Blog: The EU is stepping up financial support to developing countries - Hoofdinhoud

EU continues to take the lead globally in delivering development assistance

According to new figures published today by members of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD-DAC), in 2015 the EU’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) increased significantly to €68 billion euros, or 0.47% of our Gross National Income (GNI), an increase of 15% compared to the previous year. This represents a hefty growth in official development aid on the way to meeting the EU's collective goal of dedicating 0.70% of its GNI to ODA, which was reaffirmed in 2015. Five EU Member States - Sweden (1.4%), Luxemburg (0.93%), Denmark (0.85%), the Netherlands (0.76%) and the UK (0.71%) - have already attained and exceeded the 0.7% ODA/GNI goal.

This result is encouraging, as it shows, with real and measurable progress, that the EU intends to live up to its commitments in development assistance. Since 2002, the EU has consistently stepped up its official assistance by nearly 40% in real terms, having now reached 0.47% ODA/GNI - Its highest level to date. Providing more than half of the total aid reported, the EU and Member States are the leading providers of ODA among OECD donor countries, with the non-EU DAC members’ ODA having remained at around 0.21% of GNI.

Part of the increase in 2015 is due to the recent refugee emergency, in which the EU has stepped-up its relief effort to provide shelter and assistance to displaced populations in Europe itself and beyond. Humanitarian assistance for displaced populations accounts for approximately 60% of the EU’s increase in ODA spending. But even if we were to remove the surge in refugee costs, the overall EU ODA this year would still have increased by €3.6 billion. In other words, the EU, in 2015, increased both its support to refugees as well as its development aid to developing countries.

Globally it is increasingly recognised that ODA is only one of several sources of finance required to achieve sustainable development, with domestic resources and private finance holding much greater potential to move us from billions to trillions. Yet ODA remains essential to help developing countries emerge from poverty and address economic, social and environmental concerns, and it can act as a catalyst to help leverage other sources of finance. Its importance is even greater for least developed countries and countries that are in a fragile condition, due to war, climate-related disaster or economic shocks.

Through ODA we are able to provide support for essential services: our programmes in the agricultural sector will help to lift 500 million people in developing countries out of hunger and malnutrition by 2030, for example. It enables us to help to improve education for all and access to health services, including vital vaccine programmes that will reach over 300 million people. Other programmes supported by the EU will facilitate access to sustainable energy for over 500 million people by 2030, while helping to protect the environment.

Through its ODA, the EU also helps developing countries to ensure economic growth and increase employment by opening up its markets to their exports - the EU is the largest trading partner for least developed countries - by supporting innovation and technology, small businesses and facilitate, through innovative finance, public and private investment aimed at infrastructure critical infrastructure for transport, energy and other services.

And this important role of ODA in tackling major issues is also recognised by European citizens: according to a recent Eurobarometer survey in February 2016, nearly 90% of Europeans support development aid.

The EU and Member States fully support the commitments agreed at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development which took place in July 2015 in Addis Ababa. These commitments are instrumental and are an integral part of the new global framework for sustainable development, the Agenda 2030 - with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals at is core, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2015.

It is our collective ambition - and a personal priority of mine - to not only maintain, but continue to increase our efforts in development aid and humanitarian assistance on the way to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. They are key both to ensuring a decent living for all, and to tackling the environmental challenges faced by our planet.