It is particularly beholden on the EU, as the world’s largest donor of public development aid, to help improve the effectiveness and the responsible use of aid globally, stated the MEPs on the European Parliament’s development committee in Brussels on Tuesday 8 November. Improving transparency and good governance in recipient developing countries is, they argue, the necessary corollary.
That is the position they advance ahead of the second high level meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC), due to take place in Nairobi, Kenya from 28 November until 1 December. And it was by an overwhelming majority (22 votes to 3) that they adopted the own initiative report by Cristian Preda (EPP, Romania) to prepare for the meeting.
Firmly convinced that the effectiveness of aid could make a significant contribution to achieving the universal sustainable development goals, the MEPs state that effectiveness depends not only on aid itself but also on good and responsive institutions, sound policies, the rule of law, democratic governance and safeguards against corruption.
“Our report calls on all actors to make their development cooperation as effective as possible to achieve the ambitious goals of the 2030 Agenda with the available public and private resources”, said Preda.
The committee warns against cooperation agendas shaped by the interests of the donor countries and against tied aid both of which run counter to development policies and undermine their effectiveness. It argues that the local ownership it advocates has a vital role to play in ensuring sustainable development that benefits local people. MEPs highlight the potentially decisive role of civil society, then trade unions and parliaments, and take the view that increasing the involvement of these players could help boost the effectiveness of aid. They call on the EU to respect its long-standing commitment to allocate 0.7% of its GNI to public development aid. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)