Press

room

Do you need information about EU development policy and cooperation? Are you writing a piece about a new trade deal and are wondering how it will impact developing countries? Looking for an expert to comment on development aid spending by EU institutions and Member States? Or just someone to explain why our flawed economic model is at the heart of soaring inequalities?

At CONCORD, you will find policy experts on a wide range of topics and a wealth of reliable and up-to-date information analysed together with our member organisations

Follow our Director’s monthly blogs for cutting edge thought pieces. You can also find us on LinkedIn and Bluesky.

What we can speak about

✓ New trends in EU development cooperation

✓ How EU external affairs impact inequalities between people and countries

✓ Development aid spending by EU institutions and Member States

✓ EU budget and the MFF process

✓ How EU policies, like trade and migration, impact sustainable development in partner countries

✓ Role of civil society in sustainable development

 

✓ EU-Africa relations

✓ EU-Latin America relations

✓ Sustainable and inclusive economic and business models

✓ The role of the private sector in development 

✓ Gender equality and development

✓ Why global citizenship education matters

✓ How to measure wellbeing

What we can provide

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EXPERTISE

Quotes, comments and interviews with CONCORD Europe spokespeople and experts.

ACCESS

We can provide you with access to members organisations.

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ASSETS

We have an archive of film and photography for media use. If you can’t find what you need on the site, please email us.

Press releases

AidWatch 2025: keeping a vigilant eye on EU commitments and the true purpose of ODA | AidWatch 2025 Launch

This year, CONCORD’s flagship report, AidWatch, turned 20 years old. To mark the occasion, we wrote a very special, bumper edition. We also held a well-attended launch event, inviting representatives of the European Commission, Member States and civil society to give...

AidWatch 2025: Ending short-sightedness, restoring Official Development Assistance’s purpose

CONCORD’s 2024 AidWatch report reveals that Official Development Assistance (ODA) from EU Member States increasingly serves national self-interest, falling short in both quantity and quality.

Understanding the EU’s Global Gateway: Why Civil Society Must Pay Attention

When the European Union launched its Global Gateway in 2021, it presented the initiative as Europe’s bold answer to today’s shifting geopolitical landscape. Designed as a strategic framework rather than a funding instrument, Global Gateway has as an objective to...

Joint statement from 30 organizations: Commission Global Europe proposal “potentially game-changing”

Today’s proposal to allocate €200 billion in the EU’s external action budget is potentially game-changing. In an era of increasing global instability and economic rivalry, the Commission’s proposal demonstrates a forward-looking vision for the EU’s role in the world,...

2025 AU-EU Ministerial Meeting: a missed opportunity for youth and civil society meaningful participation

The African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) will convene a Ministerial Meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, 21 May 2025, bringing together representatives from over 80 governments to advance their strategic partnership ahead of the 7th AU-EU Summit later this year.

The EU’s short-sighted aid cuts are a choice – so is the way forward!

Brussels, [16 April 2025] – The early figures for 2024 Official Development Assistance (ODA) confirm a deeply troubling trend: Europe’s richest countries per capita— such as Germany, Netherlands and Finland—are cutting back their commitments to international...

Media contacts

Media inquiries

For journalists: for general media inquiries, please contact us at camilla.falsetti@concordeurope.org.

You can also contact our policy experts.

Because of the large volume of requests we receive, we are only able to respond to inquiries from journalists and members of the media.

 

 

Spokespeople

Rilli Lappalainen, President

Rilli was elected as CONCORD President in November 2020 and is currently the Director of Sustainable development at Fingo, Finnish Development NGOs (CONCORD’s national platform in Finland). Before Fingo´s establishment on 2018, Rilli worked over 15 years as Secretary General of Kehys, national EU platform. During that time Rilli took on several roles in CONCORD, e.g. as a Board Member for 6 yeas and the chair of the DEAR working group. Global citizenship education has been the red line of Rilli´s work and life from local scouts to global networking. He has experiences of working in all continents from local projects to UN level policy processes.

Tanya Cox, Director

In her role as Director of CONCORD she leads the Confederation’s strategic direction and planning. She is passionate about pushing for a people- and planet-centred approach and finding innovative solutions to the difficult debates of our sector. As an effective communicator and powerful public speaker, she enjoys rallying people around ambitious objectives. She has over 15 years of experience working in civil society organisations to influence the EU’s position on human rights and sustainable development. She previously worked in the private sector.