States renew broken aid vows after three decades

By David Cronin

Date: 26/05/05

EU governments this week promised an extra 20 billion euro per year in aid to poor countries by 2010 as a contribution towards the UN's Millennium Development Goals.

Under an agreement reached by the Union's development ministers, the average amount of aid given by the EU would reach 0.56% of its member states' combined national incomes in the next five years. By 2015, it would reach the target of 0.7% of national incomes first set by the United Nations in 1970.

Jean-Louis Schiltz, Luxembourg's minister for development and humanitarian affairs, said that the agreement demonstrated that the search for "international solidarity" was not in vain.

So far, just four EU countries - Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden - have hit the 0.7% target.

Last month the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development published statistics for the 15 'old' EU countries. The OECD found that these countries allocated 34 billion euro to development assistance in 2004, less than 0.4% of their collective national incomes.

While this represented an increase of 0.35% on 2003, several member states cut their aid contributions. These included Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.

The UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has promised to push for the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialised countries to undertake to increase their aid budgets when he chairs its summit at Gleneagles, Scotland, in July.

Kumi Naidoo from the Global Call to Action Against Poverty said the EU's "landmark decision" this week "clearly lays down the gauntlet to the US, Japan and China".

Under an agreement reached by the European Union's Development Ministers at the end of the General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting of 24 May 2005 the average amount of aid given to poor countries by the EU would reach 0.56% of its Member States' combined national incomes by 2010. By 2015, it would reach the target of 0.7% of national incomes first set by the United Nations in 1970.