Development Aid in Europe: Set to Miss the 2010 Target

2010 is a crucial year for development, as it has seen a UN summit assessing progress towards the MDGs and is the target year for the European Union’s aid commitments, and yet the EU is clearly off track on its aid pledges. While the official figures for 2010 will only be released in a few months, it is already clear that the target will be missed. Most member states, including some of the largest EU economies, are lagging behind on their promises and blame the financial crisis for their poor performance.

However other countries are on track and have recently boosted their contributions, thus showing that increasing or decreasing aid is mostly a matter of political will. While aid alone will never be enough to achieve the MDGs, effective aid does remain a powerful way to fight global poverty. That is why, as many European countries are presently discussing their budget laws, this paper suggests an ambitious yet concrete agenda for the EU and its member states to get back on track on their aid commitments.

• Primary Source

ISPI: Policy Brief: Development Aid in Europe: Set to Miss the 2010 Target [PDF] http://www.ispionline.it/sites/default/files/pubblicazioni/pb_201_2010.pdf

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