The Rome ‘Declaration on Harmonisation’ of February 2003, states that: 4 ‘We in the donor community have been concerned with the growing evidence that, over time, the totality and wide variety of donor requirements for preparing, delivering and monitoring development assistance are generating unproductive transaction costs for, and drawing down the limited capacities of, partner countries’ and that ‘donor practices do not always fit well with national development priorities’. The EC will therefore play its part in promoting harmonisation of policies and practices. At an operational level, this will require some changes to, inter alia: (i) the way that EC staff work and communicate with third country partners and other donors, (ii) the type.
