Events in 2009 will offer Europe an opportunity to reform its own aid architecture and establish leadership of the international development agenda. Simon Maxwell, who heads the UK’s Overseas Development Institute, sets out his reform plan.

The Lisbon Treaty may or may not pass, but the evidence is incontrovertible. In the field of international development, at any rate, the agenda is moving sharply in a trans-national or multilateral direction, on topics where Europe has a strong comparative advantage. Whether the EUEuropean Union is able to take full advantage of this opportunity will depend not mainly on Lisbon, but on a wider reform process, touching especially on the instruments of EUEuropean Union engagement around the world. 2009 will be a crucial year for change................. (see link in title for full article)