- All the 25 member countries of the European Union (EU) are to significantly increase their development aid over the next five year, including the ten poorer "new" EU states. By 2010, at least 0.56 percent of the EU state's national income is to be dedicated to development aid, rising to 0.7 percent by 2015.
This was agreed on a meeting of the Union's development ministers in Brussels yesterday, according to the EU. All national governments had agreed to a "landmark" plan to double EU development aid over the next ten years. The major part of this increased aid is believed to be directed towards Africa.
According to Jean-Louis Schiltz - Development Minister of Luxembourg, which currently holds the EU Presidency - the aid flow is to start growing rapidly. "We have agreed on a new collective commitment for a GDP threshold of 0.56 percent by 2010, which translates as 20 billion euros of official development assistance per year as of 2010," announced the Minister.
The EU's 25 member state currently are spending around 40 billion euros annually in development aid. By 2015, this should be more than doubled. "I believe that to be an essential breakthrough - an extremely important step forward for international solidarity," said Minister Schiltz.
Currently, the 15 "old" member states - mostly rich countries in Western Europe - are the Union's largest development aid contributors. They currently spend an average of 0.5 percent of national income on development aid. This is to rise to 0.56 by 2010 and to 0.7 percent for most countries - including Germany, France, Britain, Spain and the Nordic countries - by 2015.
The major news from the Luxembourg summit is the pledge of Eastern Europe's "new" member state to start contributing with significant funds for the developing world. Most of these eastern countries are still poor in a European context and receive development aid from Brussels. Ministers from these "new" EU states promised to dedicate 0.17 percent of national income for development aid by 2010, and 0.33 percent by 2015.
The shift in the EU member states' development policies comes after a decade of decreasing funds world-wide towards developing countries. First signs of a new era were registered in Scandinavia during the last years, where in particular the governments of Norway (not a EU member) and Sweden are closing in on the aim of spending 1.0 percent of national income on development aid.
Meanwhile, four EU members have reached the 0.7 percent threshold - Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Luxembourg - a number set as goal by the UN as far back as in 1970. Other large West European countries have pledged to reach this percentage within few years.
Further momentum was reached by the outspoken goal of Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair to support Africa's NEPAD initiative and to put the fight against poverty on the top o the agenda at the upcoming G8 industrial nations' summit. Even the new Spanish government of José Luis Zapatero - Spain was among the poorer countries of the "old" EU members - earlier this year decided to reach the 0.7 threshold, presenting a totally new Africa development policy.
European leaders in Luxembourg also sent a clear signal to other rich industrialised countries to speed up their development aid. In particular the US - which only spends 0.16 percent of national revenues on development aid - was urged to increase its contributions.
While the new interest in aiding Africa seems genuine in Europe, plans are defined for a relatively long term. Setbacks in Africa's transition towards democracy and political stability during the next decade could however easily cause the current optimism to be replaced by a new era of scepticism.
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