Brussels, 13/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - It is with determination and commitment that MEPs from the European Parliament's development committee are preparing for 2015, which has been officially designated as European Year for Development (EYD) - as they wanted (see EUROPE 11033). The first debate they held on this issue, on 11 November, showed their resolve to take action to promote the importance of the Millennium Development Goals among EU citizens and to set ambitious objectives for post-2015. “The first ever European Year dealing with the EU's external action will provide an unparalleled opportunity to engage with citizens in the EU's contribution to fighting hunger and eradicating poverty worldwide”, said Linda McAvan (S&D, UK), the chair of the Parliament's development committee.
Charles Goerens (ALDE, Luxembourg), who chairs the development committee's coordination group for the EYD, believes that it “has to see enough structural progress to anchor development policies in the world's institutions and in our citizens' hearts”. In order to do this, the European Parliament intends to be actively engaged. It will do this by working with citizens and national parliaments, by participating in the opening ceremony of the EYD in Riga (Latvia) in January, and by organising parliamentary hearings. A hearing on the post-2015 global development objectives will take place in January and another, on the future of development funding, in February. The Parliament will also participate in high level international meetings on development. The MEPs from the development committee subscribed to these proposals for action which Goerens put to them.
The Parliament played a key role in obtaining that 2015 be set up as the EYD and it is the Parliament that proposed the motto “Our world, our future, our dignity”. MEPs therefore believe that the Parliament has the duty to engage actively in contributing to reach the objectives assigned to this European Year.
With €56.5 billion allocated collectively to public development aid in 2013 (compared with €55.3 billion in 2012 and €53.1 billion in 2011), the EU maintains its position as the world's biggest donor. (AN)