Negotiations on measures concerning development NGOs which have been underway following the announcement of the Zukunftspak measures in October 2014 have resulted in a reached agreement, it was announced today.
The Directorate of the Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Action of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MAEE) and the Cercle de Coopération (Cercle) began negotiations in line with measures contributing to aid effectiveness and the concentration of state funding to least developed countries (LDCs), whilst maintaining the level of official development assistance (ODA).
Agreed-upon conclusions included:
- A unique co-financing rate for framework agreements and simple co-financing projects. This will be applicable as from the entry into force if the necessary legal basis and a priori from January 2017. This therefore applies to new framework agreements to be signed in early 2017 with the first call for proposals for 2017;
- A 14% cap on the reimbursement of administrative expenses, replacing the current 15%. This will apply for administrative costs incurred in 2016 and ended in 2017;
- A co-financing rate of 80% for projects implemented in LDCs and cooperation partner countries of Luxembourg;
- A co-financing rate of 60% for projects carried out in countries that are not listed as LDCs or partner countries, instead of 75% today to projects in partner countries and 66% in other countries;
- A co-financing rate of 80% for projects in countries that are not listed among the partner countries or LDCs, but that directly target human rights, as defined by the code 15160 of the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD.
The negotiations were conducted to encourage dialogue on development effectiveness and the quality of cooperation projects, as well as the work and role of NGOs as an important cooperation partner.
