Brussels, 28/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - In terms of development cooperation, the EU is the largest donor of funds. However, "Brussels can do better. Brussels must do better. We need more accent on poverty, less on red tape and more results". This was the energetic message sent out by Agnes can Ardenne-van der Hoeven, the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation at the informal meeting of the Development Council at Valkenberg (see EUROPE of 26 October, p.10). The platform of Dutch development NGOs, which were invited to some of the session, could only support this view.
The President's objective is a wake-up call to the Union to put up the means to achieve its ambitions, in other words efficiently to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium development objectives laid down by the UN in 2000 to help to halve poverty in the world by 2015. However, a few months off the UN's review of progress achieved towards these goals, it has to be said that the EU is lagging far behind. Ms van Ardenne gave a few examples: "Although the international community agrees that industrialised countries should give 0.7% of their GDP to public development aid to reduce poverty, Europe will not exceed 0.39% in 2006". Ten years after the Cairo summit on population and development, "we have not done half of what we decided on", especially in terms of reproductive health and the fight against the pandemic of Aids in developing countries. As for the coherence of EU policies, this leaves far too much to be desired. "We are concluding fishing agreements with Africa, but we don't focus enough on local industries and the sustainable management of fish stocks. On the ground, the EU is still unable to manage with efficiency, harmonisation and co-ordination". In a few introductory sentences, the Council President summed up what is at stake in the informal discussions in Valkenberg, attended by Thoraya Obaid, UNFPA director (United Nations Population Fund) for the reproductive health plank- including contraception- and the fight against Aids, which was recognised by the Ministers as the key instruments for the reduction of poverty.
Millennium objectives: The ministers were concerned by the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, where it will be very difficult to reduce poverty by half by the end of 2015. They took an individual commitment to work to increase the level of public developmental so that the respective countries can come closer to the 0.7% and agreed to pay 75 million dollars to UNFPA this year, jointly with the Commission. Ms Obaid welcomed this as an acknowledgement by the EU that "we cannot reduce poverty and maternal and child mortality rates, promote women's' rights, stop the spread of Aids and guarantee sustainable development if health and reproductive rights are not seen as a priority". The Cairo action programme, to which Ministers reiterated their agreement, "offers a road map to transform the right to development into a reality", she said. Ministers stressed the importance of giving the people living in LDCs reliable methods of contraception at affordable prices- especially condoms- and thus long-term funding of reproductive healthcare products.
All hope that when the Millennium development objectives are reviewed in 2005, the UN will clearly demonstrate the link between the reduction of poverty and the Cairo agenda.
Coherence and coordination of development aid: The ministers, who are aware of the gaps in the implementation of the principles laid down in the Treaty and the draft Constitution, recommend the establishment of a monitoring mechanism in the Member States and Brussels, and a European network of ministers and directors general to ensure coherence.
Speaking on behalf of the European Commission, Poul Nielson, whose last Council it was, called upon the Member States to make greater efforts, pointing out that the Commission, in its inter-service consultations, holds the requirement for coherence very much at heart, as laid out in a 2000 communication. All the Commission's proposals on the subject are still valid, it just requires the various configurations of the Council to agree to them and decide to lead from the front, he said. The same for co-ordination and measures on the ground.
Security and development. Ministers all pleaded in favour of an integrated policy and intensive cooperation of all parties concerned (themselves, the Foreign ministers and their defence counterparts) and the development of integrated instruments, such as the African Peace Facility, which has already been mobilised for Darfur in Sudan. The Presidency called upon the Commission to present a communication on this subject. Poul Nielson welcomed this, but stressed that he sometimes felt isolated within the Council when he pleaded in favour of full respect for the principle of African ownership of peace-keeping and security measures. He hoped that the development cooperation ministers would be the ambassadors for this within Council.