Brussels, 12/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - EU development aid policy after 2013 must continue to give pride of place to reducing poverty and should encourage emerging countries to devote a larger part of their revenue to the social needs of their people, which will make it possible to gradually phase out official development aid (ODA) to middle-income countries (MICs). This was the message delivered by the members of the European Parliament development committee, chaired by Eva Joly (Greens/EFA, France), to the European Commission on Wednesday 11 July. A large majority of the committee (19 votes for, 3 against and no abstentions) were in favour of the “Agenda for Change” which sets out the main guidelines for future development policy.
“The Commission should negotiate a roadmap for the gradual reduction of official development assistance with middle-income countries. EU development policy should strive to make countries that still receive development aid more responsible for their own people”, the rapporteur, Charles Goerens (ALDE, Luxembourg), said after the vote. Noting that 70% of the world's poor live in middle-income countries, the committee deplores the fact that, even in the emerging economies, the poor remain deprived of access to education, healthcare and the other benefits of economic growth. MEPs hope that the EU will look at ways to cooperate directly with the regional areas affected by poverty in middle-income countries. They also advocate holding an international conference with the participation of the BRICS countries in order to encourage development cooperation between donors, developing countries and emerging countries.
MEPs fear that the new EU agenda is too focused on economic growth and warn against “excessive confidence” being placed in the hope that benefits of development will be automatically redistributed in the private sector. In their view, development aid must contribute to fair trade, the redistribution of wealth and social justice. The development committee wants guarantees to ensure that donor resources devoted to inclusive growth are properly used to combat poverty. It urges the setting in place of “vulnerability” criteria for the use of funds as part of the new EU cooperation instrument, in order to take account of different levels of poverty, human development and inequalities within a country, as well as Gross National Income. Furthermore, the parliamentary committee calls for greater transparency in the use of public funds earmarked for development cooperation and for specific information on the role played by civil society and regional and local authorities, not only in implementing programmes but also in devising development policies. (AN/transl.jl)