden its strategic planning and use of influencing on and working with the EU. Strong leadership and clear priorities are needed. Influencing strategies should be more forward looking. The Ministry should encourage its staff to strengthen their skills, their physical presence in the EU and their collaboration with the EU. Moreover, the Ministry should improve its coordination, organisational structures and learning mechanisms and increase its cooperation with stakeholders.

The evaluation report was presented at the House of the Estates on 27 October 2022. Director of the Development Evaluation Unit Antero Klemola opened the event.

In his address, he underlined the timeliness and significance of the topic. New initiatives, such as the Global Gateway, will further strengthen the EU’s significance as a channel for cooperation and influencing.

European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen said in her video greeting that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a compass for EU’s external action.

“The philosophy behind Team Europe is to gain synergies and better results and to find better and more efficient ways to use resources. Team Europe is the biggest aid donor in the world. Together we can achieve permanent changes,” Commissioner Urpilainen said.

She mentioned having noticed the influencing outcomes in the education sector, which the evaluation verified.

The evaluation found that to achieve its objectives, Finland has made use of its expertise in development cooperation, its collaboration with other EU Member States and its long-standing relationships with local partners. Examples of Finland’s leading role in the education sector include helping Nepal to increase teachers’ competence levels and to improve equal access to education and helping Ukraine to develop the quality of teaching in primary and secondary education.

“As a Union we should build on each Member State’s strengths. I encourage all Member States to be active in bringing up their views on shaping the EU’s development policy”, Urpilainen said.