The European Union is currently in a transitional period reflecting two parallel processes. It is simultaneously beginning a new international consensus on developement while consolidating itself as an international player and reinforcing its capacities to develop its own external policies. In this article, Jose Sanahuja discusses the importance of development policy for the European Union, especially in regards to its status as an "international player". He presents an approximation of development policies, from beginnings to reforms, recent aid reforms in response to issues of poverty, and addresses the possibility of considering the politics of development to be an instrument of EU foreign policy.