1. 14th REGIONAL SEMINAR OF EU-ACP ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INTEREST GROUPS * * * * * * * * * Yaoundé, 6-8 July 2015 Financing development – contribution of civil society Ivan Voleš

2. The 2015 is the crucial year for the definition of the new development agenda replacing the MDGs that will be debated on UN level events (Adis Abbaba, New York and Paris). 2015 is also the European Year for Development. EYD initiated by the EESC and Concord and dedicated to the development agenda and the role of the civil society. The European Economic and Social Committee engaged in the debate about the new sustainable development goals SDGs and in its recent opinions and declarations from meetings with ACP and other partners made several recommendations some of them were incorporated to the final proposal. Post 2015 agenda – Sustainable Development Goals

3. Sustainable development goals The proposed SDGs are very ambitious 17 proposed SDGs (plus 165 targets) cover all aspects of development - SDGs should be universal and all co untries must contribute to their achievement, - The role of the civil society in defining, monitoring and auditing of the development goals is irreplaceable, - The social protection must become part of the development policy -Private sector must play a key role in providing growth and new jobs but must comit to maintain the principles of development

4. Financial requirements of the new SDGs The success of the implementation of the SDGs depends on mobilization of huge financial, material and human resources The estimated needs to finance the SDGs would need 3,9 trillions of USD per year from which 2,5 trillions USD are not covered (UNCTAD). But there are enough resources available for the development: - official resources (savings, pension funds, insurance, MNC, sovereign funds etc.) reach over 215 trillions USD; - there are many untapped resources – financing of the military conflicts, illegal financial transfers, laundering of money from criminal activities, corruption, shadow economy; - aid is is not only about numbers : the efficiency must be increased All players must contribute through the new Global partnership for eradication of poverty and sustainable development.

5. The role of different forms of financing Official development aid ODA - cannot cover all the needs of development - remains irreplaceable to fight against poverty of the LDC, fragile states and vulnarable population - ODA shold be reformed, new players (emerging countries) should be involved, use of ODA should be monitored by the civil society - ODA should be used to enhance the involvement of the private sector in developmeng – PPP, blending, leaverage for private investment - EU should reconfirm its commitment to provide 0,7 % of its GNP as ODA and 15-20 % to LDC.

6. Growing role of domestic resources The importance of domestic resources public and private will continue to increase. The main prerequisite to increase the use of public domestic resources is to improve good governance and correct fiscal policy. The illegal flow of financial resources from the DC must be stopped, the tax efficiency must be increased and the fight against corruption must be supported. The developed countries must provide support to DC to improve their fiscal policy. The resource-driven economies must use the income to diversify their economies, build the infrastructure and social services.

7. Role of other financial resources Blending is a tool to involve the private sector in infrastructure and public services projects – under the conditions of strict complience with its comitments and duties. Foreign direct investment has enormous potential if targeted into the SDGs. But only 2 % of FDI goes to LDC and FDI in Africa goes to non- productive sectors (finance, real estate). The financial flow from DC (dividends, transfers, tax escapes) is two times bigger than the incoming FDI. Innovative forms of financing include crowdfunding that is suitable for micro and medium sized projects. Large charity foundations with private and public donations can play important role in healts and social projects. There are new proposals put on the table by the Leading Group for innovative financing of development.

8. SME financing and DFI SMEs are backbone of all economies. The major obstacle for the survival and expansion of SMEs is the limited access to financing. There are many systems of microcredits to micro and SMEs, the most succuesful are those based on mobile phones applications. Developed countries can support the receipient countries in spreading of the financial litteracy, sharing their experience in financial planning, accounting etc.

9. Role of civil society in the new development agenda Civil society must be involved in the monitoring of the implementation of the SDGs to guarantee their right targeting, efficiency, transparency of the financial flows and results. Social partners as the part of the civil society are direct providers of the development aid – TU implement social projects, Employers organizations and Chambers of Commerce share their experience and train their partners in DC etc. Development NGOs and many others play invaluable role in providing social services, humanitarian aid, supporting gender equality, education etc. The civil society activities should be supported by the EU programmes including the institution building.

10. The EESC and the financing of the post 2015 agenda Thank you for your attention For further information please contact rex@eesc.europa.eu