On Monday 26 May, the EU ministers responsible for development cooperation approved conclusions ahead of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (‘FfD4’), to be held in Seville from 30 June to 3 July. According to the 27 EU countries, FfD4 represents an important opportunity to reform the international financing framework for sustainable development by tackling the global deficit, estimated at USD 4,000 billion a year.
“Everyone is looking to Europe (...) The Seville summit could mark a turning point in the redefinition of financing for development and the new development model”, said Spain’s Secretary of State, Eva Granados, on Monday morning.
Multilateralism. In the approved conclusions, the ministers call for greater inclusion and reform of the international financial institutions, in particular the multilateral development banks, in order to enhance the representation and voice of developing countries.
They also underlined the urgency of addressing pressing global challenges, including growing geopolitical tensions, the proliferation of conflicts and the disruption of the international financial system.
However, the conclusions make no reference to the African Union’s request for two seats on the UN Security Council to allow Africa, the only continent still excluded from this decision-making forum, to be represented. This demand was reiterated in Brussels on Wednesday 21 May at a ministerial meeting with the EU (see EUROPE 13645/19).
Public and private funding. In these conclusions, the EU Council “recalls the collective commitment to scale up and fulfil” the “respective ODA [Official Development Assistance] commitments, including the commitment by the most developed countries to reach the goals of 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) for ODA”.
According to preliminary data from the OECD, 2024 was marked by a significant drop in ODA from EU countries, reflecting national budget choices that could compromise their international commitments (see EUROPE 13624/6). Furthermore, only three EU countries (Luxembourg, Sweden and Denmark) devoted at least 0.7% of their GNI to ODA that year.
The EU Council promotes the essential role of the private sector in financing development, particularly in sectors such as infrastructure, climate and education, and urges international financial institutions to step up their efforts and coordination to ensure that financing reaches the countries and communities that need it most.
European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, warned at the start of the meeting: “The involvement of public money will not be enough and we will not be able to succeed without the strong involvement of private investors”.
EU priorities. “Of course, we have strategic priorities”, said the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, on Monday morning as she chaired her first Foreign Affairs Council in development format.
“We cannot fill the void that the US is leaving behind totally (see EUROPE 13617/5), but we are focusing on the priorities that we have. (...) It will be about our neighbourhood. It will also be about democracy, media freedom. It will also be priorities such as human rights and democracy”, she added.
The development ministers also reviewed the results of the ‘EU-African Union’ ministerial meeting (see EUROPE 13645/19), the ‘Nutrition for Growth’ summit and developments in Ukraine.
See the conclusions of the Council of the EU: https://aeur.eu/f/h20 (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)