Brussels, 12/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - The “pro-development” tone of the State of the Union address made by José Manuel Barroso on Tuesday 12 September in Strasbourg, provided some relief to development NGOs (see other article). The fact that the European Commission president said that it is important that Europe, “keeps its leadership at the forefront of development and humanitarian assistance” delighted ONE, the organisation for raising awareness about the fight against extreme poverty in the world. In view of the European Parliament's budgetary committee vote on the draft budget 2014-2020 in October and the special European Council on 22-23 November on a multiannual financial framework, ONE reiterated its appeal to not cut development spending used to save lives (EUROPE 10681).
Eloise Todd, the director of ONE in Brussels, declared that, “in times of economic hardship, the EU must not turn in on itself. We welcome president Barroso's commitment to keep the EU's role at the vanguard of development and humanitarian aid efforts. We call on the EU's leaders, president Herman Van Rompuy and the European Parliament to protect aid to the world's poorest countries in the EU budget negotiations”. €51 billion has been earmarked for EU humanitarian development and assistance in the Commission's initial proposal. (AN/trans.fl)