Realising that its policies in areas other than development had some unintended impacts on third countries and building on the OECD work in this area, the Union elaborated a concept of Policy Coherence for Development aimed at strengthening synergies between EU polices other than aid and development objectives. Careful design and implementation of EU policies were to lead to increased effectiveness of development aid and non aid policies altogether, and to an efficient use of resources, by limiting policy incoherence and developing synergies.

To make such an approach a reality, the EU took bold commitments towards PCD in twelve policy areas in 2005 and dedicated time and energy to strengthening PCD procedures, instruments and mechanisms at all levels since then. These efforts where formally embedded in the European Consensus on Development adopted in December 2005, and a first progress report on PCD in the Union, integrating the views and expertise of the Commission and EU Member States, was issued by the Commission in September 2007, in line with the mandate from the Council in May 2005.