Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-11-15-Speech-2-691-000"
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"en.20111115.34.2-691-000"2
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"Mr President, honourable Members, the Council shares the fears expressed by Ms Striffler on behalf of the Committee on Development concerning the effect of the global economic and financial crisis on developing countries and, in particular, on the poorest countries. The Council acknowledges, too, that it is precisely because of the crisis and its many aspects that it is more important than ever to keep to the commitment we have made to meet the target of giving 0.7% of gross national income in official development assistance, or ODA, by 2015. The European Council reaffirmed this in June 2011.
However, it cannot be denied that donor countries have also been hard-hit by the global situation – the crisis – and that this is forcing often drastic budgetary restrictions in the economies of developed countries too, including the economies of the Member States. We are feeling the effects of the crisis, and we are talking about it in a number of European forums. We have to realise that without making major efforts, we will perhaps not manage to achieve the collective targets for development assistance and development cooperation. In this situation, it is all the more important that our citizens understand why development policy and the budgetary resources associated with this are so important. In this regard, we welcome the Commission communication on increasing the impact of EU development policy: an agenda for change. It has been published at the right time. The Council would like to hold a debate as quickly as possible on appropriate fiscal and monetary policy – policy which would mean that money given as aid is spent effectively, brings the best possible results, has greater impact and is used in a way which encourages further funding for development.
Mention should be made, here, of the conference soon to be held in Busan on this very subject – effectiveness in development cooperation – something which is so important, particularly to donors such as the EU. In May 2012, we expect the Council will adopt conclusions on this matter.
Despite the difficulties and challenges of last year and this year, in 2010, collective EU ODA amounted to EUR 53.8 billion, and this is more than ever before. I cannot agree with those who present the situation from one side only – the negative side. We have made significant progress towards achieving our ODA targets. I would like to stress once again that this is the largest amount of ODA we have ever been able to give.
The European Union remains by far the world’s largest donor of ODA. Over the period from 2004 to 2010, the EU and its Member States provided over half of all ODA given to developing countries. We should be proud of this. Despite the global financial and economic crisis over the past years, most Member States have been able to increase their ODA spending. More Member States are coming close to joining the group of donors which give 0.7% of gross national income in ODA.
Bearing in mind that each Member State decides its own level of ODA spending, in the first annual report to the European Council on EU development aid targets, the Council invited the Member States to take realistic, verifiable actions for meeting individual ODA commitments by 2015 and to share information on these actions and their planned ODA spending for the next budgetary year, as well as on their intentions for the remaining period until 2015. ODA will continue to play an essential role, including as a complement to, and catalyst of, other sources of financing for development. However it is not restricted only to additional funding and support for development. This is why implementation of all parts of the Monterrey Consensus is so important – all of the parts, not just those which concern financial commitments. The Council will continue to take a comprehensive approach to the question of development. ODA alone will not be enough. We must mobilise development financing from all possible sources and guarantee the effectiveness of our aid, including by democratic scrutiny of the use of aid, in order to fight poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals."@en1
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