Brussels, 14/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Union will be able to hold its head high and speak with a single voice at the UN conference on development financing that is to open on 18 March in Monterrey (Mexico). On the eve of the European Council of Barcelona, the Member States reached a last minute agreement on a firm timetable for increasing the level of public development aid (PDA) in favour of poor countries, by 2006. In accordance with the desire expressed by the Spanish EU Presidency and the European Commission, intensive exchange between the European capitals has therefore borne fruit. The eventuality of taking the matter to the level of Heads of State and/or Government in Barcelona has therefore been dismissed (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.3).
Under the terms of the agreement, all Member States that do not achieve the objective recommended by the UN - to allocate 0.7% of GNP to PDA - will undertake to increase their aid level over the next four years, as an intermediary stage to come closer to the 0.7%. Member States earmarking less than 0.33% of the GNP to PDA will individually pledge to reach at least this level in 2006, which will increase the Community average from 0.33% to 0.39% in 2006 (by way of comparison, the aid granted by the United States represents 0.1% of its GNP).
Member States that have already reached, if not exceeded the 0.7%, will seek to maintain or remain above this figure (the earlier proposal of compromise provided that these countries should maintain their current level of aid, that is, remain above 0.7% for those in this case).
This compromise managed to rally the most ambitious but also the less courageous. Despite the budgetary constraints it mentioned, Germany agreed to reach the Community average in 2006. The Netherlands and Sweden (two countries allocating 0.82% and 0.8% of their GNP to PDA respectively) agreed to give up their ambitions for the Union. Denmark - the champion as far as aid to developing countries is concerned, with a level of PDA corresponding to 1.06% of its GNP - accepted the compromise that will allow it to reduce the level of its PDA as long as this does not fall below 0.7%.
The agreement is accompanied by a Member State commitment to examine how to make progress in work aimed at untying Community aid for developing countries.