AidWatch Report 2013: European Aid to Poor Countries is Stalling

European aid to poor countries is stalling two years ahead of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals deadline, with aid cut or stagnant in 19 member states reveals the new Concord AidWatch report. The report looks at the quality and quantity of EU aid, with analysis showing that the funding gap to reach the UN target stands at €36billion.

European aid going backwards, despite unique role
The EU-27 countries delivered €50.6 billion or 0.39% of EU’s gross national income in aid in 2012, a 4% drop compared to previous year. EU aid has fallen to its lowest levels since 2007 with AidWatch projections showing that total aid is expected to remain almost stagnant at approximately 0.43% of GNI.by 2013-2014. Wiske Jult from the Belgian NGO platform 11.11.11 said: “Effective aid plays a unique role and European countries should not shy away from their role in tackling global poverty. Some countries such as Belgium however are making development aid their prime budget cuts, despite talking up global development on the international stage at the United Nations. These double standards send the wrong message to developing countries.”

EU countries that buck the trend
This report shows that several countries have substantially increased their aid, the largest relative increases being in Latvia (17%), Luxembourg (14%), Poland (14%), Austria (8%), Lithuania (8%) and the United Kingdom (7%). Those already reaching the 0.7% target are Denmark (0.8%), Luxembourg (1%) and Sweden (0.99%), and in 2013 the UK will join them, at 0.7%.

Inflated aid not reaching developing countries
€5.6 billion of EU aid was inflated and never reached developing countries, bringing genuine aid down to €45 billion or 0.35% of GNI. Natalia Alonso, Head of Oxfam’s EU Office, said: “Genuine aid has to reach those who need it the most rather than being used to pay off interest on debt. Playing petty politics with aid commitments means that fewer children will go to school, access to health care will become more difficult and millions will go to sleep hungry at night. EU countries must not regard their promises as expendable, but rather a sound investment for the future.”

NEW: Compare EU aid data on the special AidWatch website: http://aidwatch.concordeurope.org

Read the full report here.  

Source: CONCORD Press Release