Brussels, 03/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - For the second year in a row, the volume of Official Development Assistance (ODA) from the EU15 fell sharply in 2012, experiencing a €10 billion deficit in relation to the 0.51% of EU collective GNI target it set itself in 2010, according to the initial ODA figures published on Wednesday 3 April by the OECD. This trend is not exclusive to the European Union because ODA in all OECD countries fell by 4% in real value in 2012 (-$8 billion) after a 2% fall in 2011. Although the EU27 remained the biggest donor of ODA last year, giving more than half of the total ODA (€55.1 billion, 0.43% of its GNI, as opposed to €56.2 billion in 2011 or 0.45% of its GNI), it is obvious that the financial crisis and turbulence in the euro zone has forced the governments in many countries to hack away at their aid budgets. Total ODA in the 27 member states fell from €52.8 billion (0.42% of GNI) to €50.5 billion (0.39% of GNI).
Only four EU member states increased their levels of ODA (Austria, Latvia, Luxembourg and Poland) and only seven maintained it at the same level (Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom). All the others cut back on assistance levels.
Andris Piebalgs, the European Commissioner for development regretted this and sounded the alarm. He called on all member states to redouble their efforts to increase their assistance and reach the 0.7% target set for 2015, which the European Council had confirmed as recently as last February as a priority for the Millennium Development Goals.
The Commissioner also stated that “the EU is still the leading donor, but we are not moving in the direction of reaching our collective target of providing 0.7% of the EU Gross National Income for development purposes. I realise some EU countries are in a dramatic situation due to the on-going crisis but we need to deliver on our commitments”. He added that the Eurobarometer survey in October 2012 illustrated that 85% of EU citizens believe that the EU should continue to help developing countries.
Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands are continuing to meet their commitments and lead the struggle in this area by allocating more than 0.7% of their GNI to helping developing countries.
In 2012, the net contribution in ODA released by members of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC) stood at $125.6 billion, 0.29% of their cumulated GNI. Since 2010, when these levels peaked, ODA has fallen by 6% in real terms. Except for 2007, which marked the end of exceptional debt relief operations, the fall witnessed in 2012 is the most severe since 1997. It is also the first time since 1996-1997 that assistance has fallen two years in a row. (AN/transl.l)