This is the very first Blue Book on the European Union’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Nicaragua. It represents the culmination on one year’s work and the combined efforts of the European Commission and eleven Member States. The Blue Book provides a wealth of information on the value and composition of EU development cooperation in Nicaragua. This is significant given that the EU is the main net ODA provider to the country. Outlines of the poverty reduction strategies and priorities for Nicaragua of the EC and each MS can be found in the EU Donor Profile section.

Aid effectiveness is a growing priority for both donors and beneficiaries in the fight against poverty; indeed this Blue Book forms part of a broader EU package aimed at enhancing donor coordination, improving complementarity and ultimately achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Following on from the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, the European Consensus on Development was approved and adopted in December 2005. The Consensus provided momentum for increased coordination among EU donors through the establishment of a set of common values, principles and objectives for development policy. The subsequent approval of the EU Code of Conduct for Development Policy in May of this year is a major step towards practical measures to implement greater complementarity and division of labour at the field level.

Nicaragua is an OECD/DAC pilot country for making progress on the Paris Declaration Harmonisation and Alignment (H&A) agenda. It is also one of only a handful of countries to have developed its own H&A National Action Plan. The first round of monitoring implementation of the Paris Declaration in 2006 highlighted lots of challenges for the Government of Nicaragua and donors. The EU is strongly committed to supporting in-country efforts to advance the aid effectiveness agenda.

Many individuals have worked hard to turn the Blue Book from a concept into a reality. We want to thank all those colleagues from the EC and MS who made valuable contributions. We also want to thank EU donors in Vietnam who first pioneered the Blue Book initiative and inspired us to follow their example. Finally, we are grateful to ODAdata and Xolo Systems for their technical input.

Please note that only EU Member States physically present in Nicaragua are participationg. Further, only ODA under responsability of the Agency/Embassy of the EU Member State participating is counted here. Full ODA disbursements for 2007 can be higher.

Further copies of this document can be downloaded together with more disaggregated data on EU ODA to Nicaragua by visiting nic.odadata.eu

Enjoy the read!

Martin Johnston DFID Representative for Central America

Francesca Mosca Head of EC Delegation to Central America and Panama