Grønlandsudvalget 2018-19 (1. samling)
GRU Alm.del Bilag 47
Offentligt
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Briefing
How the EU budget is spent
April 2019
EU cooperation with Greenland
In a nutshell
The overall aim of the European Union-Greenland Partnership Agreement is to boost ties and
cooperation between the EU and Greenland, with education and training as one of several
key areas of cooperation. As part of the partnership, and taking Greenland's needs into
account, the focal point of EU-Greenland financial cooperation is education and training, with
a special emphasis on boosting the pre-school and elementary school system, as well as on
providing support for vocational education and post-elementary education.
EU's multiannual financial framework (MFF) heading and policy area
Heading 4 – Global Europe
The European Union-Greenland Partnership (21 07)
2014-2020 total amount programmed (in current prices and as % of total MFF)
Commitments:
€217.81 million (0.020 %)
2018 budget (in current prices and as % of total EU budget)
Commitments:
€32.40 million (0.021 %)
Payments:
€32.33 million (0.023 %)
2019 budget (in current prices and as % of total EU budget)
Commitments:
€32.90 million (0.020 %)
Payments:
€32.37 million (0.022 %)
Methods of implementation
Direct management (European Commission grants budget support for the implementation of
the Greenland education programme, which is led by Greenland's Ministry of Education,
Church, Culture and Gender Equality, in cooperation with other ministries and stakeholders).
In this briefing:
•
EU role in the policy area: legal basis
•
Cooperation objectives
•
Funded measures
•
Assessment of cooperation/action
•
Other EU action in the same field
EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service
Authors: Naja Bentzen and Alessandro D'Alfonso
Members' Research Service
PE 637.922
EN
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EU role in the policy area: legal basis
EU cooperation with Greenland
Having been a part of the European Community since 1973 through Denmark's
membership, Greenland withdrew from the European Community in 1985 after the island
secured Home Rule from Denmark. Since then, Greenland has been
associated
with the
European Union as an
Overseas Country and Territory
(OCT). There are currently 25 OCTs
associated with the EU in accordance with Part Four of the Treaty on the Functioning of
the European Union (2012/C
326/01).
The purpose of this association is 'to promote the
economic and social development of the countries and territories and to establish close
economic relations between them and the Union as a whole'. Whilst the Overseas
Association Decision (OAD) is applicable to all OCTs, a separate and additional 'Greenland
Decision' (Council
Decision 2014/137/EU)
outlines cooperation with the EU and financing
from the EU budget. Greenland's relations with the EU are also covered by the
Greenland
Treaty
(1985), the
Fisheries Partnership Agreement
(Council Decision
2015/2103/EU)
and
the legally and financially non-binding 2015
joint declaration
by the EU, the government
of Greenland and the government of Denmark.
Cooperation objectives
Overall, the 2014-2020 EU-Greenland
Partnership Agreement
aims to further strengthen
the ties and cooperation between the EU and Greenland with the general goal of
diversifying Greenland's economy. The explicit political ambition is to ensure policy
dialogue on global issues of common interest. The main areas of cooperation include
education and training, energy, climate, environment and biodiversity, natural resources,
maritime transport and research and innovation, in addition to Arctic issues.
The EU's multiannual financial framework for the 2014-2020 period allocates an
indicative amount of €217.8 million (current prices) to financial cooperation with
Greenland. In line with Greenland's strategic focus on the education sector as a key driver
for long-term and sustainable development, the 2014-2020 programming document for
the sustainable development of Greenland (PDSD) focuses on boosting living standards
and ensuring continuous, sustainable economic progress via a qualified, flexible and
competitive workforce. The overarching aim of EU financial cooperation with Greenland
is to contribute to an inclusive and coherent education system from pre-school to higher
education. The specific objectives are as follows:
•
•
•
reducing inequality via a consistently well-functioning pre-school system that
equips pupils with the necessary skills to pursue further education;
improving the quality of the (pre-school and elementary school) education
system, increasing the share of educated staff;
achieving a more efficient education system with lower drop-out rates, more
students completing the post-elementary system, and less time spent in the
education system before graduation.
Funded measures
As laid out in the PDSD, the 2014-2020
Greenland education programme
places special
emphasis on boosting the pre-school and elementary school system, and also on
providing continued support for vocational education and the post-elementary school
system. Article 9 of
Council Decision 2014/137/EU
identifies three categories of activity
that are entitled to receive financial support from the EU budget: 1) reforms and projects
that are in line with the PDSD; 2) institutional development, capacity building and
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EU cooperation with Greenland
integration of environmental and climate change aspects; and 3) technical cooperation
programmes. The PDSD lists the following actions and expected results:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
a higher share of children attending pre-school, achieved by offering pre-school
facilities and staff to a larger proportion of the population;
an improved rate of transition to further education, as more pupils have access to
elementary schools of high quality;
a higher literacy rate after elementary school;
a lower share of young people (16-18 years) outside the education system;
in the medium term, increased completion of post-elementary education as a
result of better elementary education;
a better quality pre-school system by increasing the share of educated staff in the
system;
a higher proportion of educated teachers in elementary schools;
an increased rate of transition from elementary school to further education;
increased transition rate from high school to further education;
lower age at completion of post-elementary education;
increased completion at all levels of post-elementary education;
lower excess study time (beyond standard time limits) in higher education;
increased completion rate and more graduates from higher education;
a higher number of apprenticeships via school apprenticeships, incentives to
businesses and introductory courses in vocational education and training.
Implementation
Under
Council Decision 2014/137/EU
the primary form of aid is budget support, for which
Greenland fulfils the relevant eligibility conditions (adoption of a territorial development
plan with implementation under way; a stable macro-economic framework; openness
and transparency in government operations; and a credible programme of public finance
management). Financial cooperation from the EU budget, which requires yearly financing
agreements, contributes to the implementation of the Greenland education programme.
Table 1 – EU cooperation with Greenland: 2014-2020 financial resources (€ million)
2014
Education
sector
Technical
assistance,
studies, etc.
Total
24.569
0.249
2015
30.699
0.244
2016
31.130
0.249
2017
31.631
0.254
2018
32.111
0.276
2019
32.635
0.263
2020
33.220
0.269
Total
215.996
1.804
24.818
30.943
31.379
31.885
32.387
32.898
33.489
217.800
Data source: PDSD 2014-2020.
As detailed in Table 1, the 2014-2020 financial envelope allocates some €216 million to
the education sector and €1.8 million to complementary support measures. Based on the
PDSD, the practical implementation of the Greenland education programme is led by
Greenland's Ministry of Education, Church, Culture and Gender Equality, in cooperation
with other ministries and stakeholders. In order to ensure adequate coordination, the
Ministry of Finance and Domestic Affairs is involved in all the stages of the programme's
implementation.
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Assessment of cooperation/action
EU cooperation with Greenland
The
evaluation
of the Greenland Decision fed into the mid-term review of the EU's 2014-
2020 external financing instruments (2017). This deemed the choice of education as the
focal sector to be relevant to beneficiaries' needs in Greenland: there is a broad
consensus in Greenland that education is 'the most relevant growth parameter'. The
evaluation stressed that the fact that the education sector had been chosen by the
Greenlandic government ensured strong support and ownership.
The evaluation noted that, although the instrument's stated ambition of policy dialogue
corresponded with EU priorities, attempts to expand this official policy dialogue to
include areas of mutual interest other than education had not yet been achieved. It also
emphasised that although the instrument had contributed to sustainable development
by improving educational attainment through the PDSD, it was still too early to see a
significant impact in terms of diversifying the Greenlandic economy.
According to the evaluation, the instrument had triggered 'positive dynamics', in
particular by ensuring that Greenland was 'receptive to the EU playing a more prominent
role in the Arctic', as well as that the EU gained a better understanding of the special
circumstances of the people living in the Arctic region. Furthermore, the development
aspects of the partnership had been 'effective in contributing to sustainable development
in Greenland' (a Greenland Decision objective). Moreover, the evaluation stressed that,
via financial support and bi-annual policy dialogues, the EU is helping to strengthen
Greenland's capacity to implement its own policies, in line with the objectives of the
Greenland Decision.
Other EU action in the same field
Financial cooperation with OCTs other than Greenland is channelled through the
European Development Fund,
an intergovernmental tool outside the EU budget. On the
basis of an assessment of current external financing instruments, the European
Commission has
proposed
to streamline funding for OCTs and channel it entirely through
the EU budget for the post-2020 programming period, with special arrangements for
Greenland. The proposed resources for the years 2021 to 2027 amount to €500 million
for all OCTs, including Greenland. The 12 British OCTs would no longer be covered
following the expected withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
Disclaimer and Copyright
This document is prepared for, and addressed to, the Members and staff of the European Parliament as
background material to assist them in their parliamentary work. The content of the document is the sole
responsibility of its author(s) and any opinions expressed herein should not be taken to represent an official
position of the Parliament.
Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is
acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice and sent a copy.
© European Union, 2019.
Photo credits: © millenius / Fotolia.
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