The European Development Fund
(EDF) is the main instrument for European Union (EU) aid for
development cooperation in Africa, the Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP
Group) countries and the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT).
Funding is provided by voluntary donations by EU member states.The
EDF is subject to its own financial rules and procedures, and is
managed by the European Commission (EC) and the European Investment
Bank.
Articles
131 and 136 of the 1957 Treaty of Rome provided for its creation with a
view to granting technical and financial assistance to African
countries that were still colonised at that time and with which certain
countries had historical links.
Usually
lasting 6 years, each EDF lays out EU assistance to both individual
countries and regions as a whole. The EU is on its 10th EDF from
2008-2013 with a budget of €22.7 billion.This represents about 30% of EU spending on development cooperation aid, with the remainder coming directly from the EU budget.
