Is the principle of coherence maintained in the Constitution?
The principle of coherence has been introduced in the Maastricht treaty and its has been reintroduced in the European Constitution in article III-316. This principle obliges the European Union to ensure that its internal and external policies that have an impact on developing countries are coherent with EU development objectives. The article on development co-operation (art III-316) has the eradication of poverty as overarching objective. This therefore means that in theory, EU trade or agricultural policies should contribute to the eradication of poverty in developing countries.
