Brussels, 03/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - At the opening of the 9th European Development Days (EDD) in Brussels on Wednesday 3 June, there was much emphasis on the scale of the challenges for the universal partnership to address for sustainable development and stamping out poverty. There was also much emphasis on the necessary duty of solidarity with developing countries in 2015 (EDD 2015).
The words of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker “at this meeting of great ideas, this Davos of development”, like those of European Parliament President Martin Schulz, rang out as a warning to the member states of the EU and developed countries in general against the temptation of turning in on themselves - which could be fatal for the poorest people if the utmost is not done to ensure the joint success of three crucial meetings for the future of the planet and the well-being of future generations. These are the UN conference on development funding (Addis Ababa, 13-16 July), the UN general assembly (at which the next world programme for post-2015 sustainable development and stamping out poverty is due to be adopted), and the Paris conference on 30 November-11 December (COP21 - during which a legally binding global climate agreement is due to be concluded).
“This meeting comes at a timely moment, in the middle of the European Year for Development - a year of truth for revisiting the efforts deployed over recent years and for taking stock of the results. A year for a new start and renewed ambition”, said Juncker, stating that the processes of Addis Ababa, New York and Paris cannot be separated. “The success of one does not necessarily mean the success of the others, but the failure of one would mark the failure of the others”, he warned, stating that the process must include governments, civil society, the private sector and citizens individually, and that “the North and South of the planet must go down the same avenue”.
Duty of solidarity. Juncker called the EU to a sense of its duty to establish “a true partnership for mutual benefit”, which should not be a donors-recipients relationship. While tangible progress has been made to achieve the millennium development goals (MDG), there are still 1 million people living with less than $1 per day, one person in eight goes to bed on an empty stomach, and one third of the world's population does not have access to vital medicines. The utmost must be done to remedy this situation which is “not an inevitability” but a source of instability that represents a threat because “there is no leaktightness between the problems of some and those of others”, Juncker stated.
An unacceptable fall in official development assistance (ODA). Criticising the fact that many countries have reduced their level of public development aid - “which is not the case of the country I know best” (Ed: Luxembourg exceeds 1% of its GNI), Juncker stated that “European countries need to revise their ODA upwards. We are committed to 0.7% for the post-2015 period”. Even if the EU represents 20% of the world's GDP but provides 50% of the world's cooperation effort, Juncker “thinks that the richest part of the world can do more” including “the emerging economies”.
Wake-up call on hosting migrants. The human rights dimension of the partnership will be essential because “all the efforts will be in vain if human rights are not respected. That's why the Commission has proposed a European agenda on migration”, said Juncker, noting with regret that this agenda does not meet with overwhelming enthusiasm. “The person who leaves his country has a right to dignity. The Commission will not change its mind despite the opposition of certain member states. The key words are 'shared solidarity'”.
In complete agreement, Schulz stated that more than 50 million people in the world are victims of wars, terrorism, and violence that hampers development, and that 86% of refugees are hosted by developing countries - a disproportionate duty.
He said he hoped 2015 would be a decisive year for defining the post-2015 objectives - in other words, the year of success in resolving the most pressing challenges of fighting poverty and hunger. Reducing extreme poverty by a half is, in Schulz's opinion, an enormous success. Stamping it out totally by 2030 is within reach.
Expressing the European Parliament's anger at the aid cut in the 2014-2020 multi-financial framework (MFF), Schulz called for a return “to a credible financing” and gave assurances that the Parliament will push the governments to reach the 0.7% of GNI objective for ODA.
Schulz warned against the risk of losing the fight against climate change, and called for “an ambitious agreement in Paris” and for the promotion of low carbon development models at global level. He also called for the link to be recognised between poverty and the fight against corruption and illegal flows of finance. Education for all - whether Boko Haram agrees or not - is also a priority, he said.
Latvia's Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma went further, believing that “every girl in the world should have the opportunity to become prime minister if she wants to”. In Straujuma's view, “immediate action is needed to address the new global challenges, and migration in particular (…) It is unacceptable that people are forced to leave their homeland and risk their lives in the hope of decent living conditions and the observance of fundamental rights”.
On behalf of the future Luxembourgish Presidency of the Council of the EU, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel gave assurances that his country “will work towards bold and innovative solutions”. Including young people in development, and fair trade are essential components, in Bettel's view. He stressed the close links between migration and development, and the right of all to live in dignity. “Our world. Our dignity. Our future. (Ed: the theme of the 2015 EDD) We are here to make things happen. Some countries say they don't want quotas. It's not a luxury to take one's responsibilities. The wheel can turn. I would like certain words in certain developed countries to recover the necessary dignity”, he said. (Aminata Niang)