Brussels, 30/01/2009 (Agence Europe) - After their informal two-day meeting in Prague, EU development ministers, on Friday 30 January, called on Israel to improve access to humanitarian aid for Gaza and to respect international humanitarian law. This new appeal is not at this stage accompanied by additional pledges of aid from member states for rebuilding the devastated Palestinian territory. Although many countries have confirmed their intention to procure aid during the donors' conference to take place in Egypt by end February, no sums have yet been put forward. While UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on the international community to collect funds of up to $613 million in favour of the inhabitants of Gaza, Development Commissioner Louis Michel has said it should not be too difficult to get such an amount together. Although the situation in Gaza is “catastrophic”, it is also “dramatic in the West Bank”, Louis Michel stressed at the press conference, recalling that the Commission had just increased its humanitarian aid to the Palestinians for 2009 (EUROPE 9826). Israel must also agree to enlarge the range and the quantities of goods and products entering into Gaza to repair damage there, the commissioner said.
Impact of financial crisis on developing countries. It is considered that the effects of the current economic and financial crisis for developing countries could entail a fall in growth of “between 1.5 and 2% at least”, Louis Michel said (according to whom growth in Africa has been 5.5% over recent years). In order to take account of this dimension, the Commission and member states will be working, with a view to the G20, on the development of an EU external recovery plan to help developing countries. According to the Czech deputy minister for foreign affairs, Jan Kohout, who was chairing the meeting, the EU's commitment to increase official development aid to 0.56% of GNP by 2010 remains in force. He also hoped that the positive relationship between the United States and the EU will allow better coordination in the field of development aid. Real partnership would be needed in this field, he said, and, although nothing precise has been foreseen for now, all ministers were in favour of this eventuality.
In addition to improving access by developing countries to sustainable energy sources at local level, the ministers also discussed strengthening democratic governance. (A.B./transl.jl)