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The European Report on Development (ERD) is a multiannual process, which is framed within the initiative “Mobilizing European Research for Development Policies“. The objective of this initiative is to enhance a European perspective on development issues in the international arena, on the basis of knowledge excellence, innovation and building of common ground between the European research community and policy-makers (Member States and Commission). Moreover, this initiative will improve the visibility of the EU at a global level, help shape the international agenda and feed the EU internal debate on development.

The ERD is led by a multidisciplinary team based at the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University Institute, which is also interacting with a broad network of scholars, from both developed and developing countries.

The European Report on Development 2010, focuses on the issues of poverty, inequality and social protection, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. Many African countries are stuck in a situation of chronic poverty and are increasingly vulnerable to external shocks. Climate change and food and fuel price volatility, together with the negative impact of the recent financial crisis are undermining progresses towards the Millennium Development Goals, increasing the demand for new and more substantive social protection programs in many African countries. Social protection – which is increasingly recognized as an effective tool to protect people from risks and reducing vulnerability – is thus rapidly becoming a priority in the development agenda of both donors and local governments.

The first edition of the European Report on Development in 2009, “Overcoming Fragility in Africa – Forging a New European Approach”, has focused on the issue of fragility in its various dimensions, on its implications for development policies and on the approached to tackle it.