Publication

This briefing paper suggests that the EU needs to recognize the importance of questions of fragility, conflict and weak governance in many countries where budget support may be provided. Any decision to allocate aid through budget support should be based on a sound analysis of the context, and should build in a set of measures such as stricter eligibility criteria and monitoring mechanisms looking at actual implementation and impact. More generally, aid disbursed through budget support should not only seek to reinforce the “supply side” (state structures), but also the “demand side” for better services and good governance. A balanced and flexible approach is needed, through “off-budget support” towards civil society, in order to ensure a sound and meaningful state building process.