More than half of the countries in the European Union reduced their official development assistance (ODA) budgets in 2024, according to a report published on Wednesday 16 April by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Overall, international aid provided by public donors fell by 7.1% in 2024 in real terms compared with 2023.
According to the OECD, this fall in aid is due to a decline in contributions to international organisations, as well as a drop in aid to Ukraine, a fall in humanitarian aid and a reduction in spending on refugees in donor countries.
According to preliminary OECD estimates, 16 EU countries have reduced their ODA in 2024 compared with 2023: Germany (-17.2%); the Netherlands (-2.8%); Sweden (-13.4%); Luxembourg (-0.3%); Ireland (-14.0%); Austria (-9.5%); Finland (-12.9%); Poland (-26.8%); the Czech Republic (-29.1%); Hungary (-31.5%); Slovenia (-1.8%); Estonia (-26.3%); Latvia (-22.1%); Lithuania (-12.9%); Bulgaria (-21.3%); and Malta (-9.2%).
On the other hand, nine Member States increased it: Belgium (+12.2%); Denmark (+2.2%); Greece (+3.3%); Italy (+6.7%); Portugal (+21.3%); Slovakia (+3.9%); Spain (+9.0%); Croatia (+3.6%); and Romania (+14.2%).
France’s budget for international development remained stable (-0.02%).
Furthermore, only three EU countries devoted at least 0.7% of their gross national income (GNI) to ODA in 2024, in line with the target set by the United Nations in 1970 and reaffirmed in 2014 and in the 2030 Agenda. These countries are Luxembourg (1%), Sweden (0.79%) and Denmark (0.71%).
Reactions. “It is regrettable that ODA decreased in 2024 after five years of continuous growth. It’s even more concerning that some of the major donors have signalled further, and quite significant, decreases over the coming years” noted Carsten Staur, Chair of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, in a press release on Wednesday.
For Concord Europe, the European confederation of humanitarian and development NGOs, the budgetary decisions taken by European countries are undermining the credibility of the EU.
“The European Union can’t have it both ways. It promotes the Global Gateway strategy as a bold promise of shared prosperity and strategic investment in infrastructure, yet it slashes funding to countries with the greatest human development needs”, said the network’s Director, Tanya Cox.
“If EU Member States and European institutions are even slightly concerned about our shared future, they must invest in people, not pull the rug out from under them. Shortsighted cuts now will undermine a secure and prosperous, common future”, she stressed on Tuesday.
The ONE campaign organisation, co-founded by the singer Bono, also sounded the alarm in a press release.
“As governments retreat from commitments, the EU must step forward. The bloc’s upcoming long-term budget negotiations present a critical moment to apply the lessons of the past five years: collective action is our only effective weapon against climate devastation, health emergencies, and conflict. ODA isn’t a luxury”, said Emily Wigens, EU Director of this NGO, which operates mainly in Africa.
Last January, the relevant European Commissioners presented their strategic guidelines for strengthening the integration of the EU’s external action in crisis regions (see EUROPE 13567/20).
In addition, before taking office, the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, Crisis Preparedness and Management, Hadja Lahbib, made a written commitment to encourage EU countries to devote 0.07% of gross national income (i.e. 10% of ODA) specifically to humanitarian aid (see EUROPE 13510/16).
For his part, the Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, intends to rely on competitive partnerships to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (see EUROPE 13513/10).
See the data published by the OECD: https://aeur.eu/f/ghb (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)