A Perfect Post-2015 Partner? Analysing EU's Development and Trade Agendas for Global Development Partnership

This article discusses the EU's commitment to the achievement of international development goals from a policy coherence perspective. In particular, it looks at the ways in which the Union has contributed to the targets of global partnership for development (MDG-8) with its own initiatives on development financing and international trade with poorer countries. The article utilises the MDG-8 and its targets as a reference for policy coherence and takes stock of their implementation by the EU. In addition, it discusses prospects for the EU's role in the post-2015 period in this regard. The article argues that the EU's implementation of the MDG-8 has been insufficient and uneven. It also highlights the need for an impartial frame of reference for PCD based on concrete indicators. This would also help the EU to reinforce its approach to PCD and to act as a global partner.