Mikaela Gavas submitted written evidence to the United Kingdom's House of Lords EU External Affairs Sub-Committee on January 31, 2019. In her evidence Gavas answered questions about the future of UK-EU development cooperation after Brexit.
From the evidence:
The EU and the UK are amongst the largest development spenders and influencers in the world. They have been multipliers for each other’s development policies. The UK has brought a development surplus to the EU not only through its financial contribution, but also the technical expertise and experience that it has shared with the EU institutions and Member States. For example, the UK has championed the need for transparency and results in the EU and the EU has now built this into its approach. The UK has been recognised as an important voice in the EU and negotiating as the EU, it was more likely to secure UK objectives than acting alone, especially given the tendency in UN negotiations to adopt a “bloc” approach. For example, a “team EU approach”, with a burden sharing agreement enabling individual Member States, including the UK, to lead negotiations on certain issues or goal areas paved the way for successful outcomes on the 2030 Agenda and the Conference of the Parties (COP) climate action agreements. The EU has offered the UK the reach of its extensive presence, access to its financial instruments and the opportunity to shape its policy, programmes and direction along with the other 27 Member States. They share common concerns, interests, values and commitments on development. Their development priorities are closely aligned and have, to a considerable extent, been shaped by the UK. And they both recognise that security and prosperity in Europe will only be guaranteed if peace and development can be fostered in other parts of the world.
