CONCORD

CONCORD, also referred to as CONCORD Europe, is the European confederation of non-governmental organisations working on sustainable development and international development cooperation.

It was established in its current form in 2003 and is the main NGO interlocutor with the EU institutions on development policy. it was made up of 57 member organisations, which are national NGO platforms and international NGO networks, representing more than 2,600 NGOs.

The stated goal of the Confederation is to enhance the impact of European development NGOs by combining expertise and accountability. Since 2003, CONCORD has reviewed and protested the EU's policies and practices relation to overseas aid and its commitment to the UN Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals, policy coherence for development and funding issues.

CONCORD maintains a secretariat based in Brussels, Belgium.

History
The organisation was registered in Belgium in 1980 but established by development NGOs from across Europe in its current form in 2003. CONCORD is an acronym for CONfederation for COoperation of Relief and Development NGOs. This name is no longer used and CONCORD is now describing itself as "European Confederation of NGOs working on sustainable development and international cooperation".

EU Development Policy
The EU and its member states are the world's biggest donors of official development assistance. A major area of work for EU development policy operates within the Cotonou agreement which establishes a relationship between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific states related to development policy. EU action in the field of development is based on the European Consensus on Development, signed on 20 December 2005, whereby EU Member States, the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission agreed to a common EU vision of development.

EU partnerships and dialogue with developing countries promote respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, peace, democracy, good governance, and gender equality, the rule of law, solidarity and justice through global education. The European Community's contribution is focused on certain areas of intervention, responding to the needs of partner countries.

Publications
CONCORD publishes AidWatch, an annual report on the EU's aid policy. In 2011, the AidWatch report criticised EU members states for increasingly tying overseas development aid to specific domestic and foreign policy goals, inflating aid by 5billion Euros.

CONCORD also publishes a report every 2 years on Policy Coherence for Development (PCD), a legal provision under the EU Lisbon Treaty. PCD aims to ensure that the external impacts of other EU policies do not undermine the aims and objectives of EU development cooperation.

In 2010, CONCORD published its Narrative on Development. The report outlines that European Union Development policies should not pursue unilateral European interests. Legally, they are to support sustainable and human development in developing countries.

Partners
At global level, CONCORD is actively involved in the Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness, the Beyond 2015 campaign, The Humanitarian Forum international network of NGOs and BetterAid. Through these collaborations CONCORD engages with similar NGO networks from South America, Asia and Africa. It's also a partner of Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) and Mesa

Members
, CONCORD counts 57 member organisations, among which 26 national platforms and 24 other NGO networks: