The CONCORD AidWatch group has published a briefing “EU Aid in Jeopardy?”, which contains updated information since the 2009 report, suggesting that the EU and individual member states are off-track on meeting current aid target commitments.
This year is a key milestone, as EU member states agreed to meet a collective target of 0.56% GNI by 2010. Recent figures however show that EU aid in 2008 was a mere 0.4% of GNI. Despite the financial crisis, Belgium, Spain and the UK are making some progress towards the goals, whereas most new member states (NMS) are not close enough to their individual 0.17% target. Poland’s aid for 2009 was around 0.08% of GNI and the Czech Republic is around 0.13%. At the extreme, Latvia has cut its bilateral aid down to almost zero.
With the briefing, European NGOs are calling on the EU to step up efforts towards this year’s 0.56% collective target. National platforms of development NGOs are encouraged to use the briefing in their lobbying activities – whether it is through contact with MEPs, asking them to raise questions around the topics highlighted by the briefing; with national parliamentarians in the committee responsible for aid; with government officials to reemphasise key messages about aid or to member organisations and partners for information.
PDF versions of the briefing can be downloaded from the CONCORD website: http://www.concordeurope.org/Files/media/extranetdocumentsENG/NavigationPrincipale/06.Publications/06_3_PositionsandStudies/CONCORD-EU-aid-briefing-dec09-PDF.pdf
If you would like hard copies, please send your request to AidWatch Coordinator Alessandro Bozzini: Alessandro.BOZZINI@concordeurope.org
Information provided by Rebecca Steel-Jasińska, TRIALOG
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