01-07-2012
The report on aid commitments shows that major donors are off track meeting the targets.
CONCORD, the European confederation for Relief and Development NGOs, published its 2012 AidWatch Report 2012, ‘Aid We Can: more investment in global development'. AidWatch is a pan-European advocacy and campign network of development NGOs, monitoring aid quantity and quality across the EU 27.
The 2012 Report shows that
- 9 EU countries beat aid targets, but Germany and France missed the mark in 2011. Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Malta (the only EU 12 country), Belgium, Finland and Ireland all met their targets. Germany and France however are way off track, both giving less than 0.5% of their GNI to development aid.
- Aid budget cuts are becoming a major trend, with €500 million slashed from total EU aid spending in 2011. 11 EU countries cut their aid levels last year, with 9 countries planning further cuts in 2012. Spain and Italy are likely to face the biggest cuts; 53% and 38% respectively. Total EU aid amounted to €53billion in 2011.
- 14% of EU aid or €7.35 billion didn’t reach developing countries in 2011. Genuine Aid that represents a real transfer of resources to developing countries, is highest from Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK and Ireland.
- Aid commitments are achievable but major donors are off track. All EU countries are, in principle, committed to giving 0.7% of their GNI to development aid. “Even in times of economic crisis, many European countries have shown that’s possible to keep their aid promise to the world’s poorest. Unfortunately other EU countries are cutting aid at a time when developing countries need it most. Larger countries like France and Germany need to step up their game and not shy away from their commitments,” Ben Jackson, Chief Executive of Bond, the UK NGO network.