Brussels, 28/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - The eradication of poverty and sustainability - both environmental and economic - are intertwined. They are therefore expected to form the fabric of the global framework for development after 2015, and to be accompanied by a strong emphasis on governance, respect for human rights and security, the EU development ministers stated in Brussels on Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 May. The ministers gave their approval to a common approach for this future framework - a framework which brings together the ambitions that will take over from the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the objectives for sustainable development. The political debate that the ministers had on this subject - including with the United Nations deputy secretary general, Jan Eliasson - enable them to approve the approach recommended by the European Commission in March to ensure “a decent life for all by 2030”. It will be up to the Environment Council, then the General Affairs Council, to adopt the formal conclusions in June.
At the end of the session, Irish Minister for Trade and Development Joe Castello said the development ministers had paved the way for the EU to present a unified and co-ordinated position on establishing new objectives that would lead all their development efforts after 2015. He said this was particularly important at the moment when they were moving on to review the impact of the MDGs and when they were beginning their negotiations on what should replace the MDGs after 2015. He stated that the EU provides over 50% of public development aid at global level and that it was therefore crucial for them to tackle the negotiations with a single voice. European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs said that the Council had given a good message by asserting that they needed a single integrated framework and by recognising - for example, if they did not attack climate change - that they would never succeed in eradicating poverty. The UN high-level panel report, which prepares the guidelines for the future global framework, is expected this week, Piebalgs confirmed. Piebalgs is also a member of this pilot body. (AN/transl.fl)