Directorate-General for Development

The Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development is one of the departments of the European Commission. It operates under the authority of the European Commissioner for International Cooperation & Development, Neven Mimica.

Directorate General Development and Cooperation - EuropeAid was formed on 1 January 2011 following the merger of the EuropeAid Cooperation Office (AIDCO) with the Directorate General for Development and Relations with ACP States (DEV). AIDCO had been founded on 1 January 2001 with the mission of implementing the EU external aid programmes around the world. At that time, DG DEV and the Directorate General for External Relations (RELEX) were responsible for policy and programming.

Following the creation of EuropeAid in 2011, Director-General Fokion Fotiadis was responsible for the overall realisation of the DG's mission, which consists in the programming and implementation of the European Commission's external aid instruments financed by the European Union budget and the European Development Funds. In November 2013, Fernando Frutuoso de Melo succeeded Fokion Fotiadis as Director-General of the Directorate General.

EuropeAid focused on maximising the value and impact of aid funding by making sure support provided in a manner which complies with EU development objectives and the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals in a speedy and accountable fashion. Effective implementation and delivery of aid also helps the Commission and the EU as a whole to attain a higher profile on the world stage. The European Union is the world’s largest aid donor.

DG Development and Cooperation - EuropeAid was reformed into current form on 1 January 2015.

DG International Cooperation and Development formulates the European Union's development policy abroad. Its mission is to help reduce and ultimately eradicate poverty in developing countries through the promotion of sustainable development, democracy, peace and security.

It works on policy formulation at a global and sectoral level. The main intervention areas covered are: Trade and regional integration, Environment and the sustainable management of natural resources, Infrastructure, communications and transport, Water and energy, Rural development, Governance, democracy and human rights, Peace and security, Human development, Social cohesion and employment. EU development action is based on the European Consensus on Development, which was endorsed on 20 December 2005 by EU Member States, the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission.

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