1. EU JOINT PROGRAMMING
Joint Programming is the joint planning of development cooperation by EU development partners working in a partner country. It is a policy tool contributing to a stronger Europe, by bringing together resources and capacities. Now, more than ever, the European Union, the Member States and other like-minded governments need to join forces, programme their development cooperation together and, eventually, develop a strategic and coordinated response to key challenges such as migration and climate change. Working closely together will enhance the EU's ability to decisively contribute to the partner country's national development plan and to support our partners in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.
For more information on how Joint Programming progresses in each partner country, please visit our website: http://capacity4dev.ec.europa.eu/joint-programming and https://jptracker.capacity4dev.eu/ or contact us here: DEVCO-Joint-Programming-Support@ec.europa.eu ; JOINT-PROGRAMMING-SUPPORT@eeas.europa.eu ; NEAR-JOINT-PROGRAMMING@ec.europa.eu
2. EU JOINT PROGRAMMING IN GHANA
The Joint Programming process in Ghana was initiated in 2012 resulting in the "Transition towards EU Joint Programming 2013-2016" (2014), subsequently laying the ground for a full Joint Strategy for 2017-2020 titled "European Partners Working Together in Ghana" (2017). This is an outcome of strengthened coordination by the European Union with Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom as well as Switzerland and the Government of Ghana.
These European development partners have come together and jointly committed to supporting the priorities and objectives identified by the Government of Ghana in the Long-Term National Development Plan (LTNDP), focusing on the LTNDP's goal 1 and 4 out of the five.
Goal 1. Build an industrialised, inclusive and resilient economy:
- Enhancing competitiveness and support to private sector, employment policy, social welfare services and social protection;
- Energy generation and supply including renewable energy;
- Agriculture, agribusiness, rural development.
Goal 4. Build effective, efficient and dynamic institutions:
- Decentralisation;
- Public Finance Management, Tax policy and tax administration support;
- Accountability, anti-corruption and rule of law.
There are also five cross-cutting priorities: climate change, migration and mobility, gender, youth and the implementation of a human rights based approach to development cooperation.
The Joint Strategy covers the first Medium-Term period 2018–2021 of the LTNDP with a total financial envelope of €1.25 billion, which includes indicative funding from the European Investment Bank. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and Spain are also present in Ghana and committed to the principles of Joint Programming. Civil society, think tanks and private sector representative organizations participated in the process as well.
The purpose of the European Partners' Joint Strategy is to improve donor coordination, reinforce policy dialogue with government structures, reduce transaction costs for the Government, and deepen synergies leading to enhanced development effectiveness. It aims to accompany Ghana’s transformation process and consolidation of its middle-income status, economic growth and democratic governance. It reinforces a "European Partners - Ghana partnership" based on shared values, increased commercial cooperation and strengthened political dialogue on our common future – a path that leads "Ghana Beyond Aid", as referred by the Government. European partners' cooperation will therefore evolve from traditional aid to a more comprehensive approach including trade, competitiveness, migration and climate change.