15/4/2005
New Aid Targets Reinforce Europe's Position As Leading Aid Donor.

The European Commission this week approved proposals to increase the volume and effectiveness of the Union's development aid. "2005 is a crucial year for development. As the biggest development aid donor, the EU and its Member States must show ambition and make a united demand for greater, better coordinated investment, striving to ensure that our policies are coherent and serve our development goals," said Commission President José Manuel Barroso.

The announcement comes in preparation for the UN summit of world leaders in September this year that will review progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These were agreed at the Millennium Summit in 2000 and include halving the number of people living on less than a dollar a day by 2015. As the developing countries’ leading donor and trading partner, the European Union has a particular responsibility for ensuring their achievement.

The aid will provide an additional $25 billion to developing countries by 2010. It represents a significant increase in development assistance with a new intermediate target of 0.56% of European Union Gross National Income in 2005 and an ultimate goal in line with UN recommendations of 0.7% by 2015. Also proposed are greater coherence between Community policies, better coordination between Member States and the EU and more ownership of aid by the recipients.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan immediately welcomed the announcement. Mr. Annan also noted the EU's increasing emphasis on trade and other non-aid policies as a means of reaching the MDGs and by the decision of the EU to focus on the needs of Africa."

" As things stand, it would take 100 years to achieve the MDGs in Africa," said Louis Michel, the Commissioner responsible for development and humanitarian aid. "We must do more and we must do it better. We must honour our commitments for reasons of humanity and solidarity, but also of stability. The challenges of poverty and unfettered globalisation, which sidelines whole swathes of the population, demand a change of attitude."

The Commission proposes that Member States continue increasing their ODA budgets beyond the commitments they made at a previous summit in Monterrey, Mexico (0.39% of GNP in 2006). The new minimum objective proposed for the previous 15 Member States is 0.51% for 2010, with 0.17% proposed for the 10 new Member States, giving a collective total to 0.56%.

This commitment would mean an additional €20 billion by 2010 and the achievement of the 0.7% target fixed by the UN in 2015. In 2005 the 25 Member States’ ODA totalled €43 billion (OECD figures).